Abuse cases doctors face probe
The cases of the sex
abuse expert and the cot death expert
Dr Camille San Lazaro
Dozens
of child abuse cases could be re-opened because of the evidence of an expert,
Dr Camille San Lazaro, who today has become
controversial.
Calls have been made for a review after a North East man had his conviction for
raping a boy overturned because of the evidence of Dr Lazaro.
Dr Lazaro was criticised in
2002 for her role in the investigation into false claims of abuse at a
The links below give more information about the Dawn Reed and Christopher
Lillie case. Judge Eady's verdict is brilliant.
Abuse
cases doc face probe
By Rob Kennedy
The Evening Chronicle,
Evening
Chronicle comment
Review abuse claims
By The Evening Chronicle
The Evening Chronicle,
Landmark decision in
High Court
Landmark decision in the High Court - Judge Eady's
verdict. Part I
Landmark decision in the High Court - Judge Eady's
verdict. Part II
Landmark decision in the High Court - Judge Eady's
verdict. Part III
Sir Roy Meadow
The High Court has ordered an enquiry into the
thousands of children taken from their parents on the say-so of 'expert'
witnesses. This follows the release from prison of three mothers accused of
killing their children. Sir Roy Meadow, the doctor whose evidence was crucial, constructed
what came to be called "Meadow's Law". He told the court that, one
death is 'Cot-death syndrome'; two is unfortunate, three is murder - even where
there was no evidence against the mothers. This has been accepted for 10 years.
Then, after a long and fascinating defence mounted by
the husband of one of the imprisoned women, it emerged that this eminent doctor
HAS NO research so support his outrageous claim that Munchausen
by Proxy even exists - except as a lucrative theory of his own. He never even
interviewed one of the mothers whose children he caused to be taken away. He
also claims to have 'destroyed' all his research material.
Many other doctors have always said that it was
a genetic pre-disposition that caused the deaths and almost magical support of
this was found by the husband of the woman in prison. He found that his wife
had an unknown, distant cousin in
The power of experts to cause such damage,
without adequate research or anything but a theory to support them and with
that, the secrecy of the Family Courts
who often take away a woman's children, even after she has been acquitted in a
criminal court, is now to be investigated. Already the judges have been told
that 'expert' witness cannot be a reason to convict anybody; there must be
other evidence.
All
this has suddenly come tumbling out into the light of
day and the Lord Chief Justice has ordered a thorough investigation into this
whole area. It is being said that there will be several thousand children
eligible to be returned to their natural parents - and a huge problem to solve,
when the children have been adopted. But at least it's a start.
Cot death
review may overturn thousands of care orders
By Robert Verkaik
Global experts slam cot
death policy
BBC News
Wider cot deaths review
considered
BBC News
Statement on
Professor Sir Samuel Roy Meadow
Expert in baby death cases charged with
misconduct
By Celia Hall
'We can't reunite thousands of mothers with
children wrongly taken from them'
By Melissa Kite
Desperately seeking justice
By David Cohen