PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Of course it is extraordinarily disappointing that the Court of Appeals has decided not to permit Lacey to file an appeal. We feel very strongly that if the Court of Appeals had permitted the appeal and reviewed the full merits of the case and the law, that Lacey's conviction would have to be reversed. At this juncture, all of Lacey's legal remedies will be explored, including appealing to the federal court."
Defence lawyers Stephen Riebling and David Sachs;
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STORY: "Lacey Spears' murder conviction appeal hearing is denied by New York's highest court," by reporter Jonathan Bandler, published by Lohud.com on January 22, 2018.
STORY: "New
York's highest court has declined to hear the appeal of Lacey Spears,
who was convicted of murdering her 5-year-old son, Garnett, by poisoning
him with salt. Spears' lawyers wanted the Court of Appeals to take the case after a state appellate
court in October upheld the conviction. It is extremely rare for the
court to accept such appeals — in 2016, it did so less than 2 percent of
the time — and no reason was given for last week's decision.......Spears was sentenced to 20 years to life
in prison in 2015 after a jury convicted her of second-degree murder
under the theory that she showed a depraved indifference to Garnett's
life. She is incarcerated in the state's prison for women in Bedford
Hills. The
Appellate Division, 2nd Department, three months ago found that Spears'
sentence was not excessive and that, while the trial judge mistakenly
allowed a Wikipedia article about hypernatremia into evidence without
authentication, it was a "harmless" error. "Of
course it is extraordinarily disappointing that the Court of Appeals
has decided not to permit Lacey to file an appeal," her lawyers, Stephen
Riebling and David Sachs, said in a statement Monday. "We feel very
strongly that if the Court of Appeals had permitted the appeal and
reviewed the full merits of the case and the law, that Lacey's
conviction would have to be reversed. At this juncture, all of Lacey's
legal remedies will be explored, including appealing to the federal
court." Garnett Spears lived with his mother in
Chestnut Ridge. He died Jan. 23, 2014, of hypernatremia, or elevated
sodium levels that caused his brain to swell. He had been airlifted to
Westchester Medical Center four days earlier from Nyack Hospital after
elevated sodium levels were discovered and he was no longer breathing on
his own. His
mother had taken him to Nyack Hospital claiming he had been suffering
seizures, the latest in a myriad of medical problems that she posted
about on social media. A video camera installed to
record the physical symptoms of seizures showed her twice taking her son
to the bathroom with a cup and his feeding tube. After each visit,
Garnett suffered headaches and diarrhea and a blood test showed the
elevated levels of sodium. Prosecutors contended that Spears had often sickened her son to satisfy her own need for attention."
The entire story can be found at:
https://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/rockland/ramapo/2018/01/22/lacey-spears-murder-conviction-appeal-denied/1054263001/PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. 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/c
