|
Wrongly Convicted Database Record
|
Charge: |
Manslaughter |
Sentence: |
2 years less one day |
Years Imprisoned: |
1 |
Year Crime: |
1991 |
Year Convicted: |
1992 |
Year Cleared: |
2016 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Canada |
County or Region of Crime: |
Ontario |
City of Crime: |
Brampton |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated |
Summary of Case: |
"Maria Shepherd was wrongly convicted in 1992 of manslaughter in the death of her three-year-old stepdaughter Kasandra Shepherd, in April 1991 in Brampton, Ontario, Canada. Kasandra died two days after being admitted to a hospital because she began vomiting and became unresponsive. She had been ill for a long period of time. Shepherd told police that she had once pushed Kasandra, who hit the back of her head on Shepherd's wrist and watch. Shepherd said didn't believe the incident could have caused Kasandra's death. Shepherd was charged with murder based on the opinion of pathologist Charles Smith, who conducted Kasandra's autopsy, that she died from trauma due to at least one blow of "significant force." Shepherd's lawyer consulted with a medical expert who opined Smith's opinion was plausible. Shepherd agreed to plead guilty to manslaughter, and he was sentenced to two years less a day. Shepherd served her sentence. A review of Smith's work and subsequent public inquiry uncovered numerous examples where he made serious mistakes that resulted in the quashing of a number of convictions related to the death of a child. Smith's medical licence was revoked in 2011. Based on the new evidence of medical experts that Smith's opinion in Shepherd's case was flawed, the Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted filed a petition to withdraw her guilty plea and quash her conviction as a miscarriage of justice. Shepherd's petition was not opposed by the prosecution, with Crown attorney Howard Leibovich agreeing that she would not have pled guilty if she known the evidence that is now known. On February 28, 2016 the Court of Appeal for Ontario quashed Shepherd's conviction as a "miscarriage of justice" and ordered her acquittal, because her guilty plea was based on unreliable evidence by pathologist Charles Smith. Justice David Watt stated that Smith's evidence had been the "linchpin" of the Crown's case, and that she a "powerful inducement" to falsely pled guilty given that she faced a possible lengthy prison sentence had she been convicted after a trial. Justice Watt said, "The appeal is allowed. The plea of guilty and conviction is set aside and an acquittal entered."" |
Conviction Caused By: |
"On February 28, 2016 the Court of Appeal for Ontario quashed Shepherd's conviction as a "miscarriage of justice" and ordered her acquittal, because her guilty plea was based on unreliable evidence by pathologist Charles Smith. " |
Innocence Proved By: |
Unreliable expert evidence by pathologist Charles Smith. |
Defendant Aided By: |
|
Compensation Awarded: |
|
Was Perpetrator Identified? |
|
Age When Imprisoned: |
|
Age When Released: |
|
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
White |
Information Source 1: |
"Maria Shepherd's 1992 manslaughter conviction quashed: Evidence from now-disgraced pathologist Charles Smith was 'linchpin' in Shepherd's guilty plea, By the Canadian Press, CBC News, Feb 29, 2016" |
Information Location 1: |
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/maria-shepherd-conviction-1.3468706 |
Information Source 2: |
|
Information Location 2: |
|
Information Source 3: |
|
Information Location 3: |
|
Information Source 4: |
|
Information Location 4: |
|
Information Source 5: |
|
Information Location 5: |
|
Book About Case: |
|
Book Information: |
|
Book About Case (2): |
|
Book Information (2): |
|
Movie About Case: |
|
Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org