"Ben Butler, 30, of Cleeve Way in Sutton, served three-and-a-half months in prison after it was alleged he shook his baby daughter Ellie so hard he caused her a serious head injury.
On Thursday after a legal battle lasting more than three years, Mr Butler finally had his conviction quashed by the Court of Appeal.
In an exclusive interview with the Sutton Guardian Mr Butler told of his miscarriage of justice and his hell inside prison.
He warned: “If it can happen to me, it can happen anyone."
THE SUTTON GUARDIAN;
(See interview with Mr. Ben Butler following this story);
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"A father wrongly jailed for attacking his seven-week-old daughter has had his conviction quashed by the Court of Appeal," the Sutton Guardian story published on June 25, 2010, under the heading, "Sutton dad cleared of injuring baby by Court of Appeal," begins.
"Ben Butler, 30, of Cleeve Way in Sutton, served three-and-a-half months in prison after it was alleged he shook his baby daughter Ellie so hard he caused her a serious head injury," the story continues.
"On Thursday after a legal battle lasting more than three years, Mr Butler finally had his conviction quashed by the Court of Appeal.
In an exclusive interview with the Sutton Guardian Mr Butler told of his miscarriage of justice and his hell inside prison.
He warned: “If it can happen to me, it can happen anyone.
“It ruined me. I still haven’t got over it.
“It was a bit surreal sitting in court the other day. I was only in there for a second when they said they accepted my case.”
Despite conflicting medical evidence being presented to the court Mr Butler was sentenced to 18 months in prison by Croydon Crown Court in March 2009. He was convicted of cruelty and causing grievous bodily harm.
Mr Butler was arrested in February 2007, when he rushed Ellie to St Helier hospital after she became limp and pale.
Although Ellie bore no outward mark of recent injury, doctors discovered she had suffered a serious head injury.
Ellie made a full recovery from her injuries, and since she had no visible injuries the case was tried almost entirely on the basis of medical evidence and opinion.
Mr Butler served three-and-a-half months of his prison sentence before he was released on bail to fight his appeal.
That appeal was finally heard in March this year, some three years after his nightmare began.
The Court of Appeal found there was no rational basis on which a jury, in light of some of the medical evidence given, could reject an unknown cause for the injuries, rather than shaking.
It also found the judge’s summing up of the case contained serious misdirections.
Mr Butler now intends to take action against the police for wrongful arrest."
The story can be found at:
http://www.suttonguardian.co.uk/news/8237305.Dad_cleared_of_injuring_baby_by_Court_of_Appeal/
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THE SUTTON GUARDIAN'S INTERVIEW WITH BEN BUTLER; REPORTER CLAIRE FOX:
As Ben Butler was sentenced to 18 months for hurting his only daughter, the shock was so great even one of his barristers broke down in tears.
It was to be the start of a three-and-a-half month nightmare in prison, surrounded by sex offenders and violent convicts.
Devoted father Mr Butler was finally cleared of any blame at the Court of Appeal last Thursday, nearly three-and-half years after his ordeal first began.
He said: “I was destroyed. Prison was the hardest thing ever. It was beyond belief. It took everything out of me.
“They transferred me to a prison in Cambridgeshire where 75 per cent of the prisoners were sex offenders.
“I wasn’t even allowed a picture of my daughter.
“It was a terrible place. I was proud, and lost all pride for a long time in there.”
It started when Mr Butler took his daughter to St Helier hospital after she went pale and limp.
Although his seven-week-old daughter, Ellie, had no visible signs of recent injury, doctors discovered she had suffered a serious head injury.
He said: “Her mum said she had been having these periods where she went pale.
“I picked her up and she was all floppy and non-responsive.
“The ambulance was taking too long so I called a friend and he drove us to the hospital.”
While at the hospital Mr Butler came under increasing scrutiny from doctors, who then called the police.
He was later arrested and charged with cruelty and causing grievous bodily harm.
Because of the lack of any outward injury, the case against him was constructed almost entirely on medical evidence and opinion.
Mr Butler said: “Everyone I knew that was close to me couldn’t believe what was going on.
“They all said it will be all right, there’s nothing wrong with her.”
But he was convicted by a jury of causing grievous bodily harm to his baby after Croydon Crown Court heard evidence of shaken baby syndrome – a potentially fatal form of child abuse. It occurs when a baby is forcefully shaken, leading to damage within the child’s skull.
Mr Butler said this week he intends to sue the police for wrongful arrest. He claimed police ignored the evidence of four different experts who said Ellie’s injuries were unlikely to have been caused by shaking. He also claimed £1m has been spent trying to convict him.
Mr Butler believes miscarriages of justice over shaken baby syndrome will continue to happen if there is not a change in the law.
He claims the police and the courts rely on the same sort of evidence, and while the prosecution are able to fund a large number of expert witnesses to support their claims, on legal aid he was only able to call three experts in support of him.
He said: “There was conflicting medical evidence and the experts were arguing with each other all the time.
“The evidence is too complicated for a jury to understand.
“I have spent the last three-and-a-half years in a constant fight.
“Now I have got to the point where I don’t feel anything. I feel numb.
“I don’t know what to do now. I’ve been trying to keep myself busy, I’ve been doing lots of reading and researching shaken baby syndrome.
“In the past I worked in an office, I will have to get back into work.
“With everything that happened I probably lost a bit of me that will never come back.”
Harold Levy...hlevy15@gmail.com;
