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False Allegations of Child Abuse
Our instincts are to protect and defend defenseless children. It is a measure of a civilized society. It is equally instinctive to presume guilt. That tendency is even stronger when the accused must prove a negative---that what he or she is accused of didn't happen---and the accuser is a physician with a stack of degrees or, equally potent, a child. These combinations have led to countless criminal convictions: parents, day care providers, teachers, neighbors---even when the charges cannot be supported by objective scientific evidence, or when there was no physical evidence at all to support the claims.
We're having second looks at many of these cases, acknowledging that we've convicted innocent people, destroyed families and ruined childhoods. A second look at the processes that led to these miscarriages of justice is essential, because unless we learn from our mistakes, we will continue to repeat them.
Shaken Baby Syndrome
Dr. Patricia Moore, a former Harris County associate medical examiner accused of botching an autopsy that led to a young mother's imprisonment has come under scrutiny in several other cases in which her conclusions were later contested or revised. Moore attributed infant deaths to shaken baby syndrome at a rate considerably higher than the rate at which it happens in the general population. Biased Autopsies
The Evidence for Shaken Baby Syndrome
The theory of shaken baby syndrome rests on core assumptions: shaking is always intentional and violent; the injury an infant receives from shaking is invariably severe; and subdural and retinal bleeding is the result of criminal abuse, unless proved otherwise. Retinal haemorrhage is one of the criteria used, and many doctors consider retinal haemorrhage with specific characteristics pathognomonic of shaking. However, in the March 27, 2004 issue of the British Medical Journal, Patrick Lantz et al examine that premiseand conclude that it "cannot be supported by objective scientific evidence."
We Need to Question the Diagnostic Criteria
The National Association of Medical Examiners (N.A.M.E.) Ad Hoc Committee on Shaken Baby Syndrome published its Position Paper on Fatal Abusive Head Injuries in Infants and Young Children in the American Journal of Forensic Pathology and Medicine in 2001. This Position Paper is repeatedly cited and relied on to prosecute people because it states that SBS is an accepted diagnosis. The Position Paper was rejected on peer review for lack of scientific basis -- but published anyway, since two of the authors were N.A.M.E. Board members.
State of Florida vs. Brian Patrick Herlihy
Circuit Court of Florida, Eighth Judicial Circuit, Alachua County
Brian Herlihy was convicted of causing the death of Baby Robert, an infant in his care, by violently shaking the child. None of the physicians who testified as experts for the state reviewed the baby’s prenatal and postnatal medical records to learn about his pre-existing health problems, his treatment with corticosteroid, or his adverse reactions to vaccines. Some of these physicians were aware that Baby Robert suffered from chronic health conditions such as a chronic subdural bleed, brain atrophy, and sinus and ear infections. However, they did not make any attempt to investigate the links between the baby’s chronic illnesses and his respiratory arrest on the morning of August 2, 2000. The evidence also shows that Brian was convicted and imprisoned due to sloppy and incomplete medical investigations.
Ken Marsh
Ken Marsh spent 21 years in California prisons for a crime that never happened. He was convicted in 1984 of murdering 2-year-old Kenneth Buell based on testimony of treating physicians -- with no independent corroboration -- who were seeking to protect themselves from malpractice claims. His conviction was reversed without an evidentiary hearing based on insufficiency of the medical expert evidence.
Ken Marsh and his attorney, Tracy Emblem, have generously made available extensive forensic resources utilized in his case for the benefit of other innocent people facing similar charges.
Alan Yurko
In 1999, Alan Yurko of Orlando, FL was convicted of shaking his 10-week-old son to death and sentenced to life without parole. But the autopsy performed by Dr. Stashio Gore doesn't come close to minimum standard of care -- and Dr. Gore admits to all the Bad Science.
Convicted of a Murder That Never Happened
California's 2nd Appellate District Court has overturned Jose Salazar's murder conviction in the death of Adriana Krygoski. That conviction was based on the testimony of LA Dep. Coroner James Ribe, who claimed that "shaken baby" injuries -- in this instance, intracranial bleeding -- could be accurately "timed" and therefore used to identify the assailant. This "theory" has been discredited by medical science. It is just one of numerous cases in which Dr. Ribe has woven a Web of Deceit.
Victims of Dr. Joan Wood
For nearly a quarter century, the citizens of Florida's Pinellas and Pasco Counties suffered with an incompetent and corrupt Medical Examiner, Dr. Joan Wood. Some suffered more than others.
Little Donovan Wright’s death was a tragedy. The tragedy was compounded by the testimony of a medical expert who claimed he could reliably time Donovan's critical injury to a period when the child was in the care of his father, Doug Wright. Doug was convicted of killing his son. Now the doctor acknowledges his testimony was faulty; he was wrong. But he is unconcerned because he can't remember either Donovan or Doug. Forgotten by Justice
Munchhausen Syndrome by Proxy
Another theory unsupported by objective scientific evidence
MAMA/M.A.M.A.: Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy
What you don't know can destroy your family, send you to prison and even cost your children their lives.
