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semiotic_pirateMaybe now a wrongful death lawsuit can be filed against the hospital that caused his death? Although a malpractice suit would be in this case, self-evident, you might think a lawsuit filed against the state for prosecuting her for it would be done as well... Would that be considered a good path for her to take to begin her recovery process? Many people would say that revenge in this case would be appropriate for her to seek.
Mother cleared of baby salt death
A mother has been cleared of murdering her son by poisoning him with salt.
Marianne Williams, from Wiltshire, was found not guilty by a jury at Winchester Crown Court of killing 15-month-old Joshua.
The 24-year-old had repeatedly denied murdering Joshua, who was born 12 weeks prematurely with kidney problems. She was also cleared of his manslaughter.
Tests showed Joshua had high levels of sodium in his body when he died at Southampton General Hospital in 2004.
Cheers and tears
The jury took two and a half hours to reach its verdict.
Outside the court Ms Williams' solicitor, Jacqui Cameron, read a statement on her behalf.
She said: "Marianne is naturally delighted with the verdict and is extremely pleased that common sense has prevailed.
"We as lawyers, however, are very concerned that parents, usually mothers, are continuing to face the grave charge of murder on what can only be described at best as complex, and at worst dubious medical evidence.
"In far too many cases, as in this case, clinicians are much too prone to point the finger of suspicion at parents who are already vulnerable, having just suffered the death of their child.
"Today's verdict means that Marianne can go home to her family and begin to rebuild her life."
During the trial, the prosecution alleged that Ms Williams, who was on antidepressants, killed her son because she felt she could not cope.
But the defence said Joshua died as a result of a combination of his medical condition and the drugs he was taking for his care.
Ms Williams was 21 when Joshua died.
Joshua was born on 26 November, 2002, after Ms Williams had been in a long-term relationship with his father Paul Taylor.
Joshua, whose twin had died in the womb, weighed 2lb 10oz (1.2kg) at birth and had a number of medical problems, including very small kidneys.
'Filthy stigma'
The trial was told that because Joshua's kidneys were failing, they would expel too much sodium.
He was given necessary daily dosages of sodium chloride to replenish his salt levels.
Ms Williams' mother, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, told the BBC the last two-and-a-half years had been "absolutely horrendous" for her daughter.
She said: "Nobody can ever understand the two-and-a-half years, the memories, the devastation, the filthy stigma that she's had to live with and face on a daily basis, unless you've actually experienced these sort of situations."
Outside court Det Insp Matt Johnson, of Wiltshire Police, defended the investigation, which he said had been "complex, and required sensitivity".
He added: "The decision to bring charges was only taken after lengthy consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service and a meticulous review of all the evidence that was available.
"I acknowledge the verdict reached by the jury and would add only that I am satisfied that every possible piece of evidence that could be found was properly presented."
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/england/hampshire/6088686.stm
-----------------------------------------------------------
I know exactly how this woman feels. When your infant dies, you are the first person (being the mother and assumed primary caregiver) to be cast under the cloud of suspicion, and it is assumed that something rotten is in Denmark. When my son died, they sent a Coroner/Medical Examiner to the scene. He "interviewed" myself and my husband, who held me while I sat there mainly in shock, and he "delicately" accused me of doing something wrong, explaining that they were going to conduct an autopsy as "standard procedure" and all that. Being dazed and traumatized from having found my son no more than an hour or two previous to this I didn't even register it but my husband LEAPT to my defense and point-blank confronted this JERK about his offhand and underlying accusatory tone and statements.
He never even really apologized after cutting my son up and taking pieces of his body for running a battery of tests. Just that he appeared healthy and happy from his condition post mortem, etc.
Holy fucking Christ. I know exactly how she feels. And going to the site and watching the tape of the statement made by the lawyer with the woman standing next to her is well worth it.
Mother cleared of baby salt death
A mother has been cleared of murdering her son by poisoning him with salt.
Marianne Williams, from Wiltshire, was found not guilty by a jury at Winchester Crown Court of killing 15-month-old Joshua.
The 24-year-old had repeatedly denied murdering Joshua, who was born 12 weeks prematurely with kidney problems. She was also cleared of his manslaughter.
Tests showed Joshua had high levels of sodium in his body when he died at Southampton General Hospital in 2004.
Cheers and tears
The jury took two and a half hours to reach its verdict.
Outside the court Ms Williams' solicitor, Jacqui Cameron, read a statement on her behalf.
