STORY: "Full Court Press: State’s high court to weigh future of shaken-baby cases," by reporter Bob McGovern, published by the Boston Herald on December 5, 2015.
PHOTO CAPTION: "Long ordeal: Irish nanny Aisling Brady McCarthy spent more than two years behind bars before her shaken-baby case was tossed."
GIST: "Shaken-baby
syndrome, a controversial diagnosis that has put parents and caretakers
like Irish nanny Aisling Brady McCarthy behind bars for years, is under
attack in Massachusetts — and now the state’s highest court will
consider two cases that hinge on the validity of the science. Derick
Epps and Oswelt Millien, convicted of assault and battery on a child
causing substantial bodily injury, will have their cases heard by the
Supreme Judicial Court on Monday. They are asking for new trials based
on evidence that calls into question whether shaken-baby syndrome is a
scientifically sound diagnosis. “It’s an important issue and one
that courts and everyone involved in the law need to be careful of,”
said Matt Segal, legal director of the Massachusetts chapter of the
American Civil Liberties Union, which is backing the appeal. “When a
child is killed, it’s a horrible crime. But the issue is: Is the
scientific evidence supporting what the prosecution is arguing?” The
SJC in August asked for briefs from those who may have an interest in
the intersection of criminal law and shaken-baby syndrome. Concerned
Physician and Scientists, the Innocence Network, the Massachusetts
Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the Committee for Public
Counsel Services are also supporting the defendants. To date, no
groups have aligned with district attorneys in Middlesex and Essex
counties, whose offices are fighting to uphold the convictions. Both
offices declined to comment, citing the pending case. In their
brief, Middlesex prosecutors said “the jury’s conclusion was more than
reasonable and possible” in Millien’s case. Essex prosecutors wrote that
an expert, who had been barred from testifying against shaken-baby
syndrome in Epps’ case, “was not credible.” The groups attacking
shaken-baby syndrome say they aren’t trying to save those who would harm
or kill kids. Instead, they see using the diagnosis to obtain
convictions as a gross miscarriage of justice. The best argument
against the shaken-baby diagnosis is McCarthy, the Irish nanny who sat
behind bars for more than two years while facing first-degree murder
charges that were eventually dropped by Middlesex prosecutors this year.
Marian T. Ryan’s office also dropped charges against Geoffrey Wilson,
an MIT employee accused of killing his own son. In both cases the medical examiner’s office,
after looking at the family medical history, could no longer stand by
its determination that the manner of death was homicide."
The entire story can be found at:
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;
