"SADLY, IT IS APPARENT THAT THE NEWS THAT THE SO-CALLED "SHAKING-BABY SYNDROME" HAS COME UNDER BLISTERING ATTACK ATTACK IN RECENT YEARS - BOTH INSIDE AND OUTSIDE THE COURTS - HAS NOT YET ARRIVED IN VENTURA COUNTY."
HAROLD LEVY; PUBLISHER; THE CHARLES SMITH BLOG;
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Background: Cecilia Cortes was charged with assault on a child resulting in death on April 27, 2009; A police report provides the following details: INCIDENT: 273ab PC / Assault on a child resulting in death; DATE/TIME: 04/27/2009; LOCATION: 4800 Block Saviers Rd. Oxnard; VICTIM/S: 4 month old female child; SUSPECT/S: Cecilia Garcia Cortes, 23 years; PREPARED BY: Sergeant Jim Seitz, Homicide Supervisor; DETAILS: On 4-28-2009 a twenty three (23) year old mother of three was arrested for assaulting her 4 month old child who subsequently died as a result of her injuries.The mother identified as 23 year old Cecilia Garcia Cortes, who recently moved to Oxnard from Fillmore, was home with her three children ages 2 years, 1 year and 4 months on Monday when she apparently became upset due to the 4 month old crying continuously. It is believed that the mother began to violently shake the baby in an attempt to get the child to stop crying. Several hours later the child appeared to have stopped breathing. The child was taken to a local hospital and then airlifted to Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles. The child was on life support until she eventually died at 1:00 pm Thursday afternoon. The mother is in custody at the Ventura County Jail. Her bail is set at $500,000. If convicted of the crime she is facing a sentence of 25 years to life. The other two siblings are in custody of Child Protected Services." On July 30, 2009, a local paper reported that the medical examiner had ruled that the baby's death was accidental - yet Ms. Cortes remained in jail pending a further medical report to be obtained by prosecutors until she was finally released;
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I became extremely angry when I read Cecilia Garcia Corte's story - an anger I have all too often experienced when reporting on so-called "shaken-baby syndrome" deaths.
The initial police report on the April 27, 2009 death - - as seen below - paints the picture of a woman who shook her 4-month old baby daughter "violently" to stop her crying.
The release describes the sudden change of fate of the grieving mother: She finds herself charged in connection with the death of her daughter - which carries 25 years to life if convicted and she has lost her other two children to the child protection authorities.
She is taken to jail where she remains for almost three months - and denied access to her child's funeral on account of "security" concerns - before the authorities announce on July 30, 2009, that the medical examiner has ruled that her baby daughter's death was accidental.
Even then, this innocent, grieving mother is kept behind bars while the prosecutors -nxious not to be denied their due - look for another opinion - one which will hopefully justify their initial decision in laying the charge and unleashing all of the forces of the state on the family
When the authorities finally agree to her release we learn that she supposedly confessed to killing her child - during what appears to have been a lengthy, oppressive interview.
We also learned from the prosecutor's affidavit that she was charged after the treating physician at Childrens Hospital in Los Angeles concluded the baby had suffered from shaken baby syndrome and not “non-accidental injuries."
Sadly, it is apparent that the news that the so-called "shaking-baby syndrome" has come under blistering attack attack in recent years - both inside and outside the courts - has not yet arrived in Ventura County.
Even worse, a hospital doctor's suspicions - which is not backed up by forensic evidence from an autopsy - should hardly be considered as reasonable grounds for laying such a serious charge with such horrific consequences to the parent or caregiver - let alone in a case where the suspicion relates to an untenable scientific theory.
I am left with the uneasy feeling that this may not be the first time in Ventura County that an innocent parent has had their life ripped to shreds because of ignorance, oppressive police tactics, and an inability to curb the rush to judgment in favour of proper investigations.
About 200 "shaken-baby cases" have been re-opened in Ontario as a result of evidence called at the recent Goudge Inquiry which brought into question the medical basis for the "syndrome";
The Cortes case makes a strong argument for a review of the cases of all people convicted in California on the basis of "shaken-baby syndrome" - and of cases which are currently pending;
Cecilia Garcia Cortes - a grieving mother who deserved sympathy not persecution - is a symbol of the blind ignorance of the state and its agents.
She deserved so much more than this."
Harold Levy. Publisher...The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;
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