Celebrating 40 Shaken Baby Syndrome Exonerations
Thousands of people have been convicted in Shaken Baby Syndrome cases. Forty of those have been exonerated to date—officially cleared of wrongdoing. Few received official apologies for the devastation of their lives. Some were escorted out of prison doors and left to fend for themselves with no money, job, housing, or insurance.
The National Registry of Exonerations estimates that about 41% of exonerees who seek compensation for a wrongful conviction receive it, but the process can be long and frustrating. No amount of money can erase the suffering these people endured. Families were bankrupted, children torn from their parents’ arms. Some exonerees were not allowed to attend their baby’s funeral. They were locked behind bars when their kids took first steps, started kindergarten, celebrated special birthdays, starred in the school play, won a medal in sports, walked down the aisle to marry the person they love. They missed good night hugs, family vacations, being at their mother’s bedside when she died. The divorce rate for couples when one spouse is in jail or prison for more than a year is 80% to 90%.
At least 90 additional people whose convictions were overturned took plea bargains to time served to end the nightmare. They chose to recover whatever shattered remnants of their lives remained rather than fight on. They’d learned that innocence is no excuse when the allegation is child abuse.
These 40 exonerees spent a grand total of nearly 340 YEARS behind prison walls! One had been sentenced to death, four to life without parole. Five were sentenced to life with possible parole, and another four to indeterminate sentences of decades to life, which effectively means life unless guilt is acknowledged. Parole boards have little sympathy for convicts who refuse to admit culpability.
Click anywhere on a line to read an exoneree’s complete story on the National Registry of Exonerations web site. A 2-page printable list is here.