PUBLISHER'S NOTE: A very perplexing case: It's not every day that a judge reduces a jury's murder conviction punishable by life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after 15 years to involuntary manslaughter with no mandatory term of imprisonment and state guidelines calling for no more than five years in prison - expecially a case involving the death of a baby. The judge noted that there was a clash in the evidence given by experts called by the defence and the prosecution as is so common in shaken baby syndrome cases, as follows: "(Justice) Fishman denied a defense motion to overturn the conviction and acquit Macharla. Fishman agreed there was no evidence that Macharla intended to hurt the child, noting that she gave the baby mouth-to-mouth resuscitation when she stopped breathing. “It appears that the defendant had no history of abusive behavior toward children in the past but rather was a patient, considerate, and loving caretaker of children,” he wrote. “There is, however, a child who has tragically died, coupled with evidence of extraordinary internal injuries that some experts would attribute to abusive head trauma in the form of a shaking and/or a blow.” Fishman’s decision followed competing motions from prosecutors and the defense over the verdict. The defense said the verdict should be overturned in part because medical experts agreed the bleeding in the child’s brain was due to a prolonged period without oxygen. The defense also cited the testimony of biomechanical engineers, who disputed that a person has the strength to shake an infant with enough force to cause bleeding inside the brain and retinal hemorrhaging." The decision to reduce th3e murder conviction is the subject of the first story of this post's duo. The second story (dated October 11) sets out the decision to re-sentence Ms. Macharla to serve three to three and a half years in prison. The guts of the story: "Macharla also spoke. “Your honor, I loved Ridhima so much, dearly as I loved my daughter and did not cause any harm to her,” she said. The court was filled with members of Marcharla’s family and the family of the six-month-old victim, Ridhima Dhekane.
Ridhima had been under Macharla’s care back in March of 2014 when she died. Prosecutors said an autopsy revealed the baby died from blunt force trauma and shaking injuries to the head. Marcharla did not call 911. Macharla said she was babysitting Ridhima in her Burlington home when the infant choked on chunky homemade applesauce, vomited and stopped breathing. “She is good and innocent she does not deserve to be in the jail,” one of Marcharla’s supporters said outside court." (As I said above, I find this to be a perplexing story. Very perplexing indeed. I wish her and her counsel best of luck on the appeal. HL);
FIRST STORY: August 26, 2019. Reduced sentence from murder to involuntary manslaughter.)
QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Fishman said in his 16 years on the bench, he had never reduced a verdict in any criminal case. “There is no doubt that the jury . . . was a serious and attentive group,” he wrote. ‘Nevertheless . . . this court is acutely aware of its responsibility to exercise the judgment to reduce the verdict in those rare instances when the verdict rendered is not consonant with justice.”
PASSAGE ONE OF THE DAY: "At trial, prosecutors said Macharla, who was a medical doctor in her native India, became frustrated when the baby began fussing and shook her so violently her brain bled. Macharla, who testified in her own defense, said the baby had vomited shortly after she fed her homemade applesauce and then stopped breathing. Fishman’s decision is the latest in a series of setbacks for state prosecutors who have had convictions in shaken baby cases overturned by higher courts or had to drop murder charges after medical examiners reversed their rulings on the cause of a baby’s death. The ruling means Macharla, who was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 15 years, will likely serve no more than five years. Involuntary manslaughter carries no minimum mandatory sentence and a maximum sentence of 20 years, but the state’s sentencing guidelines call for no more than five years in prison."
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PASSAGE TWO OF THE DAY: "Fishman denied a defense motion to overturn the conviction and acquit Macharla. Fishman agreed there was no evidence that Macharla intended to hurt the child, noting that she gave the baby mouth-to-mouth resuscitation when she stopped breathing. “It appears that the defendant had no history of abusive behavior toward children in the past but rather was a patient, considerate, and loving caretaker of children,” he wrote. “There is, however, a child who has tragically died, coupled with evidence of extraordinary internal injuries that some experts would attribute to abusive head trauma in the form of a shaking and/or a blow.” Fishman’s decision followed competing motions from prosecutors and the defense over the verdict. The defense said the verdict should be overturned in part because medical experts agreed the bleeding in the child’s brain was due to a prolonged period without oxygen. The defense also cited the testimony of biomechanical engineers, who disputed that a person has the strength to shake an infant with enough force to cause bleeding inside the brain and retinal hemorrhaging. Doctors for prosecutors were dismissive of this science, Carney argued. “Their responses ranged from disdain to . . . admitting their ignorance on the topic,” Carney wrote in his motion. Prosecutors countered that defense experts “cherry-picked which findings to consider in reaching their opinions, testified beyond their area of specialty . . . and created histories to fit their theory.” By contrast, the doctors who testified for them were currently practicing in the field of pediatric care, they said."
