PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Smith’s defense has spent three days now laying the foundation for the testimony of a New York Mount Sinai doctor that claims the infant’s death was caused by “pre-existing conditions resulting from birth injury and other events.” University of Wisconsin Law School Professor Keith Findley spent more than two hours laying out the history of shaken baby syndrome, calling it theory rather than science and expressing concerns that it has given doctors the power to not only diagnose the injury but also the cause. Findley testified, the American Academy of Pediatrics still believes these types of injuries can be from child abuse, but doctors must now rule out other factors, such as falls, seizures, and other medical conditions first. Before shaken baby syndrome, or abusive head trauma, was believed to always be connected with abuse, negating the need for further investigation."
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PASSAGE TWO OF THE DAY: "Almost every expert for the defense has testified they believe the medical community falls prey to confirmation bias when declaring an injury as abuse. Smith’s defense team called Dr. Jeff Kukucka to speak directly to the issue. Kukucka is a psychologist at Townson University in Maryland. Kukucka testified doctors who deem injuries to be child abuse rarely get the information needed to know when they are wrong, creating a self-fulfilling feedback loop."
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PASSAGE THREE OF THE DAY: "The trial established that the child was born prematurely and there were complications during the mother's pregnancy, according to the Court summary, and there was additional evidence that "showed his mother had summoned medical assistance for him due to a concern about breathing problems or a seizure several weeks before he became unresponsive." Smith denied beating his child in any way and that he "never experienced a fall in his presence," and his defense team "suggested that unskillful CPR performed on the child may have caused his various injuries."
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STORY: "Medical experts say science raises question on whether a Georgia father really killed his baby," by Reporter Rebecca Lindstrom, published by 11Alive.com, on April 2, 2024.
SUB-HEADING: "Danyel Smith was convicted of murder in 2003 for the blunt force trauma that killed his 2-month-old baby, Chandler."
GIST: "A series of medical experts and researchers will appear in a Gwinnett County courtroom, testifying a man convicted of killing his baby, may be innocent.
Danyel Smith was convicted of murder in 2003 for the blunt force trauma that killed his 2-month-old baby, Chandler. Since his conviction, Smith’s defense says the science around what is often referred to as shaken baby syndrome, has evolved.
The Georgia Supreme Court ruled Smith should be given a new hearing to determine if the change in science is enough to warrant a new trial.
Smith’s defense has spent three days now laying the foundation for the testimony of a New York Mount Sinai doctor that claims the infant’s death was caused by “pre-existing conditions resulting from birth injury and other events.”
University of Wisconsin Law School Professor Keith Findley spent more than two hours laying out the history of shaken baby syndrome, calling it theory rather than science and expressing concerns that it has given doctors the power to not only diagnose the injury but also the cause.
Findley testified, the American Academy of Pediatrics still believes these types of injuries can be from child abuse, but doctors must now rule out other factors, such as falls, seizures, and other medical conditions first.
Before shaken baby syndrome, or abusive head trauma, was believed to always be connected with abuse, negating the need for further investigation.
Forensic pathologist Dr. Patrick Lance testified retinal hemorrhages, another injury associated with SBS, was treated the same way. But now research recognizes there are other incidents, such a fall, car wrecks, or even a drug overdose, that can cause the injury.
A retinal hemorrhage is bleeding when the tiny blood vessels on the retina’s surface rupture.
Almost every expert for the defense has testified they believe the medical community falls prey to confirmation bias when declaring an injury as abuse.
Smith’s defense team called Dr. Jeff Kukucka to speak directly to the issue. Kukucka is a psychologist at Townson University in Maryland.
Kukucka testified doctors who deem injuries to be child abuse rarely get the information needed to know when they are wrong, creating a self-fulfilling feedback loop.
Smith has now been in prison for more than 20 years. Chandler’s mother supports his conviction.
More about the case
According to the court's summary, Smith's son had a check-up in April 2002 and was "declared to be in good health." Later the same day, however, the mother left the child with Smith to run an errand and, as he was bringing him back to her, the father told her over the phone that the infant wasn't breathing.
"When Smith arrived, the child was limp and cold and had blood running from his nose," the summary states. "The mother called 911 and emergency responders rushed the child to the emergency room. There, a CT scan of the child’s brain revealed a skull fracture and other damage. The child was then diagnosed as a 'shaken baby.' After several days in the hospital without exhibiting any signs of brain function, the child was removed from life support."
The trial established that the child was born prematurely and there were complications during the mother's pregnancy, according to the Court summary, and there was additional evidence that "showed his mother had summoned medical assistance for him due to a concern about breathing problems or a seizure several weeks before he became unresponsive."
Smith denied beating his child in any way and that he "never experienced a fall in his presence," and his defense team "suggested that unskillful CPR performed on the child may have caused his various injuries.""
The entire story can be read at:
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. 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
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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;
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YET ANOTHER FINAL WORD:
David Hammond, one of Broadwater's attorneys who sought his exoneration, told the Syracuse Post-Standard, "Sprinkle some junk science onto a faulty identification, and it's the perfect recipe for a wrongful conviction.
https://deadline.com/2021/11/alice-sebold-lucky-rape-conviction-overturned-anthony-broadwater-12348801
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MORE VALUABLE WORDS: "As a former public defender, Texas' refusal to delay Ivan Cantu's execution to evaluate new evidence is deeply worrying for the state of our legal system. There should be no room for doubt in a death penalty case. The facts surrounding Cantu's execution should haunt all of us."
Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett; X March 1, 2024.
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