"A police officer who witnessed the incident from his cruiser at a nearby stoplight confirmed that Brant appeared genuinely surprised and upset by the condition of the child, who died in hospital two days later.
Yet investigators suspected he was responsible and that drops of red liquid found in the family’s home were blood. They turned out to be cough syrup.
Undeterred, police brought in the heavy artillery in the form of Smith, who concluded Dustin died of blunt force trauma to the head, likely caused by shaking.
But fresh evidence from forensic experts who recently reviewed the autopsy findings shows there is nothing to support Smith’s opinion, the court was told on Wednesday.
Instead, the evidence suggests Dustin died of natural causes, likely pneumonia, the same conclusion reached by the neuropathologist who performed the autopsy before Smith arrived on the scene........."
LEGAL AFFAIRS REPORTER TRACEY TYLER; THE TORONTO STAR;
REMINDER: Julian Sher's documentary on Brenda Waudby - "A Mother's Ordeal" - will be aired on Friday May 6, 2011, on Global TV. 10PM (9PM Manitoba/Sask.)
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"Having been wrongly convicted for the death of his son — then jailed, shunned and driven out of Ontario — Richard Brant is one of the more visible victims of pathologist Charles Smith’s incompetence," the Toronto Star story by reporter Tracey Tyler published earlier today under the heading, "18 years later, dead infant’s father finally exonerated," begins.
"But Mary Farrell, the child’s mother, also paid a heavy price for Brant’s 1993 conviction and her belief in his innocence," the story continues.
"Her two-year-old daughter was taken away from her and Farrell battled her own mother for custody, making for a relationship that remained strained until the elder woman’s death last December.
“We lost our son,” said Farrell, 40. Yet police “treated us like criminals. We were loving young parents.”
The former couple, who hadn’t seen each other in 16 years, was reunited in Toronto Wednesday before the Ontario Court of Appeal quashed Brant’s conviction for aggravated assault in connection with the death of their two-month-old son, Dustin.
Brant was out for a walk with the child in Belleville on Nov. 17, 1992 when he bumped into a distant relative on the street and lifted the plastic rain cover on a stroller to show off his newborn.
What he found was the boy in distress, with what appeared to be red foam around his mouth.
A police officer who witnessed the incident from his cruiser at a nearby stoplight confirmed that Brant appeared genuinely surprised and upset by the condition of the child, who died in hospital two days later.
Yet investigators suspected he was responsible and that drops of red liquid found in the family’s home were blood. They turned out to be cough syrup.
Undeterred, police brought in the heavy artillery in the form of Smith, who concluded Dustin died of blunt force trauma to the head, likely caused by shaking.
But fresh evidence from forensic experts who recently reviewed the autopsy findings shows there is nothing to support Smith’s opinion, the court was told on Wednesday.
Instead, the evidence suggests Dustin died of natural causes, likely pneumonia, the same conclusion reached by the neuropathologist who performed the autopsy before Smith arrived on the scene.
It was, said Justice Marc Rosenberg, a “miscarriage of justice.”
“It lifts a great weight off my shoulder,” Brant, 38, said Wednesday. “This just destroyed me.”
Brant said after serving a six-month jail sentence, he was shunned by neighbours on the Tyendinaga reserve, near Belleville.
The experience shattered his relationship with Farrell, despite her belief in his innocence. He moved to Montreal with a new girlfriend, then to Moncton to start a new life.
Brant said he felt pressured to accept the Crown’s offer to plead guilty to a reduced charge. His trial lawyer informed him Smith’s opinions were considered unassailable and he could get up to 15 years in prison if convicted of manslaughter at a trial.
That was the choice facing many parents who were victims of Smith’s mistakes, James Lockyer, Brant’s appeal lawyer, told the court.
A review by the Office of the Chief Coroner found Smith botched 20 child autopsies. Prior to a 2008 public inquiry into the debacle, four people had charges withdrawn or were otherwise exonerated. Since the inquiry, convictions have been quashed in five cases. Others are before the courts.
Brant said learning Smith had been proven wrong in his case left him angry, happy and confused about how such a highly-regarded “professional” could mess up so badly.
“That’s not a little wee mistake,” he said Wednesday. “That’s a life mistake. It (pertains) to lives he’s destroyed.”"
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The story can be found at:
http://www.thestar.com/news/ontario/charlessmith/article/985447--18-years-later-dead-infant-s-father-finally-exonerated
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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 found 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;
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