"ALL THE EXPERTS AGREED, OR WERE PREPARED TO CONCEDE, THAT THERE HAD BEEN CASES IN THE PAST IN WHICH THE "TRIAD" OF INJURIES HAD BEEN CAUSED BY ACCIDENTS.
THEY WERE ALSO UNABLE TO EXCLUDE THE MOTHER'S ACCOUNT THAT THE INJURIES WERE CAUSED BY A "SHORT FALL".
THE JUDGE SAID THAT, SINCE THERE WAS A "FUNDAMENTAL CONFLICT OF EXPERT OPINION" ON THE CAUSE OF DEATH AND NO "CLEAR EVIDENCE" TO BACK ONE SIDE OR THE OTHER, HE WOULD HAVE TO DIRECT THE JURY TO ENTER A NOT GUILTY VERDICT."
REPORTER HANNAH WOODERSON; 24DASH.COM;
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"A young mother accused of shaking her eight-month-old son to death walked free from court today after a judge threw out a manslaughter charge against her," reporter Hannah Wooderson's story began, under the heading, "Mother cleared of shaking baby to death."
"The case of Fatima Miah could have implications for similar prosecutions up and down the country, the Old Bailey heard," the story, published on Wednesday July 29, 2009, continued;
"Miah, 27, who has faced two trials over the allegation since her baby Anas died in May 2007, told police that he collapsed after falling off the sofa.
"She has been described in court as a "caring, dutiful wife and a loving mother".
Today Judge Timothy Pontius ordered jurors formally to clear her after he was asked to make a ruling on the conflicting evidence of medical experts about the cause of the child's death.
He said: "It is my firm view that - unusually - there is no evidence upon which this jury could find, to the extent they feel sure, that the expert opinion supporting the prosecution allegation of non-accidental death is to be preferred."
Edward Brown QC, prosecuting, said: "This case has been brought to the attention of the very highest level of the Crown Prosecution Service and we have to consider the nature of the ruling.
"We will have also to decide whether the ruling has any general application because there are cases up and down the country either pending or being heard or which have been heard."
Some lawyers believe the case may have implications for the whole basis upon which scientific evidence is used in "baby-shaking" cases.
Miah, who spent six weeks in custody after her initial arrest but has since been on bail, was hugged by her junior defence barrister, Nerida Harford-Bell, in the dock after the judge made the ruling.
The part-time dentist's receptionist, of White City, west London, was originally charged with murder after the death of her son.
The court heard that at the time her husband Mohammed, 32, was working long hours at KFC in Shepherd's Bush and was unable to help her much but in court she denied that she was under pressure.
On the day Anas died an ambulance was called to the flat and he was found on the floor, not breathing, and his heart stopped for 40 minutes.
Miah faced her first trial at the Old Bailey in November last year but the murder charge was thrown out by a judge and jurors were unable to agree their verdict on the charge of manslaughter.
She denied prosecution claims that she had shaken the boy in a fit of temper, leaving him with the brain injury from which he died.
The mother faced a second trial this year but after hearing both the prosecution and the defence case that the judge decided to throw it out.
At the heart of the case was the presence of a "triad" of three specific injuries: subdural haemorrhage (bleeding on the brain), retinal haemorrhage (bleeding in the eye), and encephalopathy (swelling of brain tissue).
This "triad" would normally be used to provide "a strong pointer towards a conclusion that those injuries were not accidentally caused".
The judge said that there was evidence that all three of these injuries had been brought on by "trauma of some kind" and the prosecution argued that having all three together proved "non-accidental death".
But defence experts said that the subdural haemorrhage was unlikely to have been caused by shaking and one said it may have been the result of a loss of oxygen caused by choking on vomit.
All the experts agreed, or were prepared to concede, that there had been cases in the past in which the "triad" of injuries had been caused by accidents.
They were also unable to exclude the mother's account that the injuries were caused by a "short fall".
The judge said that, since there was a "fundamental conflict of expert opinion" on the cause of death and no "clear evidence" to back one side or the other, he would have to direct the jury to enter a not guilty verdict.
There was no evidence of external injuries and the mother had no previous convictions or history of abuse.
"Indeed, the character evidence, from witnesses called both for the defence and prosecution, is positive, describing her as a caring, dutiful wife and a loving mother," said the judge.
He said it would be impossible to rely on "inconsistency" in her account of what happened as proof that she had tried to allay suspicion of what happened, given her "obvious and understandable distress at the time".
Some lawyers believe the judge's ruling called into question the reliance on the "triad" of injuries to prove baby-shaking cases.
A man on the jury nodded when the judge explained the reasons for his decision and said he hoped that they agreed, while two female jurors waved goodbye to Miah as they filed out of court.
The judge told them: "This case is one of particular difficulty, as such cases always are. We read about them.
"In recent years there have been cases of baby-shaking and infant deaths which have hit the headlines. They are never straightforward and they are never easy.
"There is no evidence which could prove the strength of support necessary to enable you to conclude so that you are sure of it that Anas's death was non-accidental and specifically that the defendant shook him."
He said that, while there was some evidence which may make them "suspicious", it could not be enough.
Miah declined to comment when asked for her reaction outside court."
The article can be found at:
http://24dash.com/news/Communities/2009-07-29-Mother-cleared-of-shaking-baby-to-death
Harold Levy...hlevy15@gmail.com;
