Mississippi dad’s ‘shaken baby’ murder conviction reversed

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi court has reversed the murder conviction of a father accused of shaking his 4-month-old daughter to death a decade ago.

The Daily Journal reports Mississippi’s Court of Appeals ordered a third trial for Joshua Clark, whose lawyer said “shaken baby syndrome” has been proven to be “junk science.”

Clark was sentenced to life in prison for killing his daughter in 2008. An appeal based on ineffective counsel resulted in a second trial, where a state medical expert testified in 2016 that she thought the baby had been violently shaken, causing fatal brain damage. Clark then got 40 years for second-degree murder.

Defense attorney Jim Waide argued that scientists have cast doubt on this “syndrome.” Tuesday’s ruling agreed that the state witness didn’t provide support for her findings.

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Information from: Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, http://djournal.com