Bulletin: Thomas Bennett; Montana; Pathologist with problematic record - after numerous authorities called into question his conclusions that infant deaths were caused by shaken baby syndrome - 'un-appointed' as associate state medical examiner--"In Iowa, a couple was released from prison and exonerated of felony charges in 1998 after a judge found "false or misleading forensic evidence," according to the National Registry of Exonerations, a project of the University of Michigan School of Law. Bennett had declared the death a homicide. Other child cases Bennett deemed homicides also came under fire." Missoulian; (Thanks to Mike Bower of the Forensics in focus (CSIDDS) blog, for bringing this case to our attention; HL);

A forensic pathologist with a problematic record will no longer conduct autopsies for county coroners as an associate medical examiner, according to the Montana Attorney General's Office. Thomas Bennett served as associate medical examiner in Montana since 1998, and appears to be a factor in the resignations of the state's chief medical examiners. Gary Dale resigned in April; Walter Kemp left on July 1, and mentioned Bennett's "un-appointment" in his letter of resignation. Court records show Dale, as head medical examiner, repeatedly asked Bennett to stop conducting autopsies on children. Bennett had left Iowa as chief medical examiner after numerous authorities called into question his conclusions that infant deaths were caused by shaken baby syndrome.......... The former medical examiner had requested Bennett refrain from doing autopsies on children more than a decade ago, when Bennett first began working in Montana, records show. Bennett apparently refused to comply with the head examiner, who is appointed by the attorney general. The Billings doctor continued to do child autopsies through the administrations of four attorneys general.........(Former head medical examiner) Dale declined to answer questions for this story. Kemp was in the middle of a move last week and unavailable for an interview. However, correspondence that is part of a court record shows that Dale repeatedly demanded Bennett refrain from doing autopsies on children. In a letter from 2000, Dale said he had reviewed three deaths Bennett "opined were ... due to 'shaken-slammed baby syndrome.' " "It is my opinion that your continuing to conduct postmortem examinations of unexplained deaths of infants unnecessarily risks both wrongful prosecution of a caretaker and jeopardizes prosecution of the perpetrator if you are to encounter a truly injured child," Dale said in the letter.........Fox said he did not believe any of Bennett's work on children would result in wrongful convictions because Dale and Kemp would have alerted the Attorney General's Office of any such cases. The office did review some cases; officials declined to discuss any findings in detail due to legal constraints. In Iowa, a couple was released from prison and exonerated of felony charges in 1998 after a judge found "false or misleading forensic evidence," according to the National Registry of Exonerations, a project of the University of Michigan School of Law. Bennett had declared the death a homicide. Other child cases Bennett deemed homicides also came under fire. At least two court orders call his actions into question, including a Montana Supreme Court order in a felony assault conviction that cited his "problematic history." (The court was addressing controversy around Bennett as a possible expert witness.)

http://missoulian.com/news/local/forensic-pathologist-will-no-longer-do-work-for-montana-county/article_ca1fd980-d64d-5926-ab14-1de64a62be4d.html