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Accused Killers Of Toddlers Say They Shouldn’t Be On Trial, Attorneys State Shaken Baby Syndrome Not Scientifically Reliable

By Jessica Dafoe
Published on: 04:06 PST, Oct 14, 2016

Two men who are accused of killing toddlers are questioning how reliable the diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome is. The debate has found its way to a Michigan courtroom, where Leo Ackley and Anthony Ball stand trial for felony murder and first-degree child abuse. The men were charged separately for the deaths of their girlfriend’s daughters, the Washington Post notes.

Attorneys for the men have joined forces in an attempt to prove that the murder cases against them are the results of “a flawed science of shaken baby syndrome.” Prosecutors countered this argument, however, and pointed out that there are years of scientific and factual research that supports the validity of the syndrome.

Ackley and Ball’s attorneys have said that the medical experts in the case focused on three injuries incurred by the victims that caused them to reach the conclusion that the deaths were due to shaken baby syndrome. Such injuries include bleeding behind the eyes, bleeding on the surface of the brain, and brain swelling. Defense attorneys state that those injuries alone are not sufficient proof that the toddlers were abused.

Kimberly Schroder, Ball’s attorney, shared her reasoning with the Post.

“Nobody is absolutely and medically certain or scientifically certain what produces that triad of injuries and what type of force is necessary to produce those injuries. The triad alone is not sufficient.”

The defense attorneys also share there are reasons to believe there are alternate reasons for the death of the girls.

In the case of Ball, Schroder states that the child was involved in a car accident a few days prior to the day she died. In the case of Ackley, a witness testified that the child’s injury was an old one and that she had been nauseous prior to being found unresponsive. The accused’s attorney, Andrew Rodenhouse, said that the cause of injury is unknown.

Ackley had previously been convicted and sentenced to prison in 2012 for the death of a 2-year-old named Baylee Stenman. His conviction was overturned by the Michigan Supreme Court last year due to his former defense attorney having failed to provide witnesses to challenge the testimonies of experts brought forth by the prosecution. The second trial began this week in Calhoun County, Michigan.

Ball was charged back in 2014 in the death of his girlfriend’s 20-month-old daughter, Athena Ramey. His trial is set to begin next week in the same courtroom as Ackley’s trial is held.

Calhoun County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Karen Pawloski stated in court records that it “is of questionable relevance” to focus on shaken baby syndrome in the cases and is misleading. Prosecutor David Gilbert also spoke to the Post on the syndrome’s relevance to the case.

“This is not a Shaken Baby Syndrome case. It implies that if you shake a baby hard enough, injuries occur. That’s not the argument in this case. We’re not claiming that the baby was shaken. We’re claiming the baby was injured.”

He reminded that both children suffered violent injuries as a result of abuse. The court records show that prosecutors used the term “abusive head trauma,” which is used interchangeably with shaken baby syndrome in the medical community when referring to toddlers and infants.

Schroder stated that the terminology is not the issue, and focuses more on the issue of the how the injuries automatically led to an assumption of homicide.

“The bottom line is not so much the term; it’s the triad of injuries that when medical professionals and prosecutors see those, they have a knee-jerk reaction and presume it’s homicide,” she said.

Ackley and Ball have asked the Michigan Supreme Court to halt their trials, but the state’s highest court has yet to make a decision. Additionally, the arguments in the courtroom over the syndrome in question are reflective of a debate that has divided the medical community for years. Over the past decade, there have been questions raised about the science behind shaken baby syndrome. Since 2001, there have been almost 2,000 cases within the U.S. However, in 213 of the cases, charges have been dropped or dismissed, or convictions have been overturned, following evidence surfacing that indicated the children were misdiagnosed.

[Featured Image by Michael Dodge/Getty Images]

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