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Shaken Baby Syndrome on Trial

By Steve Hall

"Shaken baby syndrome itself is put on trial in Fairfax court," is the title of Tom Jackman's report in today's Washington Post. As a criminal trial in Fairfax County tries to determine who, or what, caused 4-month-old Noah Whitmer's brain hemorrhage, the debate over whether "shaken baby syndrome" exists has erupted into a national battle of the experts. Most criminal trials focus on what the defendant did and didn't do. But in this case, the complicated matter of what's humanly possible is at center stage. Already on the jury's plate: Craig Futterman, a Fairfax pediatrician and president of the national Shaken Baby Alliance, testified that 50 Gs of force -- 50 times the force of gravity -- are required to shake an infant's brain and cause serious damage...continue to full post

Full post as published by StandDown Texas Project on January 19, 2010 (boomark / email).