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.)
Thursday, July 16, 2015
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);
