§ Tim LoughtonTo ask the Solicitor-General in how many cases in which parents were charged with causing the death of a child, was expert evidence given by Professor Sir Roy Meadow. [145032]
§ The Solicitor-GeneralThe recently published judgment in Angela Cannings has raised concerns over the safety of a number of convictions and as such will have serious and far-reaching implications. The Court of Appeal said that in relation to unexplained infant deaths when the outcome of the trial depended exclusively or almost exclusively on a serious disagreement between distinguished and reputable experts it will often be unsafe to proceed.
As soon as the Court gave its judgement that Angela Cannings' conviction was unsafe, the Attorney and I requested that all cases which potentially involve sudden infant death syndrome be identified as quickly as possible. By the time the Court published its written judgement some 258 convictions involving the murder, manslaughter or infanticide of an infant under two by its parent had been identified.
Those convictions will now be reviewed as a matter of urgency to establish how many were convictions that the Court of Appeal judgement in Angela Cannings indicated may be unsafe. Priority will be accorded to those persons who are still serving a sentence of imprisonment. While I cannot give any figures at present for the number of cases in which parents were charged with causing the death of a child and in which expert evidence was given, the identification and review of the 258 convictions may enable further and more detailed information to be given in due course.
§ Tim LoughtonTo ask the Solicitor-General how many(a) women and (b) men are serving jail sentences as a result of court cases in which expert evidence was given by Professor Sir Roy Meadow. [145033]
§ The Solicitor-GeneralThe recently published judgment in Angela Cannings has raised concerns over the safety of a number of convictions and as such will have serious and far-reaching implications. The Court of Appeal said that in relation to unexplained infant deaths when the outcome of the trial depended exclusively or1310W almost exclusively on a serious disagreement between distinguished and reputable experts it will often be unsafe to proceed.
As soon as the Court gave its judgement that Angela Cannings' conviction was unsafe, the Attorney and I requested that all cases which potentially involve sudden infant death syndrome be identified as quickly as possible. By the time the Court published its written judgement some 258 convictions involving the murder, manslaughter or infanticide of an infant under two by its parent had been identified.
Those convictions will now be reviewed as a matter of urgency to establish how many were convictions that the Court of Appeal judgment in Angela Cannings indicated may be unsafe. Priority will be accorded to those persons who are still serving a sentence of imprisonment. While I cannot give any figures at present for those men and women who are serving jail sentences in which Professor Meadow gave evidence, the process of identifying and reviewing the convictions I have mentioned above may enable further and more detailed information to be given in due course.