STORY: Lacey Spears trial: Did a suburban mom kill her five year old boy?, published by CBC News Crimesider staff on February 13, 2015.
GIST: In opening arguments on Feb. 3, 2015, defense attorney Steven Reibling told the jurors -- many of whom have children -- that it's okay to grieve for Garnett, to shed tears, to feel anger and frustration, that's what makes us human...but he also asked the jury to separate emotions from rational thinking and listen to the facts. He argued that Lacey Spears is a loving and devoted mother who did everything she could to find care and treatment for her sick son -- took him to the doctor, to the hospital, and researched on the internet items including the effects of "too much sodium on a child" and "impact of high magnesium level"... "what does high sugar mean for a child" and "Can high magnesium, sugar, and salt cause seizures?" She did everything you would expect a loving mother to do, he argued. Reibling asked the jury to focus on the facts of the last few days, hours and minutes of Garnett's life. He told the jury there's no forensic evidence, no eyewitnesses, and no motive or Lacey Spears to kill her child.And he said the boy died because Nyack Hospital didn't have the expertise to manage his care, and didn't look at a number of other issues that could have explained some of his symptoms. The prosecution, in opening arguments on February 2, told jurors Lacey Spears is not an innocent mother, but a cold, calculating child killer, no longer the mother of Garnett but the murderer of Garnett. Garnett was a child with special needs, and diagnosed at 9 months with failure to thrive, doctors placed a gastric tube in his abdomen and performed a surgical nissan fundoplication to stop him from regurgitating his food. He reportedly had many issues -- 23 hospitalizations in his short life alone. The prosecution suggests, however, that Garnett didn't need the gastric tube any longer, but rather his mother did -- to use as a weapon to introduce salt into his body to intentionally poison him."
The entire story can be found at:
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/lacey-spears-trial-did-a-suburban-mom-kill-her-five-year-old-boy/
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.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;