PASSAGE THREE OF THE DAY: "Fishman’s decision had striking similarities to a 1997 ruling by the judge in the case of Louise Woodward, the British nanny who was accused of shaking 8-month-old Matthew Eappen to death. After a jury convicted Woodward, then 18, of second-degree murder, the judge reduced the conviction to involuntary manslaughter and sentenced the au pair to time served — 297 days. That judge also argued that an involuntary manslaughter conviction was more “consonant with justice.” The SJC narrowly upheld the decision in the Woodward case and she returned to England a free woman. She has since married and had a child."
GIST: "A Middlesex Superior Court judge has
reduced the second-degree murder conviction of a baby sitter found
guilty of fatally injuring a 6-month-old baby to involuntary
manslaughter, an unusual decision that underscores how the science
around shaken baby cases continues to divide the criminal justice
system. Judge Kenneth Fishman said that the second-degree murder conviction a jury delivered in May against Pallavi Macharla, a 44-year-old mother of two, was not “consonant with justice.” The four-week trial featured a slew of
medical experts who presented strikingly different theories about what
killed Ridhima Dhekane, whom Macharla was baby-sitting in March 2014 in
the day-care center she ran in her Burlington home. The conflicting findings made it
impossible to justify a second-degree murder conviction, Fishman wrote
in the Aug. 19 decision. “This court cannot permit a
verdict of second-degree murder to stand in the presence of such highly
contested and inconsistent evidence,” Fishman wrote in the 17-page
ruling. At trial, prosecutors said Macharla, who was a medical
doctor in her native India, became frustrated when the baby began
fussing and shook her so violently her brain bled. Macharla, who testified in her own defense, said the baby had vomited shortly after she fed her homemade applesauce and then stopped breathing. Fishman’s decision is the latest in a
series of setbacks for state prosecutors who have had convictions in
shaken baby cases overturned by higher courts or had to drop murder
charges after medical examiners reversed their rulings on the cause of a
baby’s death. The ruling means Macharla, who was
sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 15
years, will likely serve no more than five years. Involuntary
manslaughter carries no minimum mandatory sentence and a maximum
sentence of 20 years, but the state’s sentencing guidelines call for no
more than five years in prison. A new sentencing date has been scheduled for Sept. 27. Prosecutors can appeal Fishman’s
decision to reduce the conviction. Meghan Kelly, a spokeswoman for
Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan, declined to comment on the
decision. “We are still reviewing the decision,” Kelly said. J.W. Carney Jr., Macharla’s defense
lawyer, said he spoke with Macharla’s husband, who said he and his wife
were “very grateful” for the ruling. “A great judge reflects many qualities,
including the courage to prevent an injustice,” Carney said. “Justice
Fishman exemplified that courage in concluding that justice did not
support a verdict of second-degree murder.” Fishman denied a defense motion to overturn the conviction
and acquit Macharla. Fishman agreed there was no evidence that Macharla
intended to hurt the child, noting that she gave the baby mouth-to-mouth resuscitation when she stopped breathing. “It appears that the defendant had no
history of abusive behavior toward children in the past but rather was a
patient, considerate, and loving caretaker of children,” he wrote.
