Bulletin" Jennifer Del Prete: The Medill Justice Project reports that the former day care worker who has been behind bars for almost ten years is about to be released on bond. (A key factor: Medill unearthed an undisclosed letter from a police detective in the case who wrote that the forensic pathologist who performed the infant’s autopsy had significant doubts about whether Del Prete had violently shaken the child in what is known as shaken-baby syndrome or abusive head trauma.)

POST: "Rare" decision by federal judge in shaken baby syndrome case investigated by the Medill Justice Project," by Lauryn Schroeder, published by the Medill Justice Project on April 21, 2014.

SUB-HEADING: "Bond will be set in coming days:  After serving nearly a decade of a 20-year sentence, Jennifer Del Prete is about to be released on bond."

GIST: "A federal judge in Chicago today ordered Jennifer Del Prete be released from prison, granting the former day care worker the freedom she has sought since she was imprisoned nearly a decade ago for a murder she said she didn’t commit. But Del Prete still faces legal challenges in state and federal courts. U.S. District Court Judge Matthew F. Kennelly said Del Prete will be released after posting bond while the courts address her claims, which include that prosecutors withheld evidence pointing to her innocence. That evidence was discovered by The Medill Justice Project.........Del Prete’s attorneys filed a state Brady claim in May 2013 and a federal Brady claim this past February, accusing the state of withholding key evidence. The evidence centered on a 2003 letter written by a police detective in Del Prete’s case, which was discovered by The Medill Justice Project and published as part of its investigation last year. In that letter, Police Commander Kenneth Kroll said the forensic pathologist who performed the infant’s autopsy had significant doubts about whether the day care worker had violently shaken the child in what is known as shaken-baby syndrome or abusive head trauma.........Deborah Tuerkheimer, a professor of law at DePaul University in Chicago who has written extensively about shaken-baby syndrome and the courts, said while it is extremely unusual for a defendant to be released while pursuing a federal habeas corpus petition, she believes the judge’s actions may “set some legal precedent” and “be influential in how other judges look at” shaken-baby syndrome cases."

 

The entire post can be found at:

http://www.medilljusticeproject.org/2014/04/22/del-prete-to-be-released-from-prison/

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/charlessmith

Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
 
http://smithforensic.blogspot.ca/2013/12/the-charles-smith-award-presented-to_28.html
 
I look forward to hearing from readers at:

hlevy15@gmail.com.

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;