On Thursday, Crown attorney Alison Wheeler consented to giving Ms Waudby an extension," the story continues. ""This case has changed a lot," she said.
REPORTER JOEL WIEBE; PETERBOROUGH THIS WEEK;
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: It is clear from the evidence called at the Goudge inquiry that Brenda Waudby - an utterly innocent individual who's baby daughter had been murdered by her babysitter - had been required to plead guilty to a charge of child abuse under provincial legislation before the Crown would withdraw the the second-degree murder charge on the basis of medical opinions which showed she could not possibly have committed the crime. It is also clear that Dr. Charles Smith's opinion that there were injuries which preceded the attack on Baby Jenna - which led to her being wrongfully charged with murder - was also the basis for the provincial charge, along with what the police claimed to be a confession. Instead of receiving the sympathy and compassion she deserved as a grieving mother whose baby daughter had been murdered, Ms. Waudby, a grieving mother, was herself charged with the horrific crime and not surprisingly became a pariah in her community. Brenda Waudby has been given a raw deal by Ontario's criminal justice system. Complete exoneration cannot come soon enough.
HAROLD LEVY; PUBLISHER; THE CHARLES SMITH BLOG.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"(PETERBOROUGH) A long time has passed since June 11, 1999 -- far more than the 30 days allowed for Brenda Waudby to appeal her child abuse conviction," the story published in Peterborough This Week under the heading, "Waudby gets approval to appeal child abuse conviction: Brenda Waudby is now one step closer to clearing her name," begins.
"On Thursday, Crown attorney Alison Wheeler consented to giving Ms Waudby an extension," the story continues.
""This case has changed a lot," she said.
Ms Waudby was initially charged with the murder of her 21-month old daughter, Jenna Mellor, in 1997. Pathologist Dr. Charles Smith, whose work in many cases has been questioned with some convictions overturned, erroneously pinpointed the time of her fatal injury to when Jenna was in her care. When it became evident two years later that she couldn't have inflicted the fatal wounds on her daughter, she pleaded guilty to child abuse. Since then, the then-14-year-old babysitter has been convicted of manslaughter, sentenced, and released.
Ms Waudby is trying to have the plea set aside. An affidavit previously reported in Peterborough This Week shows Ms Waudby felt she had no choice but to plea or she may have lost permanent custody of her two remaining children, among other issues she was facing at the time.
On April 7, she will return to court with her lawyer, Julie Kirkpatrick, in the hopes of setting a date for a hearing.
Ms Kirkpatrick wants to set the hearing for as soon as possible."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The story can be found at:
http://www.mykawartha.com/news/article/915417--waudby-gets-approval-to-appeal-child-abuse-conviction
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=120008354894645705&postID=8369513443994476774
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;