“There is, however, a child who has tragically died, coupled with
evidence of extraordinary internal injuries that some experts would
attribute to abusive head trauma in the form of a shaking and/or a
blow.” Fishman’s decision followed competing
motions from prosecutors and the defense over the verdict. The defense
said the verdict should be overturned in part because medical experts
agreed the bleeding in the child’s brain was due to a prolonged period
without oxygen. The defense also cited the testimony of biomechanical
engineers, who disputed that a person has the strength to shake an
infant with enough force to cause bleeding inside the brain and retinal
hemorrhaging. Doctors for prosecutors were
dismissive of this science, Carney argued. “Their responses ranged from
disdain to . . . admitting their ignorance on the topic,” Carney wrote
in his motion. Prosecutors countered that defense
experts “cherry-picked which findings to consider in reaching their
opinions, testified beyond their area of specialty . . . and created
histories to fit their theory.” By contrast, the doctors who testified
for them were currently practicing in the field of pediatric care, they
said. “Through clinical examination, imaging
and pathology examination, they determined that Ridhima was a victim of
inflicted head trauma that caused her to go into respiratory arrest and
then, consequently, cardiac arrest,” wrote Katharine B. Folger, the
assistant district attorney who prosecuted the case. If prosecutors
appeal the case, it will
go before the state Appeals Court and possibly the Supreme Judicial
Court. The defense could also appeal the ruling and argue for a full
acquittal. Carney said on Monday that it is “premature” to consider that
option. Fishman’s decision had striking similarities to a 1997 ruling by the judge in the case of Louise Woodward,
the British nanny who was accused of shaking 8-month-old Matthew Eappen
to death. After a jury convicted Woodward, then 18, of second-degree
murder, the judge reduced the conviction to involuntary manslaughter and
sentenced the au pair to time served — 297 days. That judge also argued
that an involuntary manslaughter conviction was more “consonant with
justice.” The SJC narrowly upheld the decision in the Woodward case and she returned to England a free woman. She has since married and had a child.
Fishman said in his 16 years on the bench, he had never reduced a
verdict in any criminal case. “There is no doubt that the jury . . .
was a serious and attentive group,” he wrote. ‘Nevertheless . . . this
court is acutely aware of its responsibility to exercise the judgment to
reduce the verdict in those rare instances when the verdict rendered is
not consonant with justice.""
The entire story can be read at:
https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2019/08/26/judge-reduces-baby-sitter-second-degree-murder-conviction-involuntary-manslaughter/qDpPN1mEkodGaOCFQkGQGM/story.html?et_rid=251574599&s_campaign=todaysheadlines:newsletter
SECOND STORY: October 11, 2019: Re-sentencing on the charge of involuntary manslaughter:
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SECOND STORY:
STORY: "Burlington Babysitter Sent To Prison For Infant’s Death," published by CBS on October 11, 2019.
GIST: "The woman convicted in the death of a six-month-old baby she who was babysitting in 2014 was sentenced Friday. Pallavi Macharla will spend three and a half to four years in state prison.
A jury found Macharla guilty of second-degree murder
back in May. She was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility
of parole after 15 years. But
in August, a judge reduced the conviction to an involuntary
manslaughter conviction, provoking another sentencing. In court on
Friday, the judge referenced her lack of criminal history and
reputation. Macharla also spoke. “Your honor, I loved Ridhima so much,
dearly as I
loved my daughter and did not cause any harm to her,” she said. The
court was filled with members of Marcharla’s family and the family of
the six-month-old victim, Ridhima Dhekane. Ridhima had been under
Macharla’s care back in March of 2014 when she
died. Prosecutors said an autopsy revealed the baby died from blunt
force trauma and shaking injuries to the head. Marcharla did not call
911. Macharla said she was babysitting Ridhima in her Burlington home
when
the infant choked on chunky homemade applesauce, vomited and stopped
breathing. “She is good and innocent she does not deserve to be in the
jail,” one of Marcharla’s supporters said outside court. Macharla’s
defense attorney J.W. Carney said because she was
convicted of more than a year behind bars, it is likely Marcharla could
be deported to India. “The sentence was not a harsh one. It was in the
eyes of many people,
lenient. We thought the judge should go down even further for a lower
sentence that would not have impacted Pavalli’s deportation,” Carney
said. He is planning to appeal.""
The entire story can be read at:https://boston.cbslocal.com/2019/10/11/pallavi-macharla-babysitter-convicted-infants-death-sentenced-involuntary-manslaughter/
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/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;