She said: "Marianne is naturally delighted with the verdict and is extremely pleased that common sense has prevailed.
"We as lawyers, however, are very concerned that parents, usually mothers, are continuing to face the grave charge of murder on what can only be described at best as complex, and at worst dubious medical evidence.
"In far too many cases, as in this case, clinicians are much too prone to point the finger of suspicion at parents who are already vulnerable, having just suffered the death of their child.
"Today's verdict means that Marianne can go home to her family and begin to rebuild her life."
During the trial, the prosecution alleged that Ms Williams, who was on antidepressants, killed her son because she felt she could not cope.
But the defence said Joshua died as a result of a combination of his medical condition and the drugs he was taking for his care.
Ms Williams was 21 when Joshua died.
Joshua was born on 26 November, 2002, after Ms Williams had been in a long-term relationship with his father Paul Taylor.
Joshua, whose twin had died in the womb, weighed 2lb 10oz (1.2kg) at birth and had a number of medical problems, including very small kidneys.
'Filthy stigma'
The trial was told that because Joshua's kidneys were failing, they would expel too much sodium.
He was given necessary daily dosages of sodium chloride to replenish his salt levels.
Ms Williams' mother, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, told the BBC the last two-and-a-half years had been "absolutely horrendous" for her daughter.
She said: "Nobody can ever understand the two-and-a-half years, the memories, the devastation, the filthy stigma that she's had to live with and face on a daily basis, unless you've actually experienced these sort of situations."
Outside court Det Insp Matt Johnson, of Wiltshire Police, defended the investigation, which he said had been "complex, and required sensitivity".
He added: "The decision to bring charges was only taken after lengthy consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service and a meticulous review of all the evidence that was available.
"I acknowledge the verdict reached by the jury and would add only that I am satisfied that every possible piece of evidence that could be found was properly presented."
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/england/hampshire/6088686.stm
-----------------------------------------------------------
I know exactly how this woman feels. When your infant dies, you are the first person (being the mother and assumed primary caregiver) to be cast under the cloud of suspicion, and it is assumed that something rotten is in Denmark. When my son died, they sent a Coroner/Medical Examiner to the scene. He "interviewed" myself and my husband, who held me while I sat there mainly in shock, and he "delicately" accused me of doing something wrong, explaining that they were going to conduct an autopsy as "standard procedure" and all that. Being dazed and traumatized from having found my son no more than an hour or two previous to this I didn't even register it but my husband LEAPT to my defense and point-blank confronted this JERK about his offhand and underlying accusatory tone and statements.
He never even really apologized after cutting my son up and taking pieces of his body for running a battery of tests. Just that he appeared healthy and happy from his condition post mortem, etc.
Holy fucking Christ. I know exactly how she feels. And going to the site and watching the tape of the statement made by the lawyer with the woman standing next to her is well worth it.
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Not jumping all over you here
Date: 2006-10-27 11:01 pm (UTC)you must consider the difference between hard factual evidence (murder weapon, blood, fingerprint, a confession not brought on by coersion etc.) and circumstantial evidence (no verifiable aliby) where it is one person's word against another, someone's opinion or gut instinct.
There at least has to be some evidence of abuse in order to even make that assumption. the preemie in question was three months premature... I was born preemie (only a few weeks at most) and I wasn't allowed to leave the hospital until I was a certain weight. If this is still the case, then the infant should never have left the hospital and should've remained under constant care until those kidneys were functioning normally or something.
as for my son, he was a well-fed chubby b/c he was just about to have a growth spurt baby who loved his wind up swing to watch me read and stuff and smiled a lot... but more importantly: there was no indication at all that there was any abuse whatsoever yet they still took that tack. and this was way before postpartum depression was an immediate assumed diagnosis of women having just given birth or of the much publicized string of children and infants being killed by their mothers.
Re: Not jumping all over you here
Date: 2006-10-28 01:40 am (UTC)(/sarcasm)
To be honest, sometimes I wonder whether some of those parents that allow their babies to bake or freeze in their cars aren't doing it on purpose... (Again, I don't think that being someone's biological parent automatically makes you love them and do everything that's best for them.)
But I get what you're saying a 3-month premature baby is likely to have a lot of problems. My two sisters were premature by two and one month, respectively (Mom liked to smoke), and they wouldn't be alive today without some medical intervention. I'm surprised that they even let that baby out of the hospital... Maybe the insurance company refused to pay for more incubator time? It sounds weird...