"CLOSE YOUR EYES, JUST TO IMAGINE
THE FEAR THAT WE FACED EACH DAY.
KNOWING ALL ALONG WE WERE NOT GUILTY, BUT NOT KNOWING
IF WE WOULD LIVE TO SEE ANOTHER DAY."
FROM BROKEN SILENCE: BY MARIA SHEPHERD;
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The list of songs written in the aftermath of the Charles Smith travesty has grown longer with the addition of "Broken Silence" by Maria Shepherd.
The Ontario Court of Appeal recently took the extraordinary step of granting her leave to appeal almost twenty years after she had pleaded guilty to manslaughter in order to avoid lengthy imprisonment and loss of her family on the testimony of the (then) revered Dr. Charles Randal Smith;
In an affidavit filed at the Court of Appeal, she wrote:
"I STILL DO NOT KNOW WHAT CAUSED KASANDRA’S DEATH. I KNOW THAT HER DEATH MAY HAVE RESULTED FROM EVENTS BEFORE APRIL 9, 1991, INCLUDING THE POSSIBILITY OF EPILEPTIC SEIZURES, OR AN EARLIER INJURY TO HER BRAIN THAT NO ONE KNEW ABOUT. NEITHER OF THESE POSSIBILITIES HAD BEEN RAISED WITH ME BY MR. WILEY, OR ANYONE ELSE, AS FEASIBLE BEFORE I PLED GUILTY. I NOW KNOW THAT THERE IS NO SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE THAT I INJURED KASANDRA WHEN I PUSHED HER OR THAT MY WRISTWATCH LEFT A BRUISE ON THE UNDERSIDE OF HER SCALP. DR. SMITH’S TESTIMONY IN THESE REGARDS HAD A HUGE EFFECT ON THE LAWYERS REPRESENTING ME AND WAS A CRITICAL FACTOR IN MY DECISION TO PLEAD GUILTY TO MANSLAUGHTER. I HOPE THAT I CAN NOW PROVE THAT I DID NOT ASSAULT OR ABUSE KASANDRA AND DID NOT CAUSE HER DEATH. I WOULD NEVER HAVE PLED GUILTY IF I KNEW THEN WHAT I KNOW NOW ABOUT DR. SMITH AND KASANDRA’S DEATH."
The moving lyrics reflect the two year less a day prison term she had to serve following her guilty plea manslaughter in connection with Kasandra's death;
As Legal Affairs reporter Tracy Tyler wrote in the Toronto Star on May 11, 2009:
"With a powerful pathologist set to deliver testimony that would link her to her stepdaughter's death, Maria Shepherd faced a stark choice: Plead guilty or risk losing her other children permanently.
"Pregnant with her fourth child, Shepherd settled on the option that promised a shorter sentence, early parole and the prospect of quickly reuniting with her family."
Here are the lyrics of "Broken Silence." (The acronym AIDWYC refers to the Association in Defence of the Wrongfully Convicted which has done a magnificent job of representing parents and caregivers wrongfully convicted as a result of the flawed opinions of Dr. Charles Randal Smith);
"In our quietest hours, our silence
In our heads, we still hear them say
You are a danger to society, you are guilty
For this crime, you must be locked away.
(chorus)
We remember the hopelessness we felt,
Wanting so desperately to break free
From the injustice, the persecutors and liars
We had nowhere to run, but little miracles came,
then angels at AIDWYC set us free.
Close your eyes, just to imagine
The fear that we faced each day.
Knowing all along we were not guilty, but not knowing
If we would live to see another day.
Our lives were destroyed, taken from us
Without reason or just cause.
Our spirits temporarily broken
Due to systemic flaws.
(chorus)
We remember the hopelessness we felt,
Wanting so desperately to break free
From the injustice, the persecutors and liars
We had nowhere to run, but little miracles came,
then angels at AIDWYC set us free.
We paid for crimes we did not commit
Due to carelessness and lack of oversight
We want accountability from all the players
Who knew all long they weren’t right,
We rise and unite together now, stronger each day than ever before,
The silence has been broken, wrongful convictions can be no more.
We vow to fight against injustice, one day at a time
We are the crusaders and survivors, we rise and now WE shine
(chorus)
We remember the hopelessness we felt,
Wanting so desperately to break free
From the injustice, the persecutors and liars
We had nowhere to run, but little miracles came,
then angels at AIDWYC set us free.
Our readers are directed to two other powerful songs which were composed in the aftermath of the Charles Smith travesty: Tammy: The Wheels of Justice, by Howard Gladstone and Trusted Voice by Psycho Key;
They can be accessed at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2009/06/dr-charles-smith-hits-musical-charts_16.html
Harold Levy...hlevy15@gmail.com;
