BACKGROUND; (KCCI): June 28, 2023. Reporter Marcus McIntosh: (Cass County Iowa): "A judge handed down a 50-year sentence Wednesday for an Iowa day care provider convicted of killing a baby under her care. In May, a Pottawattamie County jury found Alison Dorsey, 39, guilty in connection to the death of 11-week-old Luka Hodges. Investigators said Luka died from head trauma in October 2019 while under the care of Dorsey in her Massena home. Court records show that on Oct. 7, 2019, Luka wasn't breathing, and Dorsey called 911. The next day a doctor at Children's Hospital in Omaha told investigators that the baby had "severe head injuries."Prosecutors say Dorsey shook Luka, resulting in his death. Dorsey's defense team claimed the injuries happened before Luka was in Dorsey's care, but medical experts debunked that in their testimony in the trial.The jury found Dorsey guilty of second-degree murder and endangering the welfare of the child, resulting in death. Investigators said Luka died from head trauma in October 2019 while under the care of Dorsey in her Massena home."
https://www.kcci.com/article/iowa-day-care-provider-sentenced-in-baby-death/44372291
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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "In the plea agreement, Dorsey admits that on or about October 7, 2019, “I was caring for (the infant) and I picked him up, he was fussy and wouldn’t eat, I rocked him in my arms harder than I should have, I regret that, I unintentionally caused (the infant’s) death.” The charge of Child Endangerment will be dismIssed.
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STORY: "UPdated: Plea Agreement Reached: Alison Dorsey Pleads Guilty to One Charge, by Associate News DirectorMandy Billings, published by Western Iowa Today, on 19, 2026.
GIST: " Cass County): "A plea agreement has been reached in the State of Iowa’s case against Alison Elaine Dorsey, a former daycare provider from Massena. Sentencing is scheduled for February 26, 2026, at 9:30 a.m., canceling a jury trial scheduled to begin on February 24.
According to court documents, Dorsey has pleaded guilty to Involuntary Manslaughter. Attorney Trevor Hook tells KSOM/KS95 News that Dorsey is pleading guilty to one charge: Involuntary Manslaughter. Count Two: Child Endangerment Causing Death, will be dismissed at her sentencing next Thursday (Feb. 26th).
Hook says the plea agreement says “She’ll plead guilty to Count One – a lesser included offense of Involuntary Manslaughter – 5 years (maximum prison term), with credit for all the time she did in prison (about 20 months).” Count Two would be dismissed.
In the plea agreement, Dorsey admits that on or about October 7, 2019, “I was caring for (the infant) and I picked him up, he was fussy and wouldn’t eat, I rocked him in my arms harder than I should have, I regret that, I unintentionally caused (the infant’s) death.” The charge of Child Endangerment will be dismissed at sentencing.
Dorsey’s initial trial in Cass County ended in a hung jury, leading to a second trial in Pottawattamie County.
Dorsey was convicted by a jury in Pottawattamie County District Court in June 2023 in connection with the death of a child under her care in Massena.
Her attorneys argued the venue change was inappropriate, that she was denied the opportunity to present additional character witnesses, and that the court erred in denying her motion for a new trial.
The Iowa Supreme Court affirmed that evidence was sufficient to support Dorsey’s conviction for second-degree murder and child endangerment resulting in death, but found the case had been improperly moved from Cass County to Pottawattamie County.
Because of that venue error, the court ordered a new trial.
Again, the trial scheduled for next week will no longer take place following the plea agreement.'
The entire story can be read at:
https://westerniowatoday.com/2026/02/19/plea-deal-reached-in-alison-dorsey-case/
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.
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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