 Dr. Charles Smith sits on the stand at the Goudge inquiry in Toronto on Monday, Jan. 28. 2008. (Adrian Wyld / THE CANADIAN PRESS)  
Updated: Mon Jan. 28 2008 10:29:47 Disgraced pathologist Dr. Charles Smith, whose child death investigations resulted in a number of wrongful convictions, testified today that his training as a pathologist was "woefully inadequate." Smith is testifying at a public inquiry in Toronto into systemic errors in the field of pediatric forensics. The inquiry was ordered after serious doubts were raised about opinions given by Smith in roughly 20 cases of suspicious child deaths. In more than 12 of those cases, Smith's decisions led to criminal investigations or convictions. Smith opened his testimony with an apology for his "mistakes." "I do accept full responsibility for my work, for my opinions and for my action," said Smith. "I do recognize that many people have questions for me and I will answer and provide testimony as best I can to help clarify these questions.'' He admitted that his training in forensic pathology was "minimal,'' that he was basically "self taught'' and that his behaviour at times was unprofessional. Smith also said that despite the numerous cases in which he gave expert testimony, he now recognizes that he was "profoundly ignorant" of the role of expert witnesses and the way the criminal justice system works. However, when asked about being described in the media as someone who saw abuse in every child's death, he said the description was "grossly erroneous." The inquiry has heard months of testimony from experts and former colleagues. Victims seek answers One father spent more than a decade in prison for the death of his niece before being exonerated, and several mothers spent years in prison before the cases against them fell apart. Sherry Sherret, who was convicted of killing her son based on an autopsy by Smith, travelled to Toronto to attend the hearing in hopes of getting some answers. "I guess (I hope to receive) the answers," she told CTV's Canada AM. "Why? If you needed help, why didn't you ask, why did you choose to do this? Why did you not ask for the help, say, 'could someone else go over this just to make sure it's right,'? It's just confusing as to why, honestly." Sherret's own conviction in the death of her young son, who was sleeping in a playpen when he died, turned her life upside down, she told Canada AM. She lost custody of her older son, who she hasn't seen since 1999 and is now being raised by his adoptive family. Sherret also spent several years in jail, and at times felt her life was over. "It's been a long journey," she said, noting that she has since remarried and has a young daughter, but still looks forward to her son's 18th birthday, when she can see him again. William Mullins-Johnson was also convicted based on Smith's findings. He spent 12 years in jail for the death of his niece before his conviction was quashed after six experts found no evidence to support Smith's finding that the girl had been sodomized and asphyxiated. Lawyer Peter Wardle told The Canadian Press the parents and families affected by Smith's mistakes will be expecting more than just an apology. "Many of them have waited 10 -- in one case 20 -- years to hear him give his side of the story," said Wardle, who represents several of the families. "They all have questions they want answered." Although his clients felt the apology delivered in November was "too little, too late," they're anxious to hear what Smith has to say, Wardle added. The mandate of the inquiry is broader than just Smith's work, however. Its objective is to take a look at errors that exist in Ontario's pediatric pathology system. Smith is facing a room full of lawyers seeking insight into how his work in pediatric pathology often served only to worsen the tragedy of a child's death. With files from The Canadian Press |
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Pathologist's training was 'woefully inadequate' (2oo8)
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Woman convicted in son’s death wants appeal before public inquiry into pathologist (2oo7)
Written by: KEITH LESLIE
Apr. 23, 2007
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| Ontario Attorney General Michael Bryant. (CPimages) |
TORONTO -An Ontario woman convicted in 1999 of killing her infant son said Monday that a public inquiry into the work of former pathologist Dr. Charles Smith should not delay the fight to clear her name.
Sherry Sherrett said the Ontario government continues to block her efforts to appeal the conviction, despite a new autopsy showing her four-month-old son, Joshua, died of natural causes and an expert panel questioning Smith's work.
As a result, the Trenton, Ont., woman has gone public with her fight.
"I woke up to my son gone. He was taken from me. And from that day on, I became a baby killer. It haunts me still to this day," an emotional Sherrett told a news conference.
"People had labelled me as a baby killer, and when you hear this for so long you begin to doubt yourself. Only Joshua knows at this point that I never harmed him."
Sherrett wiped away tears as she spoke about Joshua's death, the first-degree murder charge laid against her, and about another son, now 13, who she will not be allowed to see until his eighteenth birthday.
"He sends me pictures. I'm updated twice a year and those packages, when I get them, I hold them in my lap and read over and over and over again," she said.
In 1999, Smith, then a pathologist at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children, gave evidence at the criminal trial which ultimately saw Sherrett convicted of killing Joshua.
"To this day, I regularly visit his grave," said Sherrett. "I take care of his flowers, and I sit and talk with him and hope that he hears me, to know that I love him, and that I never stopped loving him."
Attorney General Michael Bryant could easily help Sherrett clear her name by allowing her to appeal her conviction to the Ontario Court of Appeal, said lawyer James Lockyer of the Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted.
"She spent a year in jail for something that never happened," said Lockyer.
"She's lived with the aura of being a killer of her own child for all those years. For God's sake, Michael Bryant, do something about it today."
Earlier Monday, Bryant announced a full-scale public inquiry into Smith's work, something he was criticized for not doing immediately last week after a coroner's report questioned the pathologist's findings in 20 of 45 cases that were reviewed.
"I don't know why he didn't have the class to do it on Thursday," complained Lockyer. "Thank heaven he's had the class to do it today."
The name of the judge that will head the public inquiry and the terms of reference will be announced Wednesday after they're approved by the Liberal cabinet, said Bryant.
"We felt that power, of subpoena for people and documents, was important in these circumstances," Bryant told The Canadian Press in an interview.
Sherrett asked the media to pressure Bryant to help her appeal the conviction, saying he promised as much after the release of the coroner's report into Dr. Smith's work.
"Last Thursday, the attorney general said he would do everything to write the wrongs," said Sherrett.
"So far, his Crown (attorneys) flatly refused to right my wrong. How much longer does he think I should live with everything from the past, with the shame of being convicted of killing my own child?"
William Mullins-Johnson, who spent 12 years in prison for the murder of his four-year-old niece Valin, said Monday that he agreed with Sherrett about how hard it would be to shake the killer label.
"That label, Sherry's right, we'll have to deal with this for the rest of our lives," he said. "It's more than a stain on a person's life. It's a deep cut that a Band-Aid just can't heal."
Both Sherrett and Mullins-Johnson said they wanted to see Dr. Smith testify under oath at the public inquiry.
"I no longer have to account for anything at all, but Dr. Smith does," said Sherrett.
Mullins-Johnson, who was released from custody last year after evidence surfaced that Smith had lost tissue samples capable of showing Valin died of natural causes, agreed.
"Something has to be done. This guy has to be held accountable somehow, some way."
Mullins-Johnson's case has been sent to the federal justice minister for review, a process that could be completed as early as next month.
Smith's lawyer, Niels Ortved, refused to comment Monday on the province's move to call a public inquiry into Smith's work. Ortved told The Canadian Press that he doesn't even know yet whether he'll be representing Smith at the public inquiry.
