Karrissa Cox and Richard Carter: U.K. Why are some parents still unfairly losing their children to adoption? "...if anything, the difficulty parents confront in proving their innocence is greater than a decade ago – and on two counts. First, it has become considerably harder to obtain legal aid. And second, the medical experts whose scientific investigations challenge the current assumption that certain patterns of head injury and bony fractures are “characteristic” of child abuse have been vexatiously accused of providing misleading evidence in the courts. They include Dr Waney Squier of Oxford University, whose testimony in the past has contributed to the exoneration of many couples just like Karrissa Cox and Richard Carter." Dr. James Le Fanu. The Telegraph;

COMMENTARY: "Why are some parents still unfairly losing their children to adoption?" by Dr. James Le Fanu, published by The Telgraph on Octoner 19, 2015.

GIST: "Just over 10 years ago, Cassandra Jardine in an article in this newspaper (“Children are taken away but the system won’t admit it’s wrong”) described how local councils were achieving their adoption “targets” by forcibly removing children from parents convicted, on the basis of disputed medical theories, of having deliberately caused their injuries. “The pain these parents suffer is hard to overestimate” she wrote. These sentiments were echoed last week by Karrissa Cox and Richard Carter, who lost their child to adoption in the family courts only to be subsequently exonerated in the criminal courts. .. It would be good to think there would by now be a greater awareness of the potential for this type of miscarriage of  justice in the family courts but, if anything, the difficulty parents confront in proving their innocence is greater than a  decade ago – and on two counts.  First, it has become considerably harder to obtain legal aid. And second, the medical experts whose scientific investigations challenge the current assumption that certain patterns of head injury and bony fractures are “characteristic” of  child abuse have been vexatiously accused of providing misleading evidence in the courts. They include Dr Waney Squier of Oxford University, whose testimony in the past has contributed to the exoneration of many couples just like Karrissa Cox and Richard Carter.  There is no difficulty in imagining what the late Cassandra Jardine would make of this grievous situation.

The entire commentary can be found at:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/wellbeing/health-advice/parents-adoption-children-courts-family-james-le-fanu/



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