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The state of Mississippi no longer has much of a case against Tasha Shelby. Almost 25 years ago, Shelby was convicted of a murder that almost certainly never happened. Prosecutors said she had shaken to death Bryan Thompson IV, her fiance’s two-year-old son from a previous relationship.

But the case has since fallen apart. In 2015, the medical examiner who helped convict her recanted his testimony. Last year, a juror from her trial said he now believes Shelby is innocent. And the theory under which she was convicted—Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS)—has been largely debunked. Symptoms associated with SBS can be caused by, among other things, illnesses, injuries sustained during childbirth, and short-distance falls.

To coincide with National Wrongful Convictions Day, Shelby’s legal team mailed an amended clemency petition to Gov. Tate Reeves and sent a copy to District Attorney Crosby Parker, Shelby’s attorney, Valena Beety, told The Appeal. Neither the governor nor prosector’s office responded to messages from The Appeal.

Beety says they last submitted a clemency petition in 2022 but did not receive an answer from the governor. Reeves has not yet granted any clemency petitions, but Shelby’s team hopes he’ll change course.

Archived at https://ghostarchive.org/archive/ULtK5

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[-] spankmonkey@lemmy.world 48 points 19 hours ago* (last edited 18 hours ago)

"I don't want to appear soft on people wrongfully convicted of murder," said Governor Reeves.

[-] lolcatnip@reddthat.com 15 points 16 hours ago
[-] Makeitstop@lemmy.world 8 points 15 hours ago

Have they tried telling them that the baby was protesting police violence, and was only shaken in self defense?

[-] scottmeme@sh.itjust.works 3 points 14 hours ago
[-] BossDj@lemm.ee 27 points 18 hours ago

"When considering clemency, we must first rigorously and thoroughly investigate whether or not the falsy convicted will come after our Treasury if released."

[-] funkless_eck@sh.itjust.works 24 points 17 hours ago

At this point being sentenced to death is more of a sign of innocence than anything else.

[-] Crackhappy@lemmy.world 9 points 18 hours ago
this post was submitted on 17 Oct 2024
152 points (98.1% liked)

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