The Court of Appeal in London this week freed a mother who spent nearly seven years in jail for murdering her two children. Three judges ruled that the convictions of Donna Anthony, 31, were unsafe, because medical evidence put to the jury about the chances of two natural, sudden infant deaths occurring in the same family had been undermined by later research.
Mrs Anthony was sentenced to life imprisonment at Bristol Crown Court in 1998 for the murders of her 11 month old daughter Jordan in 1996 and her 4 month old son Michael in 1997.
Her appeal follows those of Sally Clark and Angela Cannings, two other mothers whose convictions for killing two of their babies were overturned in 2003. In Mrs Cannings' case Lord Justice Judge, the deputy chief justice, said no such prosecutions should be brought in future where reputable medical experts disputed the cause of death and there was no other cogent evidence against the mother (BMJ 2004;328: 18314739170, 24 January).
But Mrs Anthony's case was “very different” from Mrs Cannings', said the judge, because there was “cogent and disturbing” evidence apart from the medical evidence.
However, confidence in the statistical evidence given by the two most important medical experts called by the crown, one of whom was Professor Roy Meadow, was now “significantly undermined.”
The experts' conclusion that the babies had probably been smothered was based partly on what were said to be “incredibly long odds” against two babies in the same family dying suddenly from natural causes.
But a study published in January in the Lancet ( 2005;365: 2915639677) indicated that second deaths were not rare and that the majority—between 80% and 90%—were natural, said Lord Justice Judge, sitting with Mrs Justice Hallett and Mr Justice Leveson.
“In essence, the essential thrust of the crown's case against the appellant at trial has been significantly undermined,” he said.
The judge said the medical evidence put before the jury would have seemed “less compelling” in the light of today's knowledge.