"These payments are a pathetic, empty and token gesture on the part of the province. Maher Arar was compensated by the federal government to the tune of $10-million dollars because he was tortured. It was an outrageously large payout that still angers many Canadians. But could there be any more malignant form of torture than being wrongfully accused and convicted of murdering your own child — particularly because of inconceivable professional incompetence?
These parents have been through some of the worst experiences imaginable. To experience the death of a child, to be blamed for their death and then to be convicted and imprisoned as a result of false, sloppy and wrongful pathology “expertise” ranks among the most egregious miscarriages of justice that have ever occurred in Ontario — and perhaps in Canada.
These parents have already lost their children — a hole in their hearts that can never be filled. Some lost their living children to foster placements because they were deemed by the state unfit and undeserving to raise their living children.
How can these parents ever be compensated for the loss of their lives and reputations while incarcerated? How can they ever forgive the province or Dr. Smith for the malignant way in which their mourning and, indeed, their entire lives were interrupted? Moreover, what kind of reassurances do parents have today that they are better protected against malicious claims of abuse, given the track record of the pediatric pathology system? How can we be sure this will not happen again?"
LAURA ROSEN COHEN: THE NATIONAL POST;
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Background: The inquiry focused largely on the flawed work of Dr. Smith — formerly the province's chief pediatric pathologist — whose errors led to innocent people being branded as child murderers. The 1,000-page report by Justice Stephen Goudge slammed Dr. Smith, along with Ontario's former chief coroner and his deputy, for their roles in wrongful prosecutions and asked the province to consider compensation. The provincial coroner's office found evidence of errors in 20 of 45 autopsies Dr. Smith did over a 10-year period starting in the early 1990s. Thirteen resulted in criminal charges. William Mullins-Johnson, who was among those cases, spent 12 years in prison for the rape and murder of his four-year-old niece, whose death was later attributed to natural causes. In another case, Dr. Smith concluded a mother had stabbed her seven-year-old girl to death when it turned out to have been a dog mauling. The inquiry heard that Dr. Smith's failings included hanging on to crucial evidence, chronic tardiness, and the catastrophic misinterpretation of findings. The cases, along with other heart-rending stories of wrongful prosecutions based in part on Smith's testimony, also raised a host of issues about the pathology system and the reliance of the courts on expert evidence."
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"So the province of Ontario has decided to pay out a settlement to some of the victims of disgraced pathologist Dr. Charles Smith. The payouts will range from $12,500 to up to $250,000. If I were a parent whose life had been ripped apart by these charges, I would find it hard to resist the impulse to say “big deal,” the column by Laura Rosen Cohen, published in the National Post earlier today begins, under the heading, "Laura Rosen Cohen: Adding insult to Dr. Charles Smith’s injuries."
"These payments are a pathetic, empty and token gesture on the part of the province. Maher Arar was compensated by the federal government to the tune of $10-million dollars because he was tortured," the column continues.
"It was an outrageously large payout that still angers many Canadians. But could there be any more malignant form of torture than being wrongfully accused and convicted of murdering your own child — particularly because of inconceivable professional incompetence?
These parents have been through some of the worst experiences imaginable. To experience the death of a child, to be blamed for their death and then to be convicted and imprisoned as a result of false, sloppy and wrongful pathology “expertise” ranks among the most egregious miscarriages of justice that have ever occurred in Ontario — and perhaps in Canada.
These parents have already lost their children — a hole in their hearts that can never be filled. Some lost their living children to foster placements because they were deemed by the state unfit and undeserving to raise their living children.
How can these parents ever be compensated for the loss of their lives and reputations while incarcerated? How can they ever forgive the province or Dr. Smith for the malignant way in which their mourning and, indeed, their entire lives were interrupted? Moreover, what kind of reassurances do parents have today that they are better protected against malicious claims of abuse, given the track record of the pediatric pathology system? How can we be sure this will not happen again?
There remain many questions. Who was overseeing Dr. Smith’s work? Why were errors not detected? And who certified him as a pediatric expert? Where is Sick Children’s Hospital on the entire issue? Are there any moves being made to more stringently assure the legitimacy of pediatric pathologists? If not — why not? If so — why aren’t we hearing more about it?
It is said that those who have been convicted of child abuse or the murder of children are at the lowest ranks of the prison social hierarchy. Often, these prisoners must be placed in solitary confinement lest “prison justice” be meted out to them. Clearly, there is a general consensus that hurting and murdering children renders human beings into monsters undeserving of life — even among hardened criminals.
The many parents who were accused of murdering their own children or the children of the people that they loved were placed into this category due to unconscionable, ongoing and unrepentant malpractice. The government is giving them a token nod and payment, hoping they will just “get over it” and move on.
There is no moving on for these parents — only moving through the never-ending layers of sorrow, mourning and anger. Given the Canadian propensity to legislate after loss, the least our government could do is sincerely invest in a system of checks and balances that has the best chance of making sure a scandal such as this never happens to Ontario parents ever again."
The column can be found at:
http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2010/08/12/laura-rosen-cohen-adding-insult-to-dr-charles-smiths-injuries/
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be accessed at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith
For a breakdown of some of the cases, issues and controversies this Blog is currently following, please turn to:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2010/07/new-feature-cases-issues-and.html
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;