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The provincial government will today begin the process of reviewing at least 142 child deaths attributed to shaken baby syndrome to determine if there were miscarriages of justice, a government source says.
Attorney General Chris Bentley will also announce at a news conference today that his government is moving ahead to develop a compensation framework for victims of pathologist Dr. Charles Smith's flawed work, according to the source. "The McGuinty government is going to be acting on a couple of recommendations in the Goudge report by naming two teams," he said yesterday.
Justice Stephen Goudge, who headed the Inquiry into Pediatric Forensic Pathology in Ontario, recommended in his final report in October that the province review at least 142 cases of shaken baby deaths, dating back 22 years, to determine if wrongful convictions resulted from what is now viewed as questionable science.
Goudge also urged the province to determine if a viable compensation process could be established.
The inquiry was prompted by mistakes Smith made in 20 child death investigations, 12 of which resulted in convictions. One conviction has since been overturned and others are being appealed. William Mullins Johnson, of Sault Ste. Marie, was wrongfully imprisoned for more than 12 years in the death of his niece, partly on the basis of Smith's erroneous opinion.
Bentley will today name members of a medical-legal team that will review the shaken-baby cases. It will be headed by Ontario's former associate chief justice, Donald E. Ebbs, of the Ontario Court of Justice. The team will also include Ontario's chief forensic pathologist, Dr. Michael Pollanen; Dr. Dirk Huyer, a regional supervising coroner; Marie Henein, a senior defence counsel; and senior Crown attorney Mary Nethery.
Bentley will also announce today the establishment of a committee to "provide him with legal advice on the viability of a compensation process," the government source said.
This committee will be led by Coulter Osborne, former associate chief justice and former integrity commissioner for the province.
