That's the title of Pamela Colloff's latest article for Texas Monthly. Here's the sub-head: A Brownsville construction worker named Manuel Velez was sent to death row in 2008 after he was convicted of killing his girlfriend’s baby. Five years later, new testimony from a number of forensic experts suggests that the medical evidence against Velez was deeply flawed.
Colloff's 2010 TM article, "Innocence Lost," brought critical attention to the case of Anthony Graves. He was exonerated shortly after her article appeared.
Here's the beginning of her reporting on Manuel Velez:
When a child dies from suspected abuse or assault, law enforcement officers typically focus their investigation on the last person who was with the victim. This is logical reasoning; but recent developments in forensics have shown that a child’s fatal injuries could actually have been inflicted hours, days, or even weeks before he or she is rushed to the emergency room. The evolving science of head trauma, for example, has upended long-held beliefs about “shaken baby syndrome” and has recently resulted in a number of exonerations of people convicted of murdering children.At least three women in Texas have had their cases thrown out or convictions reversed when misinterpreted medical evidence was re-evaluated. And the case of Manuel Velez is now drawing attention for the same reasons.
Earlier coverage of Manuel Velez' case begins at the link. Related posts are in the forensics and expert witnesses category indexes.
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