"MOHAMMED DIED IN JUNE 2008 AFTER SUSTAINING BRAIN INJURIES IN WHAT HIS MOTHER INSISTED HAD BEEN A FALL FROM HIS BED AT THEIR HOME IN WHITECHAPEL, EAST LONDON.
HE WAS INITIALLY RUSHED TO GREAT ORMOND STREET HOSPITAL IN LONDON WHERE HE UNDERWENT TWO OPERATIONS ON HIS SKULL, BUT DIED LATER.
DESPITE ACCEPTING THAT THERE WAS "NOT A SINGLE MARK OF INJURY" ON THE BABY, SOME MEDICAL EXPERTS DID NOT BELIEVE MRS KHATUN'S EXPLANATION FOR HIS INJURIES AND A POLICE INVESTIGATION WAS LAUNCHED.
THE COURT HEARD THAT HALF-A-DOZEN PROSECUTION EXPERTS DISAGREED ON WHAT HAD CAUSED THE INJURY WHICH HAD LED TO BLEEDING AND SWELLING OF THE BRAIN."
REPORTER MARTIN EVANS; THE DAILY TELEGRAPH;
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PUBLISHER'S NOTE: Saleha Khatun was freed at the Old Bailey earlier this week after being wrongly accused of murdering her ten-month-old son Mohammed on June 10, 2008. Prosecutors claimed that the 22-year-old, who is originally from Bangladesh, had caused his death by shaking him or by inflicting head injuries. But she was freed at the Old Bailey yesterday after medical experts were unable to agree on how he came about his injuries. She is the latest of innocent, loving, bereaved parents and caregivers in Great Britain who have been wrongfully charged with killing babies on the basis of often conflicting "expert" testimony, including: Sally Clark, Lorraine Harris, Angela Cannings, Donna Anthony, Linda Wise Keran Henderson, Suzanne Holdsworth, and Fatima Miah - and cases elsewhere in the world.
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"A judge has called for a review into cases involving infant brain injuries after a mother was kept waiting 18-months before murder charges against her were finally dropped," reporter Martin Evan's December 23, 2009 Daily Telegraph story begins, under the heading "Judge calls for review into infant brain injury prosecutions."
"Saleha Khatun, 22, who was due to stand trial for the murder of 10-month-old Mohammed, was dramatically freed at the Old Bailey after the prosecution offered no evidence against her," the story continues.
"But Judge Richard Hone and her legal team criticised delays in the case, which they said had robbed her of the chance to grieve properly for her son, whom she always maintained had died after falling out of bed and hitting his head.
Entering a formal plea of not guilty, Judge Hone said more needed to be done to speed up legal cases where youngsters died as a result of brain injuries.
Conflicting opinions among medical experts as to the cause of the injuries, meant prosecutions were notoriously difficult and lengthy to prepare.
Judge Hone said he would review other cases going through the system to see if there was anything that could be done to speed up the process.
He said: "There is nothing I can usefully do except to express a regret that Mrs Khatun has been kept in a state of misery for this period."
Richard Whittam, QC, prosecuting, told the court that the decision to drop the case had come after expert evidence was reviewed and it was deemed there was no real prospect of a conviction.
Mohammed died in June 2008 after sustaining brain injuries in what his mother insisted had been a fall from his bed at their home in Whitechapel, east London.
He was initially rushed to Great Ormond Street hospital in London where he underwent two operations on his skull, but died later.
Despite accepting that there was "not a single mark of injury" on the baby, some medical experts did not believe Mrs Khatun's explanation for his injuries and a police investigation was launched.
The court heard that half-a-dozen prosecution experts disagreed on what had caused the injury which had led to bleeding and swelling of the brain.
Mrs Khatun was eventually charged with murder in June this year and given bail, until her trial which was due to begin in April next year.
Michael Turner, QC, defending, said the case had moved swiftly through the court but the delay had been caused by preparing the case.
He said Mrs Khatun had faced 18-months of unnecessary torture after the death of her baby while experts argued over whether the case should go ahead.
He added: "I very much hope that a lesson will be learned from this case."
In other parts of the country a woman of impeccable character would have been allowed to grieve properly, he told the court.
"In this jurisdiction, she was charged with murder. Her life has been on hold," he added.
Mr Turner QC went on: "Where the only evidence is one of experts, and they do not agree, they should not be prosecuted.""
The story can be found at:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/6872975/Judge-calls-for-review-into-infant-brain-injury-prosecutions.html
Harold Levy...hlevy15@gmail.com;