"Mama/M.A.M.A. " is a groundbreaking film that examines Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy, a bizarre form of supposed child abuse in which a mother pretends her child is ill - or actually makes her child sick- in order to get the sympathy and praise of the medical community. The film scrutinizes the scientific research surrounding the allegation and, in so doing, questions the very diagnosis itself. Visit the companion website. See the film. Protect yourselves and your children.
UK: The cases of more than 250 parents convicted of killing their babies are to be reviewed urgently after a landmark Court of Appeal ruling on January 19, 2004 changed the rules on baby death prosecutions. The Court ruled that in future no parent who had lost two or more babies should be prosecuted if the case relied solely on expert evidence that was disputed by other professionals who believed that the death could have been caused by natural, if unexplained, causes. US Needs Similar Review
UK: The cot death expert at the centre of a series of high profile cases against women accused of killing their babies is to face a professional conduct committee. Sir Roy Meadow invented "Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome", a theory that has punished grieving parents and destroyed families on both sides of the Atlantic. His pseudoscience continues to thrive in the US, but in the UK, authorities are questioning his Fitness to Practise
CBS 60 Minutes II examined just a handful of UK cases in which mothers were convicted of murdering their children on the word of Roy Meadow alone, without Meadow ever seeing the children or the mothers. If you missed the segment, broadcast in April, 2004, you need to read the summary. Expert Testimony, Bad Evidence
Child Protection and Social Care Management Consultant Charles Pagnell examines Fabricated and/or Induced Illness in Children (popularized by Sir Roy Meadow as "Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome") and finds the Theoretical Basis is Unsound
Unfounded Physical Abuse Allegations
At first, Verlie Hicks of Peoria, Illinois was frightened and confused when she was arrested, held naked in a mental health unit at the Peoria County Jail because she refused to remove braids from her hair, and falsely accused of burning a baby in her care with cigarettes. Now she's angry and is looking for a lawyer. Guilty Until Proven Innocent
Federal Judge: 'No Evidence' That Ramseys Killed JonBenét
Through the prism of a defamation suit, a federal judge in Atlanta has examined the 1996 murder case of 6-year-old Colorado beauty queen JonBenét Ramsey and determined there is "virtually no evidence" to support theories that her parents killed her. U.S. District Judge Julie E. Carnes, a former federal prosecutor, evaluated evidence that the Ramseys, Patsy Ramsey in particular, were responsible for their daughter's slaying. In her analysis, Carnes sharply criticized the botched investigation that followed the discovery of JonBenét's body; accused Boulder police of using the media to target the Ramseys; and stated that the Ramseys, despite widespread criticism to the contrary, attempted to cooperate fully with detectives investigating their daughter's murder.
False Allegations of Sexual Abuse
Before national attention brought a halt to the worst witch hunt in U.S. history, 43 adults were falsely arrested on 29,726 fabricated charges of child sex abuse involving 60 children. Parents, Sunday school teachers and a local pastor were indicted and many were convicted of raping their own children and the children of other members of a sex ring. Innocent people were railroaded into prison, and their children were sold into foster care. Conservative Columnist Paul Craig Roberts details How a Mantra Ate Justice
John Michael Harvey
Eleven years into a 40 year sentence, John's innocence is finally being examined.
But the former Assistant DA who hid evidence and coached a child to lie is off the hook.
A Harris County, Texas prosecutor says faulty physical exams performed by a former nurse may have resulted in wrongful conviction of some defendants in child sex abuse cases. 170 Potential Wrongful Convictions
For James Rodriguez, the only way to freedom was to confess to sex crimes he — and one of his alleged victims — says he did not commit. Predator or Prey?
A couple who became fugitives in 1984 following accusations that they abused their 4-year-old daughter left jail feeling vindicated after prosecutors dropped the charges, but said their lives had been ruined. Edward and Karri LaBois fled Minnesota with their daughter 19 years ago after the abuse accusation was made. They were arrested in 2003 when an informant tipped police that they were living in a Salt Lake City suburb. Sex Abuse Witch Hunt 0000
Are horrific experiences indelibly fixed in a victim's memory? Or does the mind protect itself by banishing traumatic memories from consciousness? How victims remember trauma is the most controversial issue in psychology today, spilling out of consulting rooms and laboratories to capture headlines, rupture families, provoke legislative change, and influence criminal trials and civil suits. A clinician and laboratory researcher, Richard McNally challenges the ready acceptance of a notion he says goes beyond common sense. He contends that traumatic experiences are indeed unforgettable and the evidence for repressed memories is surprisingly weak.
Re-examining the Process
Michael G. Brock, MA, LLP, CSW is licensed as both a master’s level psychologist and a certified social worker. He is in private practice at Counseling and Evaluation Services in Wyandotte, MI. Brock has been in the therapy field since 1974 and, in the past five years, custody evaluations have become the majority of his practice. Brock has done over 200 evaluations. Brock re-examines how the criminal justice system balances---or fails to balance---the interests of truth and justice with those of child protection.
In November, 2003, Pennsylvania voters voted to deny criminal defendants the right to confront their accusers in court. They probably felt there would be no cost to themselves. But if we let witnesses avoid accountability in criminal proceedings, we all will pay a high price, eventually. No Accountability
