PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "The ruling stemmed from the August 2008 death of a girl who suffered from swelling in her brain. Spurgeon, who cared for the child, was initially charged with first-degree murder before being convicted of manslaughter. The child, whose name was not included in the appeals-court ruling, did not show any external signs of injury. But prosecutors alleged that the brain swelling stemmed from the child being thrown repeatedly against a soft surface, such as a mattress. Spurgeon’s attorney, who also was not named in the ruling, defended her by refuting a theory that the child died after being shaken — a theory that prosecutors did not rely on at trial — instead of focusing on the allegations that the girl was thrown against a soft surface. The appeals court, in an 11-page ruling, pointed to questions about the feasibility of the prosecutors’ arguments about how the child suffered the brain swelling. “Trial counsel’s failure to adequately investigate and present evidence refuting the actual theory presented by the state undermines confidence in the outcome of this case,” said the ruling, written by Judge Anthony Black and joined by judges Stevan Northcutt and Andrea Teves Smith. “The testimony of a biomechanics expert regarding the infeasibility of the soft-impact theory could have created reasonable doubt in the minds of the jurors.""
STORY: "New Trial Ordered in 2008 Child Death," Florida News Service, published by FlaglerLive on July 10, 2020.
GIST: Nearly a dozen years after the death of a 1-year-old girl, a state appeals court Friday ordered a new trial for a child-care provider who was convicted of manslaughter in the case. A three-judge panel of the 2nd District Court of Appeal found that an attorney did not properly represent child-care provider Stephanie Spurgeon, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison in the Pinellas County case. The ruling stemmed from the August 2008 death of a girl who suffered from swelling in her brain. Spurgeon, who cared for the child, was initially charged with first-degree murder before being convicted of manslaughter. The child, whose name was not included in the appeals-court ruling, did not show any external signs of injury. But prosecutors alleged that the brain swelling stemmed from the child being thrown repeatedly against a soft surface, such as a mattress. Spurgeon’s attorney, who also was not named in the ruling, defended her by refuting a theory that the child died after being shaken — a theory that prosecutors did not rely on at trial — instead of focusing on the allegations that the girl was thrown against a soft surface. The appeals court, in an 11-page ruling, pointed to questions about the feasibility of the prosecutors’ arguments about how the child suffered the brain swelling. “Trial counsel’s failure to adequately investigate and present evidence refuting the actual theory presented by the state undermines confidence in the outcome of this case,” said the ruling, written by Judge Anthony Black and joined by judges Stevan Northcutt and Andrea Teves Smith. “The testimony of a biomechanics expert regarding the infeasibility of the soft-impact theory could have created reasonable doubt in the minds of the jurors.” Spurgeon, now 49, was sentenced in 2012 and is an inmate at Hernando Correctional Institution, according to the Florida Department of Corrections website."
The entire story can be read at:
https://flaglerlive.com/155467/new-trial-ordered-in-2008-child-death/
See previous post of this Blog: January 25, 2018 at the site below, headed:
https://smithforensic.blogspot.com/search?q=%22stephanie+spurgeon%22
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See previous post of this Blog: January 25, 2018 at the site below, headed:
Stephanie Spurgeon: Florida: A decade after baby’s death, she is attempting to prove her innocence, The Tampa Bay Times reports..."In 2008 she was convicted in the death of a toddler under her care who died from a brain hemorrhage that doctors said was inflicted by abuse. But the Innocence Project of Florida has challenged her conviction, saying new scientific studies show illness and other factors can also cause brain trauma in children, and not just abuse." ..."In his opening statements, Innocence Project of Florida director Seth Miller said that Spurgeon’s trial lawyer, Ronald Kurpiers, failed to present evidence that could have resulted in an acquittal. Medical tests taken of Maria while she was hospitalized, Miller explained, showed that "she had a number of tell-tale signs of an undiagnosed diabetic crisis." Her blood glucose was more than four times the normal level and she had developed a blood clot in a vein at the top of her skull. Dr. Michael Laposata, a pathologist who specializes in blood disorders, also testified that the clot formed about ten days before Maria was hospitalized. There was also no bruising on her scalp that could have indicated abuse. "It was clear there’s a likely misdiagnosis in the case," Laposata said. "In child abuse disorders, in my experience, there is more emotion in making a diagnosis than there is in other areas."
https://smithforensic.blogspot.com/search?q=%22stephanie+spurgeon%22
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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;
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FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
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