"IT IS HARD TO IMAGINE A SCENARIO THAT COULD BE ANY MORE INHUMANE "BUT THERE'S MORE."
"THIS WEEK'S ACQUITTAL IS ONE THING AND, BY SHERRET-ROBINSON'S OWN ADMISSION, IT MEANS A LOT, BUT SOMEHOW, GIVEN THE VICIOUSNESS AND THE RAMIFICATIONS OF THAT DOCTOR'S CAVALIER TESTIMONY, ONE FEELS THAT IT FALLS WELL SHORT OF WHAT COULD BE CONSIDERED FAIR AND REASONABLE."
JOHN KASTNER; THE TORONTO SUN; THE CHARLES SMITH BLOG: DECEMBER 16, 2009;
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PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I recently reported that Sherry Sherret has received a $450,000 settlement for the nightmare she was put through by by the former Doctor Charles Smith, the police, prosecutors and the Court - and I indicated that I find the settlement grossly inadequate. To help our readers make up their own minds I am running a retrospective of posts previously published on this Blog on Sherry Sherret's case. Our readers are invited to send their comments on the settlement to me at: hlevy15@gmail.com for possible inclusion on the site.
HAROLD LEVY; PUBLISHER; THE CHARLES SMITH BLOG.
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"There is no relationship greater than that between mother and child, so one can hardly imagine the anguish that exists in the heart of a mother who has to bury her infant," John Kastner's Toronto Sun column begins under the heading "Sherret-Robinson case a miscarriage of justice."
"Accusing the mother of being responsible for that death, when she was not, is unspeakable cruelty," the column continues.
"When those allegations come from a respected member of the medical community it is beyond challenge and reproach and an innocent person who is already grieving the death of her child is left to swing in the wind.
It is hard to imagine a scenario that could be any more inhumane, but there's more.
The grieving mother is sent to trial and wrongfully convicted of a crime she did not commit based on the flawed and, one might even say, spiteful testimony of a doctor. She is then sentenced to prison.
And if that is not enough the mother had another child taken away, a child she has never seen again.
This callous scenario unfolded 10 years ago and it was only this week that Sherry Sherret-Robinson has the backing of the courts when she tells people she does not deserve to be called a baby killer.
Sherret-Robinson has been saying that for 10 years, ever since the death of her four-month-old baby, Joshua. But she was sent to jail largely because of false testimony from pathologist Dr. Charles Smith, then considered to be one of the top doctors in that field and a very helpful witness for Crown attorneys.
But the man considered to be an expert is now an ashamed and disgraced person who is being held responsible not only for sending Sherret-Robinson to jail for a year, but others as well.
This week's acquittal is one thing and, by Sherret-Robinson's own admission, it means a lot, but somehow, given the viciousness and the ramifications of that doctor's cavalier testimony, one feels that it falls well short of what could be considered fair and reasonable.
Given the litigous nature of our society, it seems odd, almost refreshing, that Sherret-Robinson does not plan to sue or write a book, but one is still left with the feeling that something else should happen.
She has lost 10 years of her life and another child, she had to fight the heinous of all allegations, that she had killed her child."
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The post can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2009/12/sherry-kassner-critical-comment.html
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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;
