Category Archives: child mortality
NPR/Pro Publica/Frontline reporting leads to new trial for man accused of murdering infant
From the joint National Public Radio/Pro Publica/FrontLine investigative series on post-mortem investigations in the United States, NPR’s series on wrongful convictions: one report, that of Ernie Lopez, appears to have led to the Texas courts to order Mr. Lopez released pending a new trial. Mr. Lopez was convicted of the murder and sexual assault of a six-month old child Mr. Lopez and his wife were caring for. The government’s case seems to have relied on junk forensic science; Mr. Lopez’s lawyers did not call to testify, and may not even have consulted, any scientific witnesses.
Free, But Not Cleared: Ernie Lopez Comes Home. Here’s the initial report on cases involving child deaths, including that of Ernie Lopez: The Child Cases: Guilty Until Proved Innocent.
Cross-posted on The Discovery Strategist Blog.
Why do American children die at such high rates?
From BBC News,
Why is the problem of violence against children so much more acute in the US than anywhere else in the industrialised world, asks Michael Petit, President of Every Child Matters. Over the past 10 years, more than 20,000 American children are believed to have been killed in their own homes by family members. That is nearly four times the number of US soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. The child maltreatment death rate in the US is triple Canada’s and 11 times that of Italy. Millions of children are reported as abused and neglected every year. Why is that?
Excerpted from America’s child death shame (BBC News)
Widespread systemic failures in state child protective services agencies?
Are there widespread systemic failures in state child protective services agencies? We are afraid that the likely answer is “yes.”
We are certain, however, that there is sufficient evidence for this hypothesis to constitute a moral imperative to find out. Our readers are, we think, entitled to some background with respect to our involvement.
In the course of following up on certain aspects of radio communications failures ((See
September 11th radio communications, revisited
)) in New York City on September 11, 2001 we learned of the book Radio Silence, FDNY – The Betrayal of New York’s Bravest, by FDNY Battalion Chief John A. Joyce and Bill Bowen. More on the radio issue(s), of course, as we proceed.
But it turns out that Bowen – as these things happen – is working on a new project, having turned his attention to the status of children who are under the care of – more properly the responsibility of – child protective services agencies around the country. He started looking in Oregon, and then (I think the chronology may be off) Arizona, Washington State, and California.
Whether or not Bowen’s project – testing this hypothesis – fits the criteria of “disaster” is, of course. a fair question. But Bowen plausibly contends a rate of death while in direct or indirect government care at about 1,000 children per year. That it’s spread out across the year and diverse geographically doesn’t change that. And the deaths have a common cause: failures of child protective services agencies which aren’t subject to any effective supervision (and for the most part, are funded about 75% by the federal government).
Please take a look at the 21-minute version of Bill Bown’s “innocence destroyed” on YouTube (in three segments):