PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Judge Samuel Cappas listened to arguments from Woodworth's attorney Harold Hagberg and Lake County Supervisory Deputy Prosecutor Eric Randall about Woodworth's motion to correct errors. However, the judge ultimately set aside Woodworth's conviction on the neglect count on his own motion. Cappas said Hagberg provided ineffective counsel at trial and concluded it would be an manifest injustice to sentence. Woodworth to a minimum of 20 years in prison on evidence presented at trial showing she waited less than 10 minutes to call for an ambulance after Maci became unresponsive. The judge said he was not reweighing the evidence. Cappas said Hagberg was clearly an experienced trial attorney, but asked if he had ever tried a criminal case before. Hagberg said Woodworth's case was his first criminal trial."
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STORY: "Judge sets aside babysitter's conviction, by Reporter Sarah Reese, published by The NWI Times on September 27, 2022.
GIST: "A Lake Criminal Court judge set aside a jury's verdict Tuesday in a case against a babysitter charged in connection with the death of her former friend's 8-month-old daughter in 2016.
Trisha Woodworth, 32, of Calumet Township, was convicted in July of a felony count of neglect of a dependent but acquitted of two felony counts of battery in the death of Maci Moor.
Judge Samuel Cappas listened to arguments from Woodworth's attorney Harold Hagberg and Lake County Supervisory Deputy Prosecutor Eric Randall about Woodworth's motion to correct errors.
However, the judge ultimately set aside Woodworth's conviction on the neglect count on his own motion.
Cappas said Hagberg provided ineffective counsel at trial and concluded it would be an manifest injustice to sentence
Woodworth to a minimum of 20 years in prison on evidence presented at trial showing she waited less than 10 minutes to call for an ambulance after Maci became unresponsive. The judge said he was not reweighing the evidence.
Cappas said Hagberg was clearly an experienced trial attorney, but asked if he had ever tried a criminal case before. Hagberg said Woodworth's case was his first criminal trial.
Hagberg never put any proposed plea offers on the record ahead of trial, and he didn't address the facts related to the neglect count in his closing arguments, Cappas said.
Randall said Hagberg was assisted by attorney Andreas Kyres and others from the Alvarez Law Office, all of whom are experienced criminal defense attorneys.
He objected to Woodworth's release on her own recognizance, arguing she could be a flight risk, he said.
Cappas said Woodworth has appeared in court while on bond for years and was not a flight risk. He granted Kyres' request to release Woodworth.
Woodworth was expected to receive a new trial on one count of neglect of a dependent, a level 1 felony.
Prosecutors planned to consult with the Indiana attorney general's office about a possible appeal of Cappas' decision to set aside the July verdict, Randall said.
Cappas said both parties made logical arguments, and there were two different theories about what caused Maci's death.
The state's medical experts testified Maci died from shaken baby syndrome and likely suffered an injuries shortly before she became unconcious.
Defense experts testified Maci likely suffered a stroke while in Woodworth's care April 15, 2016, as a result of a blood clot that formed after she fell April 11, 2016, at her parent's home while playing with a "jump-a-roo" toy.
Hagberg said jurors' decision to acquit Woodworth of the battery counts showed the state didn't prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Woodworth caused the injury that resulted in Maci's death.
Randall said the jury had already weighed the credibility of evidence at trial, and it wasn't clear if they believed testimony from Woodworth's relatives about events the day Maci became unresponsive.
"Despite the acquittal, I believe the jury believed there was an injury that day," Randall said.
Evidence was presented that Maci's injury was inflicted, he said.
"They don't like it, but it was a reasonable verdict," he said.
Cappas appeared to agree with Hagberg's interpretation of the evidence.
Woodworth and her family members applied cold compresses to Maci and took her outside for fresh air in the minutes before calling 911, he said.
"I think those are reasonable actions to take," he said.
In many neglect cases, the caregiver waits hours before seeking medical attention after a child is injured. Woodworth's case was different, he said.
"So now I'm left with sentencing a woman to between 20 and 40 years in prison for arguably a nine-minute delay in calling the ambulance," he said."
The entire story can be read at:
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resurce. 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;
SEE BREAKDOWN OF SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG, AT THE LINK BELOW: HL:
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985
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;
