PUBLISHER'S NOTE: Some posts are worth repeating; This certainly applies to Phil Lockes's post published on the Wrongful Convictions Blog about a year ago (July 24, 2015) entitled: "Why so many confessions in Shaken Baby cases?" In the past several years there has been considerable attention to the vulnerability of juveniles to aggressive police interrogation as typified by the Reid Technique of investigation, and demonstrated in the Brendan Dassey case (USA) and the Teina Pora case (New Zealand). As Phil Locke points out, parents facing charges in connection with the deaths of their children are also extremely vulnerable to police pressures - especially since they are grieving the deaths of their children. I became aware of this vulnerability during my reporting on many of the cases which led to the independent Goudge Inquiry into many of disgraced former doctor Charles Smith's cases. To my astonishment, in virtually all of the cases I investigated not one of the parents (or caregivers) asked for a lawyer when cautioned by the police that they had the right to counsel - and not one of them refused to be interviewed by the police. This was a huge contrast with most of the clients I represented in my criminal practice facing the nuts and bolts cases of the criminal courts. Most of them shut up when cautioned by the police (if not before) and exercised their right to remain silent. Having to talked to many of Smith's victims, it is apparent to me that they willingly talked to the police without seeking a lawyer's intervention because they were desperate to find out why their baby died, and therefore looked to the police to find answers. They looked to the police for help and comfort. They were bewildered and trying to cope with their grief - and to get on with the mourning process. Little did they know that in the eyes of the police, the last person to be with the deceased was usually the number one suspect; Little did they know that the police would most likely abdicate their investigation function to the decision of the coroner who they presumed to have specialized knowledge of infant mortality which they lacked. Little did they know about the tendency of police to succumb to public pressure to make arrest by rushing to judgment instead of impartially investigating the facts first. Little did they know about "tunnel vision" which would blind the police to the possibility that there were alternative non-criminal causes of death such as an illness or condition. Above all the parents did not know what police tend to do when they do not have any physical evidence of criminal action, intent or motive whatsoever: They try to pressure the suspect to confess - or if the suspect doesn't directly confess, to twist their words - or use the power of suggestion on vulnerable minds - to create the impression - the lie - that he or she has voluntarily confessed to killing the baby. Thanks to Phil Locke and The Wrongful Conviction Blog.
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.
POST: "Why so Many “Confessions” in Shaken Baby Syndrome Cases?" by Phil Locke, published by The Wrongful Convictions Blog on July 24, 2015.
GIST: "In suspected SBS cases, the child abuse pediatricians (CAP’s) and
the police are perfectly willing to coerce a confession out of you, and
they have circumstances on their side, because you are at your most
vulnerable. You are terribly concerned about the condition of your
child, or worse yet, your child has just died. (See our previous post on
child abuse pediatricians here:
The Child Abuse Pediatrician (CAP) – Just Another Term for Medical “Cop”)
We’ve posted about SBS “confessions” before. See
Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) – A CBS Report: Blaming Melissa for the coerced “confession” of Melissa Calusinski. See
Scenes of a Crime – A Documentary of a False Confession and
Blatantly Coerced Confession Results in Conviction Reversal for the coerced “confession” of Adrian Thomas.
Washtenaw Watchdogs (Washtenaw County, MI) has just published an
investigative report article on their website dealing with this very
issue. It’s very powerful. See it
HERE."
The entire post can be found at:
https://wrongfulconvictionsblog.org/2015/07/24/why-so-many-confessions-in-shaken-baby-syndrome-cases/
PUBLISHER'S NOTE:
I am monitoring this case. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments.
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/charlessmith
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html
Please
send any comments or information on other cases and issues of
interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.
