Major development; René Bailey New York State; A judge has reversed her conviction in the shaken-baby death of a toddler in her care in what is reported as a ruling that could have statewide significance; (Link to decision provided); Reporters Steve Orr and Gary Craig; The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle; (Must, must read. HL);

STORY: "Judge reverses shaken-baby conviction," by reporters Steve Orr and Gary Craig, published by the Rochester  Democrat and Chronicle on December 16, 2014;

GIST:  "In a ruling that could have statewide significance, a Monroe County Court judge has reversed the 2001 murder conviction of a Greece woman who was accused in the shaken-baby death of a toddler in her care. In a decision released Tuesday morning, Judge James Piampiano ruled that the science used to convict René Bailey has changed significantly since her trial. The ruling marks the first time a shaken-baby conviction has been overturned in New York on the basis of changing science. Lawyers have won a handful of reversals in other states in recent years. "The newly discovered evidence in this case thus shows that there has been a compelling and consequential shift in mainstream medical opinion since the time of the defendant's trial," Piampiano wrote in his 28-page decision........."This would be the first time in New York that we have a head-on, squarely-facing decision saying that a major change in the science qualifies as newly discovered evidence," said Bailey's attorney, Adele Bernhard......... At Bailey's trial, prosecutors had argued that a fatal head injury suffered by 2¹/₂-year-old Brittney Sheets could only have been caused by abuse at the hands of Bailey, who cared for the girl and several other children in her home day care center. But Bernhard, who represented Bailey pro bono, argued before Piampiano earlier this year that a growing number of physicians and scientists have come to believe injuries such as those that killed Sheets can be caused by other factors, such as accidental falls or certain illnesses. Bailey had insisted to police that Sheets had jumped off a chair and struck her head on the floor.........Starting in the 1970s, physicians developed the scientific underpinnings of what came to be known as shaken-baby syndrome. They concluded that violent shaking, and only violent shaking, could cause certain kinds of injuries to small children's brains and eyes. As the Democrat and Chronicle reported in stories last year that focused on Bailey's cases and on the scientific controversy in general, these views became widely accepted, and people accused in shaken-baby cases were widely reviled. But over the last 10 or 15 years, new research challenged this orthodoxy. Legal appeals based on the new science have cropped up around the nation and the world, and Great Britain and the Canadian province of Ontario engaged in systematic reviews of past convictions.........Bernhard was at Pace University Law School in Westchester County when the case began and is now affiliated with New York Law School in Manhattan. She got involved in the case after Bailey sent a letter to a post-conviction legal clinic that Bernhard ran at Pace. On Tuesday she praised Piampiano's diligence with the decision. "I was very gratified that the judge took the time for such a careful analysis of all the complicated issues that were presented at the hearing," she said. "He took on that task and took it on very seriously and I thought did a great service to everybody." Evidence at the hearing showed that Brittney could have died from a short fall, a rare event but a possible one, Bernhard said. "Unfortunately rare and terrible events do happen," she said."

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2014/12/16/shaken-baby-conviction-reversal-ren-bailey/20479785/

 PUBLISHER'S NOTE: 

Dear Reader. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following this case.
 
I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located  near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.

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.ca/2013/12/the-charles-smith-award-presented-to_28.html
 
I look forward to hearing from readers at:

hlevy15@gmail.com.

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;