Thursday, November 3, 2011

CHARLES SMITH; THE BELLEVILLE "INTELLIGENCER" ASKS "WHO ALLOWED THIS DISGRACE IN OUR SCHOOL?"


"In the case of the teacher or staff member who let disgraced pathologist Dr. Charles Smith stand before students and address a Grade 11 class at Prince Edward Collegiate Institute last week, we are nearly at a loss for words as to the need for swift, stern and serious discipline for that educator," the editorial continues.

"Smith, of course, is the pathologist once thought to be the most experienced in the field of deaths in infants where causes were difficult to determine.

For 24 years, he worked in the pediatric forensic pathology unit at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children where he conducted more than 1,000 child autopsies.

In October, 2008, a coroner's inquest into 45 of the cases he'd ruled on determined Smith, through his own negligence, resulted in the wrongful arrest and conviction of 13 individuals across Ontario.

Justice Stephen Goudge, who oversaw the inquest into Smith's botched pathology, determined that Smith "actively misled" superiors, "made false and misleading statements" in court and exaggerated his expertise in trials involving the infants.

"Smith lacked basic knowledge about forensic pathology," wrote Goudge in the inquiry report.

This is the man someone — we have not been told who — allowed into a classroom at PECI to speak, reportedly, on the topic of DNA.

A man who was culpable, through his own negligence and hubris, for ruining more than a dozen lives of innocent people in this province was permitted to appear before high school students as an authority on medical science?

What could that teacher or staff member have been thinking? Something to the effect of: 'Well, he was a doctor before all that messy inquiry stuff?'

It boggles the mind.

Admittedly, if they had not been told — and we don't know that they weren't — most students in that classroom may not have known of or even heard of Dr, Smith and his shameful record.

But, that doesn't go for the staff member who let him in the door. We're told Smith had a familial connection with a student there, but a staffer had to make the decision to bring the doctor into the classroom.

For that teacher, he or she should face some serious questioning about what brought about the decision to let this man into one of our schools and follow that up with a suspension without pay, if such a punishment even exists in today's education system.

Frankly, we're not holding our breath on the latter."

The editorial can be found at:

http://www.intelligencer.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3354141

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;