Dr. Bader Cassin, who performed the autopsy, said his examination revealed a swollen brain and retinal hemorrhages. At trial, he classified the death as shaken baby syndrome. Lemons’ lawyer at that time did not offer an expert to rebut Cassin. But Cassin’s opinion changed in 2017 during an effort to reopen the case in Wayne County court. He said Nakita could have choked on baby formula. He noted that biomechanical scientists had demonstrated that the forces in shaking were insufficient to produce the injury."
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The Innocence Clinic also offered experts, including a biomechanical engineer with experience researching head injuries. Prosecutors had their own experts to back up the shaken baby syndrome theory. A judge and the state appeals court ultimately upheld Lemons’ conviction. The Supreme Court acknowledged that Lemons had made incriminating statements to police about shaking Nakita. But the court said a jury at a new trial might find that the confession was false. “As we have recognized elsewhere, suspects presented with seemingly incontrovertible physical evidence of their guilt may confess falsely to ameliorate their current conditions,” the court said."
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GIST: "The Michigan Supreme Court overturned a 2006 murder conviction in the death of an infant in an appeal that centered on new opinions about so-called shaken baby syndrome.
The court said Chazlee Lemons, who is serving a life prison sentence, deserves a new trial. Her lawyers have lined up scientific experts, and the doctor who performed the autopsy nearly 20 years ago changed his opinion on the manner of Nakita Lemons’ death.
It’s probable that a “jury would have a reasonable doubt” about Lemons’ guilt, the court said Thursday in a 5-2 decision led by Justice Megan Cavanagh.
Lemons was represented by the Innocence Clinic at University of Michigan Law School, which has successfully challenged similar convictions across the state.
The Wayne County prosecutor, Kym Worthy, said her office was disheartened by the court’s decision and will take Lemons to trial again.
“This child went through unspeakable trauma,” Worthy said.
Nakita, who had experienced breathing problems since birth, was a few months old when she died while in Lemons’ care in 2005. The prosecutor charged the parent with first-degree murder, based on autopsy results and her statements to police.
Lemons told police that she shook Nakita three or four times to get her to stop crying, according to a summary of the case.
Dr. Bader Cassin, who performed the autopsy, said his examination revealed a swollen brain and retinal hemorrhages. At trial, he classified the death as shaken baby syndrome. Lemons’ lawyer at that time did not offer an expert to rebut Cassin.
But Cassin’s opinion changed in 2017 during an effort to reopen the case in Wayne County court. He said Nakita could have choked on baby formula. He noted that biomechanical scientists had demonstrated that the forces in shaking were insufficient to produce the injury.
The Innocence Clinic also offered experts, including a biomechanical engineer with experience researching head injuries. Prosecutors had their own experts to back up the shaken baby syndrome theory. A judge and the state appeals court ultimately upheld Lemons’ conviction.
The Supreme Court acknowledged that Lemons had made incriminating statements to police about shaking Nakita. But the court said a jury at a new trial might find that the confession was false.
“As we have recognized elsewhere, suspects presented with seemingly incontrovertible physical evidence of their guilt may confess falsely to ameliorate their current conditions,” the court said.
In dissent, Justice Brian Zahra accused the majority of relying on “extraordinarily suspect evidence” to rule in favor of Lemons and reverse the decisions of a prominent Detroit-area judge. Zahra said there wasn’t scientific evidence to believe the brain injuries were caused by choking on formula.
In a court filing, the American Academy of Pediatrics supported the prosecutor and had urged the Supreme Court not to be swayed by “fringe courtroom science” questioning head injuries."
The entire story can be read at:
https://apnews.com/article/michigan-shaken-baby-syndrome-8451f7296bd892dcbbeb831ced853e11PUBLISHER'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;
