Tuesday, October 26, 2021

Shaken Baby Syndrome Series: (Part Five): A great opportunity. Instant, free TUBI access to 'The Syndrome' - a much-lauded expose of SBS; A film by Meryl Goldsmith; Research and reporting by investigative reporter Susan Goldsmith (formerly of New York Times, Los Angeles Daily News, and the Oregonian);..."An explosive documentary about doctors, scientists and legal scholars working to overturn convictions and prove Shaken Baby Syndrome does not exist."..(Thanks to TUBI documentary channel for making this important documentary available (and easily accessible) without charge at the link below. HL);


THE FILM: Just click here!

the-syndrome

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'The Syndrome website is  a valuable updated source of information about the on-going battle to undo the harm caused by the Syndrome  - and show that it does not exist.

THE WEBSITE: Just click here!

https://www.thesyndromefilm.com

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THE VILLAGE VOICE REVIEW: Just click link below: 

Village Voice: 'Smartly  reported,' the Syndrome exposes the 'Shaken Baby Syndrome' myth,' by Daphne Howland, published  on April 14, 2016. "Shaken-baby syndrome’ is in the realm of mythology,” says neurosurgeon Ayub Ommaya in archival footage featured in the documentary The Syndrome. Yet it was Ommaya’s research on monkeys in the 1960s upon which law enforcement and a few medical experts built the shaken-baby-syndrome hysteria-industrial complex — a fact he tried to undo before his death. In recent decades, prosecutors have arrested and convicted the parents and caregivers of babies and small children who have suffered from the poorly named condition. The filmmakers, cousins Meryl and Susan Goldsmith, meticulously examine the problems with what is increasingly accepted as a problematic medical diagnosis and a flimsy basis for accusations of child abuse. They expose the issue with depth and breadth; this well-researched investigation is loaded with credible facts and has a workaday, broadcast-newsmagazine feel.  But in describing alternative explanations for why some of these children were injured and even died, the Goldsmiths rely on flashes of information about vitamin-D deficiency that aren’t well explained and could add to the confusion. Doctors and law enforcement seem to be coming to terms with the end of “shaken baby” as a legit diagnosis, but the film makes clear that the problem is by no means over. That’s especially galling when Americans so often struggle to separate ideology from observable fact concerning vaccinations and climate science Compounding the tragedy: In these cases, the gullible followers are police officers and prosecutors with the power to deprive people of their freedom. The Goldsmiths offer suggestions for why some physicians are sticking to their guns: ego? Power? Grant money? In any case, those scientists don’t hesitate to employ circular arguments in rejecting hard evidence from peer-reviewed research. Worse, they’ve gone Orwellian, renaming the syndrome “abusive head trauma” and creating a definition designed to further cloud things for the accused and the convicted — mothers who have never harmed their children."

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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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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;