Tonia Miller: Michigan; Shaken Baby Case: (Aftermath 1): Momentous appeal court decision - after almost two decades in prison on conviction of murdering her daughter WNEM reports..."The court on Thursday affirmed a decision by a judge who said Tonia Miller's second-degree murder conviction should be set aside. Defense experts believe Miller’s 11-week-old daughter died in 2001 from pneumonia, not head trauma referred to as shaken baby syndrome. Miller, 37, has been in prison since 2003 and is eligible for parole in 2023. The Calhoun County prosecutor's office has argued that the experts' testimony is merely a different opinion, not a “sea change” in understanding head trauma."

PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Miller said she shook Alicia Duff when the baby gasped for air and stopped breathing while being fed from a bottle. She denied shaking her violently or with an intent to hurt the child. “The trial court did not abuse its discretion by determining that newly discovered evidence merits a new trial in this case,” the appeals court said."

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STORY: "Appeal court OK's new trial for mom in baby's 2001 death," published by WNEM (AP)  on  April 10, 2021.

GIST:  "A Battle Creek woman convicted of her daughter's death nearly 20 years ago has presented enough new evidence to get a second trial, the Michigan Court of Appeals said.

The court on Thursday affirmed a decision by a judge who said Tonia Miller's second-degree murder conviction should be set aside.

Defense experts believe Miller’s 11-week-old daughter died in 2001 from pneumonia, not head trauma referred to as shaken baby syndrome. Miller, 37, has been in prison since 2003 and is eligible for parole in 2023.

The Calhoun County prosecutor's office has argued that the experts' testimony is merely a different opinion, not a “sea change” in understanding head trauma.

Miller said she shook Alicia Duff when the baby gasped for air and stopped breathing while being fed from a bottle. She denied shaking her violently or with an intent to hurt the child.

“The trial court did not abuse its discretion by determining that newly discovered evidence merits a new trial in this case,” the appeals court said.

Miller is represented by the Innocence Clinic at the University of Michigan law school."

The entire story can be read at:

article_3117fb9f-348a-5cb2-8e6c-fb88f3538049.html

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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FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions.   They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they’ve exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!

Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;