Calhoun County, Michigan. The controversial Shaken Baby Syndrome cases were moved to the courtroom in Michigan, and the two men accused of killing the toddlers are still demanding for reliable proofs for the diagnosis. Other possible causes of the two babies' death were defined.
Anthony Ball and Leo Ackley are separately charged with first-degree child abuse and felony murder for the deaths of their girlfriends' daughters. The fire on debates flared even further when the Attorneys of both accused have teamed up against the presumed overzealous prosecution. The attorneys are looking at the angle of flawed science for the findings saying that the result of the abuse is Shaken Baby Syndrome, according to The Washington Post report.
Ball and Ackley were of different fate. Ackley was convicted and sentenced to prison in 2012 due to the death of his girlfriend's 2-year-old Baylee Stenman. Ball on the other hand was charged in 2014 in the loss of his fiance's 20-month-old baby girl. Both men will be in a trial starting next week sharing the same courtroom. Michigan Supreme Court has overturned the conviction for Ackley for this new trial, as per the Syllabus from the Court.
The two Attorneys present the evidences of the other parties which include medical proofs that point to three injuries, which lead to the conclusion of both victims to have been violently shaken. The three points include: bleeding on the surface of the brain, bleeding behind the eyes and brain swelling. The Attorneys said that these are insufficient.
Many doctors have questioned the science behind the Shaken Baby Syndrome over the recent decades. Many convictions in the past were also overturned after findings on children originally said to have been killed or injured by the Shaken Baby Syndrome were proven to be misdiagnosed.
"You can't necessarily prove [Shaken Baby Syndrome] one way or another - sort of like politics or religion," forensic pathologist Gregory G. Davis said via the Washington Post for the Shaken Science edition.
Ackley and Ball still have the chance to be proven innocent of the crime. But the mothers still are hurting and want justice. Michigan Supreme Court has to balance justice and science thoroughly in the next few weeks for these cases.
The government warns parents of the Abusive Head Trauma (AHT or Shaken Baby Syndrome) that may happen to their kids. The CDC gives guidelines to protect kids under 5, who are the ones prone to AHT.
