Sam Lister (left), health correspondent for The Times, explains the background to today’s successful appeals over cases of shaken baby syndrome, and their implications
What is ‘shaken baby syndrome’?
Shaken baby syndrome (SBS) describes a variety of conditions that occur as a result of shaking the head of a small child with sufficient violence to cause the brain to rattle around inside the skull, causing injuries ranging from brain damage to death.
Why were the appeals launched?
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The appeals followed a review of 297 infant death convictions ordered by Lord Goldsmith, the Attorney General, after the successful appeal by Angela Cannings against her conviction for murdering her two baby sons in January last year.
The defence argued during a two-week hearing before a panel of three judges at the High Court last month that medical knowledge and opinion had changed since the four convictions, and that they could no longer be considered safe.
What did the judges decide, and why?
Two people previously jailed for shaking babies had their convictions quashed. A third saw his murder conviction reduced to manslaughter. But the judges dismissed a fourth appeal.
The convictions all centred on the presence of what were considered the three ‘classic’ features of so-called shaken baby syndrome: brain swelling, bleeding between the brain and skull, and bleeding in the retina of the eyes.
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In cases where there was no other evidence about what had happened, or previous ill treatment, the jury was asked to make its judgment on the basis of what Michael Mansfield, QC, described as a ‘hypothesis.’
The judges ruled that the three signs did not automatically imply wilful injury or killing.
So, how were the injuries caused?
Experts from both Britain and abroad explained that such injuries can result from the child falling from a relatively low height, that they may be linked to vaccinations or medication causing lack of oxygen to the brain, or they could be linked to a difficult birth or even have genetic causes.
Who were the four people involved?
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Lorraine Harris, 36, of Long Eaton, Derbyshire, was jailed for the manslaughter of her four-month-old son Patrick McGuire in 2000. She said the baby became ill and stopped breathing after a vaccination. He suffered from a blood disorder only discovered after his death. She has since been released from prison but was banned from seeing her other child.
Michael Faulder, 34, was jailed for two-and-a-half years at Teesside crown court in 1999 for causing grievous bodily harm to a seven-week old boy.His conviction was quashed. He said he accidentally dropped the baby while trying to put him in his pushchair. The child made a full recovery.
Raymond Rock, of Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, was jailed for life for the 1998 murder of his girlfriend’s 13-month-old daughter Heidi Davis. He was alleged to have shaken the child violently, but he insisted she wriggled out of his arms and fell to the floor. Rock’s conviction was reduced to manslaughter and his sentence cut to seven years - of which he has served six.
But Alan Cherry, from Birmingham, failed in his appeal against a conviction at Birmingham Crown Court in 1995 for the manslaughter of his girlfriend’s 22-month-old daughter Sarah Eburne-Day.
What is the future for similar prosecutions?
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The appeals have been seen as a test case on the reliability of expert evidence used to establish shaken baby syndrome and today’s results could lead to a rethink in the way such cases are treated.
Today’s ruling means that more than 90 other convictions could be challenged.
It could also affect hundreds of Family Division cases in which a parent has been denied access to their children on the basis of alleged violent treatment, founded in the presence of these three signs.
It means that in future there will be demands for each case to be assessed individually, on the evidence available, rather than on a formula which has now been proved to have weaknesses.