Spotlight on Shaken-Baby Syndrome
_______________________________________________________________
The Medill Justice Project examines a largely opaque criminal-justice issue.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Federal Innocence Hearing Reopened After Medill Justice Project Uncovers New Evidence
Federal Innocence Hearing Reopened After Medill Justice Project Uncovers New Evidence
Rare decision in Chicago-area day care worker’s shaken-baby syndrome murder case
By Alison Flowers
The Medill Justice Project
Published: April 24, 2013
Jennifer Del Prete was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2005. (Department of Corrections)
In a rare move, a federal judge in Chicago is reopening a hearing to examine an imprisoned day care worker’s claim that she is innocent of murder, in light of new evidence recently uncovered by The Medill Justice Project.
Read the full story here.
Chicago-Area Day Care Owner Seeks Clemency from Governor
Chicago-Area Day Care Owner Seeks Clemency from Governor
Prisoner’s attorney cites Medill Justice Project revelatory findings
By Alison Flowers
The Medill Justice Project
Published: April 25, 2013
Pamela Jacobazzi was sentenced to 32 years in prison in 1999. (Department of Corrections)
A Chicago-area day care owner who says she is wrongfully imprisoned for an infant’s death has filed a clemency petition with the governor, citing medical experts and revelatory findings from a recent Medill Justice Project investigation that raises questions about her conviction.
Read the full story here.CONTENT
Attorney Says Newly Discovered Evidence ‘Undercuts’ Conclusion About Infant’s Death
Evidence dug up by Medill Justice Project probe of day care worker’s murder conviction By Alec Klein The Medill Justice Project Published: March 25, 2013
The attorney for Jennifer Del Prete, a day care worker convicted of murder, said authorities failed to turn over “favorable evidence” to the prisoner, potentially violating her constitutional right …
METHODOLOGY
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Overcoming Hurdles: How The Medill Justice Project is Creating a U.S. Database on Shaken-Baby Syndrome
________________________________________________________________________________________________
National criminal-justice experts weigh in on research approach
________________________________________________________________________________________________
By Alison Flowers The Medill Justice Project Published: Feb. 15, 2013
Scores of mothers, fathers, day care workers and other …
Federal Judge Opens Infant’s Records in Response to Medill Justice Project
Students seeking medical documents in shaken-baby syndrome case investigation
By Alison Flowers
The Medill Justice Project
Published: Feb. 12, 2013
The Medill Justice Project has won a six-month battle for records in federal court after a judge granted access to brain scans of an infant whose death …
Medill Innocence Project Probes 18-Year-Old Child-Abuse Case, Examining Medical Advances That Challenge Chicago-Area Day Care Owner’s Murder Conviction
In the project’s first published shaken-baby syndrome investigation, Medill students unearth old records, sources that shed new light on the circumstances of an infant’s death
By Mitchell Armentrout, Timna Axel, Lynne Fort, Janice Janeczko, Erin Kim, Valerie King, Joseph Lumley, Safiya Merchant, Ashley Powell and Miranda Viglietti
Medill …
Images from a Murder Investigation
Take a look behind the scenes of the Medill Innocence Project’s investigation of Pamela Jacobazzi’s conviction.
Medill Innocence Project Seeks Police Records From ’94 Case
__________________________________________________________
Denied records, Northwestern journalism students appeal to the Illinois Attorney General
By Alison Flowers with contributions from Mitchell Armentrout, Timna Axel, Lynne Fort, Janice Janeczko, Erin Kim,Valerie King, Joseph Lumley, Safiya Merchant, Ashley Powell and Miranda Viglietti
Medill Innocence Project Published: …
Video Diaries:
Perspectives on the Twelfth International Conference on Shaken Baby Syndrome/Abusive Head Trauma
__________________________________________________________________________________
Citizen journalists document their experiences
Shaken-baby syndrome continues to be a controversial medical and criminal-justice issue. Every two years experts and concerned citizens converge at the annual international conference on shaken-baby syndrome and abusive-head trauma. The Medill Innocence Project sent video …
A Letter to the Editor
The sister of convicted home daycare worker Jennifer Del Prete sent this note to the Medill Innocence Project. Del Prete has been incarcerated since 2005 for allegedly shaking an infant, resulting in her death nearly a year later. We have been investigating Del Prete’s case since March, and filed motions in federal court in August to …
Illinois Attorney General Challenges Medill Innocence Project’s Access to Infant’s Medical Records
By Alison Flowers Medill Innocence Project Published: Aug. 23, 2012 Updated: Aug. 27, 2012
The Illinois Attorney General is fighting an attempt by Northwestern University’s Medill Innocence Project to gain access to medical records for an ongoing student investigation of an infant’s death nearly a decade ago in Will County, Ill.
Northwestern, …
Judge Bars Access to Infant’s Medical Records
_______________________________________ Medill Innocence Project investigation seeks brain scans
By Alison Flowers Medill Innocence Project Published: Aug. 28, 2012 Updated: Aug. 28, 2012, 9:02 p.m.
A federal judge on Tuesday blocked access to brain scans of a deceased infant, detailed medical images the Medill Innocence Project is seeking as …
Medill Innocence Project Examines Shaken-Baby Syndrome Cases Nationwide
_________________________________________ Long-range research to be first U.S. published database
By Mary McGrath Medill Innocence Project Published: Sept. 4, 2012
The Medill Innocence Project is creating the first national and publicly available database of infant injuries and deaths linked to shaken-baby syndrome to shed light on an increasingly controversial …
Tia’s Story
Losing a child is a tragedy. That was the case when 14-month-old Isabella Zielinski died in 2003. Almost a year earlier, she lost consciousness while under the care of a Romeoville, Ill., daycare worker who was later accused of violently shaking her and causing serious internal injuries. In 2005, a Will County, Ill., judge found …
Setting the Record Straight
Norman Guthkelch Urges Experts to ‘Stop Shouting at One Another and Look at the Facts’
__________________________________________________________________________________________
PODCAST: Retired Doctor Challenges Shaken-Baby Syndrome Orthodoxy
Retired British pediatric neurosurgeon Norman Guthkelch is in the twilight of his life. But at 96, he is spending his final days in Evanston, Ill., working diligently to …
‘Swan Song’
Doctor’s ‘Final Reflection’ on Shaken-Baby Syndrome Controversy
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Retired British pediatric neurosurgeon Norman Guthkelch authors a paper as a ‘Serious Call’ to legal and medical professions. Published for the first time, read his paper here.
Medill Innocence Project Published: Sept. 11, 2012 Updated: Sept. 13, 2012
A Point of View:
________________________________________________________ Irish barrister, a visiting scholar at the Medill Innocence Project, examines shaken-baby syndrome in the United States and United Kingdom, finding deficiencies in the U.S. criminal-justice system
Recommends U.K.-style reform to avert potentially wrongful convictions
Published: Sept. 19, 2012
Alison Enright joined the Medill Innocence Project …
