March 14, 2011

In December 2008, following the release of Justice Stephen Goudge’s Report on The Inquiry into Pediatric Forensic Pathology in Ontario, I announced a review of pediatric cases that resulted in criminal convictions based on evidence of abusive head trauma or “shaken baby syndrome.”

The work of the “Shaken Baby” Death Review Committee, led by the Honourable Justice Donald A. Ebbs, is now complete.

I thank the members of the committee, including the world experts, for their hard work, collaboration, dedication and perseverance in completing this very difficult and important review.

The committee developed rigorous criteria to systematically review the medical and legal aspects of pediatric head injury cases that occurred between 1986 and 2006. The majority of those cases raised no concerns.

The committee identified four cases that may give rise to concerns based on reports prepared by an international medical panel and the facts and circumstances reviewed by the committee in each of these cases. The committee did not make any decisions about anyone’s guilt or innocence in the cases it examined.

We are contacting all the people whose cases were referred to the international medical panel to inform them of the results of the panel’s review so they can decide how to proceed.

This information has been provided to the Chief Prosecutor of Ontario and forwarded to the Ministry’s Crown Law Office – Criminal, to review and take appropriate action, including working with the defence counsel. We will continue to work with all justice system participants to expedite any case in which an injustice is claimed.

Chris Bentley, Attorney General