STORY: "Shirley Ree Smith sentence commuted in shaken baby death," by reporter Juliet Williams for the Associated Press, on April 6, 2012.
GIST: "Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday commuted the sentence of a 52-year-old woman convicted of shaking her baby grandson to death, saying significant doubts surround her conviction. Shirley Ree Smith was tearful with relief at the decision, which followed a lengthy court battle that made its way last year to the U.S. Supreme Court. "I just can't believe this is finally over with," she told the Los Angeles Times ( ) from Alexandria, Minn., where she now lives with her daughter. "Everybody's so excited, but I just can't believe it." Smith, who spent eight years and six months in prison, was relieved that she won't have to resume a possible life sentence in the case that has seen several appeals, said her attorney, Michael J. Brennan. "She's been out of custody since 2006 but has been living with this cloud over her head," he said.........Smith was convicted in December 1997 of shaking her 7-week old grandson, Etzel Dean Glass III, to death. Prosecutors argued that she lost her temper on Nov. 30, 1996, when the baby began to cry in her Van Nuys home. She claimed he fell off the couch and hit his head. An autopsy found a small amount of bleeding on the infant's brain, and the Los Angeles County coroner's office said the child died from violent shaking or a forceful blow to the head. During Smith's trial, experts testified there were various possible explanations for the death, including shaking, sudden infant death syndrome or an old brain injury that re-bled. Three medical experts who reviewed the original evidence in order to help Brown concluded there was room for doubt that she had killed the child."
THE ENTIRE STORY CAN BE FOUND AT:
PUBLISHER'S NOTE:
I am monitoring this case. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments.
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
Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.
