Tasha Shelby, 47, has spent a quarter of a century — more than half her life — behind bars for a murder that the original medical examiner on the case says never happened. It was early morning on May 30, 1997, when two and a half year old Bryan Thompson was rushed to hospital after being discovered by his stepmother, Shelby, convulsing and gasping for breath. The child was placed on life support but was declared brain dead and died the following day.
Very quickly the doctors “diagnosed” Bryan, who was known as “Little” by his family, as having suffered from Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS). As the last adult to care for him, Shelby was immediately assumed to be the perpetrator. To the medical professionals and police, it was a straightforward case of cranial trauma. Shelby was convicted of capital murder in a Mississippi court in 2000 and sentenced to life without parole.
Dr Leroy Riddick, who died in 2021, carried out Bryan’s autopsy and was the state’s forensic pathologist on the case. In 2018, amid mounting evidence questioning the scientific basis of SBS, Riddick changed the death certificate from “homicide” to “accident” caused by a hereditary disorder. He also testified in a 2016 affidavit that, given developing medical understanding, Bryan’s injuries were more likely the result of a combination of factors including falling a short distance and a seizure.
Poster Comment:
Or an adverse vaccine reaction!