New review of 28 child killing convictions

Tuesday, 21 December 2004 12:00 AM

The Attorney General has today ordered the review of 28 cases where parents and carers were convicted of killing an infant under the age of two.

Lord Goldsmith identified 25 cases out of 297 in the last decade where there was "sufficient cause for concern to warrant further consideration".

Another three will be reviewed after they were found to have similar characteristics to the case of Angela Cannings, whose conviction for killing her two sons was thrown out by the Court of Appeal in December 2003.

Ms Cannings always maintained that the two boys died of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) or cot death, a fact disputed by medical experts. But in her appeal against her conviction, the judges ruled that where such disagreement existed, the case should only continue where there was extra evidence.

This key ruling prompted Lord Goldsmith to launch a review of other cases where conviction rested almost entirely on expert medical testimony.

In addition to the 28 cases referred for further investigation, Lord Goldsmith identified 97 of the 297 total cases in a separate "shaken baby syndrome"(SBS) category.

He said that while SBS cases differ from those involving cot death, "there is a similarity in that there has been a growing medical controversy about the identification of the cause of injuries".

However, given the lack of knowledge about SBS, Lord Goldsmith said he would wait top take any action until next summer, when the Court of Appeal considers four joined cases on SBS.

The Attorney General: "Young and vulnerable children need the protection of the law.

"Yet if unfair accusations or, worse still, convictions for the death of a child occur, it increases the tragedy of what is already a devastating event."

Tags: