A post-mortem on a four-month-old baby alleged to have been shaken
to death by his mother found no evidence of force being applied to
him since a “difficult birth”, a court heard today,
writes Mithran Samuel.
Dr Waney Squier, a consultant neuropathologist at Oxford Radcliffe
Hospitals NHS Trust, told the Court of Appeal that Patrick
McGuire’s delivery had put considerable pressure on his head
but there was no evidence he suffered any “imposed
force” after that.
Patrick’s mother, Lorraine Harris served a prison sentence
for his manslaughter and is one of four people challenging their
convictions in an appeal which calls into question the reliability
of so-called Shaken Baby Syndrome theory.
This alleges that internal head injuries can only be caused by
shaking of sufficient force. However the appellants claim such
injuries can be caused by a sharp movement of the head without
shaking.
Post-mortem found no evidence of force, court hears.
June 20, 2005 in Legal
More from Community Care
Related articles:
Job of the week
Workforce Insights
Family help: one local authority’s experience of the model
‘We are all one big family’: how one council has built a culture of support
‘I spent the first three months listening’: how supportive leadership can transform children’s services
How senior leaders in one authority maintain a culture of excellence
How staff support ensures fantastic outcomes for children and families
Workforce Insights – showcasing a selection of the sector’s top recruiters
Comments are closed.