"So why do these mothers, these parents haunt me so? Because as author and historian Charlotte Gray wrote:
"Becoming a mother makes you the mother of all children. From now on each wounded, abandoned, frightened child is yours. You live in the suffering mothers of every race and creed and weep with them. You long to comfort all who are desolate.""
LETTER; MY KAWARTHA;
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BACKGROUND: In february, 2011, The Ontario Court of Appeal quashed the murder conviction of the Toronto mother who was imprisoned for life on the basis of flawed testimony from pathologist Charles Smith. “We recognize this has been a terrible ordeal for you and it’s tragic it has taken so long to uncover the flawed pathology that led to your conviction in 1995,”Justice Marc Rosenberg told Tammy Marquardt Thursday morning. “We agree … there was a miscarriage of justice,” Rosenberg said on behalf of a three-judge panel. The 38-year-old Scarborough native spent nearly 14 years in prison after being convicted of murdering her 2-year-old son, Kenneth Wynne. While other victims of Smith’s mistakes have since been acquitted, Marquardt’s “dilemma” is that fresh evidence in her case only allows a court to go as far as ordering a new trial, Lockyer told the court. The evidence is still ambiguous about how the child died but strongly suggests he died as a result of an epileptic seizure, Lockyer said. In his short life, Kenneth had suffered from asthma and pneumonia and had been treated for seizures eight times. Smith opined the cause of death was asphyxia, likely the result of smothering or suffocation. That remains a possibility, given an absence of hard evidence about why Kenneth died, the appeal court was told on Thursday. At the same time, two neurologists from the Hospital for Sick Children who independently examined the boy’s medical records found his demise was consistent with a sudden unexplained death from epileptic seizure. While three-judge panel set aside Marquardt’s conviction, the Crown has not indicated whether it intends to proceed with a new trial. The court, meanwhile, extended Marquardt’s bail. The appeal court decision came after forensic experts reviewed the conclusions of the former pediatric pathology superstar and found them illogical and “completely” unscientific. Smith’s evidence dovetailed with the Crown’s theory at the time, that Marquardt had suffocated Kenneth in a moment of anger and frustration. But he was wrong in supporting the Crown’s theory and his testimony denied the jury the option of concluding the child had instead died as a result of a seizure, Crown counsel Gillian Roberts told the court. Marquardt said she found him twisted up in bed sheets and obviously distressed. He was taken to hospital, but died three days later, after being taken off life support. Nearly two years ago, Marquardt was released on bail. She had been incarcerated in the Grand Valley women’s prison in Kitchener. Kenneth died 17 years ago, in October, 1993. Her other sons, who she named Keith and Eric live somewhere in Canada, but never had further contact with their mother.
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PUBLISHER'S NOTE; The recent attention to Tammy Marqhardt's ordeal in Ontario's criminal justice system as a result of the insidious role played by disgraced pathologist Dr. Charles Smith got many people thinking about Smiths all too many other victims. I was very moved by the following letter published on June 8, 2011, in My Kawartha under the heading, "One Honest Mom."
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"How do you say "sorry"for this?," the letter, the letter which refers specifically to the Brenda Waudby case, begins
"I cannot imagine what it is like to stand accused, on trial for murdering your child. Add to that the fact that you know you are innocent and are powerless to fight the accusations," the letter continues.
"If you are like any one of the 20 parents wrongfully convicted for killing their children, caught up in the findings of Dr. Charles Smith (disgraced former Ontario Coroner), then this is an all too real nightmare.
Many of these parents (mostly mothers) served actual jail time for crimes that they did not commit.
To not only deal with the loss of a child, but to be so victimized and vilified, is tragic.
I am stunned by the number of families destroyed by Dr. Smith's findings. These are families that have been torn apart and separated, not once, but twice.
And, to add insult to injury, the system that allowed Dr. Smith to continue his "witchhunt" refused to actually apologize. Although, how do you really apologize for this, for those lost years, for those broken relationships?
I am also shocked that although Dr. Smith has lost his medical license, no criminal charges have been brought against him.
In fact, one local Peterborough mother, Brenda Waudby, has returned to the courts to seek to have her name cleared of the death of her daughter, after Dr. Smith's testimony helped convict her.
So why do these mothers, these parents haunt me so? Because as author and historian Charlotte Gray wrote:
"Becoming a mother makes you the mother of all children. From now on each wounded, abandoned, frightened child is yours. You live in the suffering mothers of every race and creed and weep with them. You long to comfort all who are desolate."
These mothers have suffered long enough. It is time for someone to step up and demand justice for them and for their families, so bereft because of the judgement of this one man and the system that supported him."
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The letter can be found at:
http://www.mykawartha.com/blog/post/1023819--how-do-you-say-sorry-for-this
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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
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;
