Court casts doubt on ‘shaken baby syndrome’

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A ruling that freed a woman from prison and cast doubt on prosecutions over “shaken baby syndrome” will stand, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has decided.

The decision is a victory for former day-care provider Audrey Edmunds, who has long maintained her innocence against charges that she shook a baby to death in 1995.

“It’s a great breakthrough for us, and we’re really glad the Supreme Court acted in righteousness and on my behalf,” Edmunds said in a telephone interview.

Edmunds spent more than 10 years in prison after a jury convicted her of first-degree reckless homicide in 1996. She was freed in February after an appeals court said new research into the syndrome cast doubt on her guilt.

The appeals court noted that some medical experts now doubt that babies can be killed by shaking alone and believe they can live for hours after suffering traumatic head injuries. Some researchers also argue symptoms similar to those associated with shaking can be caused by other factors.

The Wisconsin Department of Justice appealed to the Supreme Court, saying the ruling would make it virtually impossible for prosecutors to bring charges in shaken baby cases.

The new legal standard will allow those convicted based on scientific evidence to seek new trials “whenever a new study is published,” said Kevin St. John, spokesman for Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen.