shaken baby syndrome

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Texas Court Clears Way for Controversial Execution

Justices reject legal maneuver used to spare Robert Roberson in 'shaken baby' case

(Newser) - The Texas Supreme Court on Friday ruled that the execution of Robert Roberson can move forward once again. Roberson is thus poised to become the first person to die after a conviction under shaken baby syndrome, which his supporters say has been debunked since the 2002 death of his 2-year-old...

Man in Shaken Baby Case Can't Testify in Person

Attorney general's office says Robert Roberson can only testify to lawmakers virtually

(Newser) - A Texas man whose execution was abruptly halted last week after lawmakers ordered Robert Roberson to appear at the state Capitol in Austin did not show up as scheduled Monday, following objections to transporting an inmate from death row for the extraordinary purpose of testifying before a public committee. Democratic...

Last-Minute Twists Delay Execution in Shaken Baby Case

Robert Roberson's execution was originally scheduled for Thursday night

(Newser) - The controversial execution of a Texas man convicted in a so-called " shaken baby syndrome " murder case was delayed with 90 minutes to spare before his scheduled lethal injection early Thursday night, though the eventual twists and turns into the case extended late into the evening. Robert Roberson has...

Texas Board Denies Clemency in Shaken Baby Syndrome Case

Robert Roberson is scheduled to be executed Thursday evening

(Newser) - The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles has denied a request for clemency for a man who this week could be the first person in the US executed for a murder conviction tied to the diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome. The parole board voted Wednesday against recommending that Robert Roberson'...

John Grisham on Man 30 Days From Execution: There Was No Murder
Dozens Beg Texas
Not to Execute 'Innocent' Man
the rundown
Sep 18, 2024 12:00 AM CDT

Dozens Beg Texas Not to Execute 'Innocent' Man

More on the 'shaken baby syndrome' conviction of Robert Roberson

(Newser) - Despite much controversy , Robert Roberson is still scheduled to be executed in Texas on October 17 for the murder of his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis, in 2002—but support is coalescing around him. Roberson was convicted of killing the toddler via the now-widely-discredited "shaken baby syndrome," but...

He May Be First Executed Over 'Shaken Baby Syndrome'

Robert Roberson is scheduled to die in October, though science behind his conviction is disputed

(Newser) - The science behind what we know as "shaken baby syndrome" has been called into question in recent years, and the controversy is about to reenter the spotlight in a big way in Texas. There, Robert Roberson is scheduled to be executed on October 17 over the death of his...

Woman Takes Plea Deal in Death of Man Shaken as Baby

Terry McKirchy sentenced to 3 years in 2019 death of 35-year-old Benjamin Dowling

(Newser) - A former babysitter pleaded guilty to manslaughter Wednesday for the 2019 death of a man she was accused of disabling as an infant 40 years ago. Terry McKirchy, 62, accepted a plea deal for the death of Benjamin Dowling, who died at 35 after a life of severe disabilities caused...

'The State Got This Wrong,' Says DA. It May Not Matter

ProPublica explores the case of an iffy conviction over shaken baby syndrome

(Newser) - Russell Maze was sentenced to life in prison in Tennessee in 2004 after his newborn son died. At the time, prosecutors in Nashville proved their case of shaken baby syndrome, with doctors testifying that the infant surely died from abuse. Since then, a "growing body of research has demonstrated...

Nanny Was to Go on Trial for Baby's Death. Then, a Reversal

3 years after Rehma Sabir died, medical examiner changed her mind on homicide ruling

(Newser) - "If two people are left in an apartment in the morning, and at the end of the day, one of them is dead, there’s no way that there would not be a trial in that situation." Except that scenario Sameer Sabir described is the one he found...

The Baby Slept All Day. She Never Woke Up
The Baby Slept All Day.
She Never Woke Up
longform
Dec 25, 2021 7:41 AM CST

The Baby Slept All Day. She Never Woke Up

CNN tells the multi-part story of Rehma Sabir

(Newser) - In CNN's telling, there been a growing but misguided effort in recent years to try to attack the science behind shaken baby syndrome in court, "efforts [that] are even keeping cases of alleged child abuse from coming to trial." It takes a deep, multi-part dive into one...

