PUBLISHER'S VIEW: In the decade I have known Brenda Waudby and have been writing about her case, I have developed an enormous respect for her good humour, intelligence and perseverance in the face of a prosecution which was trying so hard to put her away for life. She fought an addiction. She fought to keep her surviving children from being taken from her by the child welfare authorities. She fought to be cleared of the second-degree murder charge; And when the murder charge was withdrawn she also fought successfully for complete and utter exoneration. Now, 16 years-later she has graduated as a law clerk and wants to use what she has learned through her lengthy ordeal to help others who get drawn into Ontario's criminal justice system. If I were still in criminal law practice I would hire her on the spot. As that is not the case, I sincerely hope that someone else will give her a chance to prove herself.
Harold Levy: Publisher. The Charles Smith Blog.
STORY: "Brenda Waudby moves on 16 years after Charles Smith debacle," by reporter Liam Casey, published by the Toronto Star on September 23, 2013.
SUB-HEADING: "Waudby, wrongfully accused of beating and killing her daughter, recently graduated as a law clerk as she starts a new chapter in her life."
GIST: "Waudby and her lawyer fought to get her exonerated from the child abuse conviction. The Crown insisted Jenna had old rib injuries, indicative of chronic abuse before she died. Their insistence relied on a transcript of the babysitter’s confession that although he made “good solid jabs” to the girl’s stomach, his punches “wouldn’t have been enough force to break ribs.” The Crown’s conclusion: Waudby beat her toddler. But Waudby and her dogged lawyer, Julie Kirkpatrick, knew that wasn’t true. But they couldn’t get their hands on the tape of the confession until she filed an appeal and received the evidence in disclosure. J.D. actually said the exact opposite: his blows “would have had enough force to break ribs.” The court reporter had reported it incorrectly. Waudby’s appeal was finally heard last June, Justice Michelle Fuerst overturned the child abuse conviction, and Crown attorney Alison Wheeler offered a “deep and sincere” apology for the miscarriage of justice.
The entire story can be found at:
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/09/23/brenda_waudby_moves_on_16_years_after_charles_smith_debacle.html
PUBLISHER'S NOTE:
Dear Reader. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following this case.
I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.
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/
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.
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.
STORY: "Brenda Waudby moves on 16 years after Charles Smith debacle," by reporter Liam Casey, published by the Toronto Star on September 23, 2013.
SUB-HEADING: "Waudby, wrongfully accused of beating and killing her daughter, recently graduated as a law clerk as she starts a new chapter in her life."
GIST: "Waudby and her lawyer fought to get her exonerated from the child abuse conviction. The Crown insisted Jenna had old rib injuries, indicative of chronic abuse before she died. Their insistence relied on a transcript of the babysitter’s confession that although he made “good solid jabs” to the girl’s stomach, his punches “wouldn’t have been enough force to break ribs.” The Crown’s conclusion: Waudby beat her toddler. But Waudby and her dogged lawyer, Julie Kirkpatrick, knew that wasn’t true. But they couldn’t get their hands on the tape of the confession until she filed an appeal and received the evidence in disclosure. J.D. actually said the exact opposite: his blows “would have had enough force to break ribs.” The court reporter had reported it incorrectly. Waudby’s appeal was finally heard last June, Justice Michelle Fuerst overturned the child abuse conviction, and Crown attorney Alison Wheeler offered a “deep and sincere” apology for the miscarriage of justice.
In addition to the
typo, Smith had said the rib injuries were chronic in nature. Two other
pathologists completely disagreed with his findings. They concluded there “was no forensic evidence that Jenna was chronically abused by her mother, Brenda Waudby.”"
The entire story can be found at:
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/09/23/brenda_waudby_moves_on_16_years_after_charles_smith_debacle.html
PUBLISHER'S NOTE:
Dear Reader. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following this case.
I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.
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/
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.
Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com
