"Toronto Star reporter Theresa Boyle reported that Sherry Sherret's son was one of at least 17 children whose lives were thrown into chaos as a result of the death of a sibling as a result of former Dr. Charles Smith's "mistakes." But I am wondering how many other cases there are within Ontario's criminal justice system - and within the province's family law system where it is not unknown for children to have been seized from their children on false accusations - where the State should make just compensation to the wronged parent. Could that not have been in the prosecutor's minds when they worked Sherry Sherret's file?"
HAROLD LEVY; PUBLISHER; THE CHARLES SMITH BLOG;
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PUBLISHER'S VIEW: In a recent post I described the $450,00 0settlement accepted by Sherry Sherret as grossly inadequate. Here's why. My ultimate concern is that Society owes a parent much more than that when it wrongfully charges that parent with murdering a child with the result that the child's siblings are removed from their homes, severed from their family, put up for adoption by another family and then lost to the natural parents and the rest of the family forever. Since Ms. Sherret had to be significantly compensated for the wrongful prosecution and the horrific year she spent in prison as her child's killer, it strikes me that only a small fraction of the $450,000 would have been paid to her for the permanent seizure of her child by the State. My gut feeling is that the government officials in their anonymous offices are occupied with the precedential effects of their decisions - rather than with justice in the individual case. Toronto Star reporter Theresa Boyle reported that Sherry Sherret's son was one of at least 17 children whose lives were thrown into chaos as a result of the death of a sibling as a result of former Dr. Charles Smith's "mistakes." But I am wondering how many other cases there are within Ontario's criminal justice system - and within the province's family law system where it is not unknown for children to have been seized from their children on false accusations - where the State should make just compensation to the wronged parent. Could that not have been in the prosecutor's minds when they worked Sherry Sherret's file? I am also wondering whether the years in which Ms. Sherret was kept in near poverty while the justice system worked at a snail's pace to sort out the aftermath of its errors did not force her - and possibly other victims of Smith's to take a grossly inadequate settlement in order to finally pay off their weighty debts, purchase a home, and finally have the opportunity to invest in her family's future - rather than struggling just to stay physically and emotionally alive. Moreover, on a collective basis, because of the secrecy of the ad hoc negotiation process, there can be no confidence that the compensation made to Smith's victims truly compensates for their loss and addresses the government's misconduct.
HAROLD LEVY; PUBLISHER; THE CHARLES SMITH BLOG;
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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;
