In 1997, British nanny Louise Woodward became the centre of an internationally followed murder trial in the United States after eight month old Matthew Eappen died while in her care in Massachusetts. Prosecutors alleged that Woodward had violently shaken the baby and caused fatal injuries. Woodward denied deliberately harming him. A jury initially convicted her of second-degree murder, a verdict that shocked many people in Britain. The trial judge later reduced the conviction to involuntary manslaughter and sentenced her to time already served, allowing her to return to the UK. The case sparked fierce debate between medical experts about shaken baby syndrome, the evidence presented at trial and whether the original murder conviction had been justified.
Do you remember the Louise Woodward case? Do you think the jury reached the wrong verdict originally, or was the judge right to reduce the conviction?
Do you remember the Louise Woodward case? Do you think the jury reached the wrong verdict originally, or was the judge right to reduce the conviction?