Shaken Baby Dies 20 Years Later, Dad Faces Murder Charge

Olin Shane Tannery already spent several years behind bars for assault of his son

(Newser) - Olin Shane Tannery spent years in prison for assaulting his infant son—and now the Missouri father might end up back behind bars after that son died two decades later. The Kansas City Star reports on the 39-year-old's indictment for second-degree murder, almost seven months after his 20-year-old son...

Execution Halted Over Shaken Baby Syndrome 'Junk Science'

Robert Roberson was convicted of murdering his 2-year-old daughter in 2002

(Newser) - A man on death row in Texas has been granted a last-minute reprieve after his lawyers successfully argued he was convicted on "junk science" regarding shaken baby syndrome, Reuters reports. Robert Roberson, who had been scheduled to be executed June 21, was convicted in 2002 of murdering his 2-year-old...

Boy Shaken as Baby Dies 12 Years Later

Aiden Stein never recovered

(Newser) - A 12-year-old boy who was shaken as a baby and remained in a vegetative state for the rest of his life has died, authorities said Wednesday. Aiden Stein died Sunday at a Columbus hospital. The case drew national attention when his parents waged a successful legal fight to prevent a...

Dad Charged After Baby He Shook Dies 23 Years Later

Christopher Barber had already served time for the abuse

(Newser) - Christopher Barber served nearly five years in a Pennsylvania prison in the 1990s for shaking his fussy baby boy and flinging him onto a couch so hard that he suffered catastrophic brain damage. Now Barber is behind bars again, charged with homicide, following his son's death at age 23...

Girl Dies Decade After Abuse, Babysitter Charged

Christopher Byrd has already served time for crime

(Newser) - A babysitter has been charged with murdering the child in his care after an incident in 2005. Here’s the weird part: the girl died this January. Authorities say Christopher Byrd violently shook the 11-month-old daughter of his girlfriend, whom he lived with in La Habra, Calif., until she fell...

Why Shaken Baby Syndrome Is Dividing the Medical World

The telltale signs could result from other, and previous, injuries

(Newser) - When murder charges were dropped last month against Irish nanny Aisling Brady McCarthy—who cared for a 1-year-old baby in Cambridge, Mass., who died of what looked like shaken baby syndrome in 2013—it was only the second time since 2006 that the state medical examiner changed the manner of...

Girl Dies After Being Shaken by Father—15 Years Ago

Father could now be charged with murder

(Newser) - When little Baylee Rose Duggins was just 3 months old, she was hospitalized after being shaken by her biological father—and 15 years later, she died as a result of that abuse. Baylee suffered severe head trauma, and the resulting brain damage left her legally blind and unable to walk,...

Zimmerman Lawyer Invokes Shaken Baby Syndrome

Hal Uhrig argues that Zimmerman could have died in confrontation

(Newser) - George Zimmerman's lawyers put forth a novel assertion on CBS today, when lawyer Hal Uhrig suggested that Zimmerman was justified in shooting Trayvon Martin because he might have gotten… shaken baby syndrome? "People have said, the force was too much even if he broke his nose and slammed...

Child Abuse Rose With Recession
 Child Abuse Rose 
 With Recession 
study says
Sep 19, 2011 8:17 AM CDT

Child Abuse Rose With Recession

Study provides first hard data showing a link

(Newser) - A disturbing trend: Child abuse rises in recession, a new study from Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Washington shows. From 2004 to 2007, 8.9 out of 100,000 children under five ended up in the hospital each year with severe brain injuries. From the December 2007 crash to 2009, that...

Doctors Often Get It Wrong in Deaths of Children
Doctors Often Get It Wrong
in Deaths of Children
investigation
Jun 28, 2011 12:50 PM CDT

Doctors Often Get It Wrong in Deaths of Children

And people are being wrongly convicted of murder as a result: ProPublica

(Newser) - Shoddy post-mortem examinations by doctors has led to scores of people being wrongly convicted in the deaths of children, a joint investigation by Pulitzer-winner ProPublica , NPR, and Frontline reveals. The report details 25 cases in which people were convicted and subsequently cleared, often after serving years in prison. And it...

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