WEBVTT - #240 Jason Flom with Stephanie Spurgeon 0:00:03.760 --> 0:00:06.400 Stephanie Spurgeon was a married mother of two and a 0:00:06.480 --> 0:00:09.440 licensed childcare provider who had been running a daycare facility 0:00:09.440 --> 0:00:12.720 from her home in Florida for fifteen years. On August 0:00:12.800 --> 0:00:15.560 twenty first, two thousand and eight, one year old Maria 0:00:15.600 --> 0:00:19.760 Harris spent her first day at Stephanie's daycare. Maria's grandmother 0:00:19.800 --> 0:00:22.880 had picked up a sleeping Maria that day, but soon 0:00:22.920 --> 0:00:26.840 after had noticed that Maria was unresponsive and in distress. 0:00:26.920 --> 0:00:30.640 Ignoring other potential root causes and relying on the junk 0:00:30.720 --> 0:00:34.479 science of shaken baby syndrome, doctors opined that brain bleed 0:00:34.520 --> 0:00:37.760 and swelling were signs of child abuse, placing blame on 0:00:37.840 --> 0:00:41.640 the brand new childcare provider, Stephanie Spurgeon, and when Maria 0:00:41.720 --> 0:00:45.159 died seven days later, the charges were upgraded to murder, 0:00:45.760 --> 0:00:49.040 but with the lack of external injuries, the state changed 0:00:49.040 --> 0:00:52.360 its shaken baby theory, concocting a new narrative in which 0:00:52.400 --> 0:00:56.080 Maria had been repeatedly struck against the soft surface. The 0:00:56.200 --> 0:00:59.639 defense failed to pivot to this new theory, instead presenting 0:00:59.680 --> 0:01:02.840 a shape and baby syndrome defense, and with the states 0:01:02.960 --> 0:01:07.800 uncontested yet totally dubious soft impact theory. The jury found 0:01:07.840 --> 0:01:11.200 Stephanie guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter and sentenced 0:01:11.200 --> 0:01:14.280 her to fifteen years in prison. With the help of 0:01:14.480 --> 0:01:18.080 multiple innocence projects and a current candidate for state's attorney, 0:01:18.319 --> 0:01:21.399 Stephanie was able to present the proper expert testimony. 0:01:21.720 --> 0:01:22.319 This proved the. 0:01:22.360 --> 0:01:26.080 State's ludicrous soft impact theory, win a new trial, and 0:01:26.319 --> 0:01:31.560 ultimately be set free after nine long years. This is 0:01:31.600 --> 0:01:50.000 wrongful conviction. Welcome back to Wrongful Conviction. Today's episode is well, 0:01:50.240 --> 0:01:53.400 I'm gonna be honest with you, it's terrifying because this 0:01:53.480 --> 0:01:59.000 is a story that is both unique and also somehow 0:01:59.200 --> 0:02:03.800 not uncommon, and it involves an innocent woman working at 0:02:03.800 --> 0:02:06.960 a daycare center who got caught up in the criminal 0:02:07.080 --> 0:02:11.079 legal system for no reason of her own making. I'm 0:02:11.080 --> 0:02:14.560 going to introduce our incredible guest today, because we have three, 0:02:15.240 --> 0:02:19.919 including the woman who lived through this nightmare herself, Stephanie Spurgeon. First, 0:02:19.960 --> 0:02:24.240 I'm going to introduce our very distinguished group. Seth Miller 0:02:24.480 --> 0:02:27.520 is here. He's the executive director of the Innocence Project 0:02:27.560 --> 0:02:30.839 of Florida. It does incredible work day in and day out, 0:02:30.919 --> 0:02:34.880 pushing huge boulders uphills of justice. So Seth, thanks for 0:02:34.919 --> 0:02:35.320 being here. 0:02:35.800 --> 0:02:37.440 Thanks Jason, thrilled to be here. 0:02:37.800 --> 0:02:41.760 And with him and with us. Is Alison Miller no relation. 0:02:42.320 --> 0:02:45.480 She is an attorney with Ripley Wisenhunt and is also 0:02:45.880 --> 0:02:50.200 currently running for the State's Attorney Office of Florida. And 0:02:50.240 --> 0:02:52.880 I hope people will support her because we need people 0:02:53.120 --> 0:02:56.600 like you in positions like that. But for the time being, 0:02:56.600 --> 0:02:58.360 we're happy to have you right where you are and 0:02:58.480 --> 0:03:00.440 right here on the mic. So Alison Miller or welcome 0:03:00.480 --> 0:03:01.239 to Wronful Conviction. 0:03:01.560 --> 0:03:03.040 Thank you so much for having me. 0:03:03.440 --> 0:03:05.960 And Stephanie, what can I say? I feel like the 0:03:05.960 --> 0:03:09.000 whole human race owes you a debt of gratitude for 0:03:09.280 --> 0:03:13.280 sharing your story and for just being the strong, courageous 0:03:13.440 --> 0:03:16.639 woman that you are. And I appreciate you being here. 0:03:16.760 --> 0:03:19.400 So Stephanie to you. Also, welcome to Ronful Conviction. 0:03:19.840 --> 0:03:21.280 Thank you, Jason. It's my pleasure. 0:03:21.840 --> 0:03:24.320 And so Stephanie, this is the story that we've heard 0:03:24.440 --> 0:03:27.440 time and time again where somebody like yourself is doing 0:03:27.880 --> 0:03:30.440 you know, let's call it what it is, essential work. 0:03:30.800 --> 0:03:34.440 Where would we be as a society without daycare centers? 0:03:34.840 --> 0:03:37.360 The working world would grind to a halt, And yet 0:03:37.600 --> 0:03:40.880 people like you too often end up in situations like 0:03:40.920 --> 0:03:44.760 the one we're talking about today. I mean, it really 0:03:44.760 --> 0:03:47.760 makes my heart hurt. But let's please take us back 0:03:47.800 --> 0:03:50.040 before this incident happened in two thousand and eight. Can 0:03:50.080 --> 0:03:52.600 you tell us what your life was like back then. 0:03:53.200 --> 0:03:56.400 I was married for nineteen years, and I had two 0:03:56.440 --> 0:03:59.520 beautiful children. We had a beautiful life. We were well 0:03:59.680 --> 0:04:03.800 knit family. We did a lot of family vacations. I 0:04:03.880 --> 0:04:07.360 was a license and home daycare provider for fifteen years. 0:04:07.800 --> 0:04:10.280 The parents that would come into my home, they became 0:04:10.440 --> 0:04:13.680 part of my family. Their kids became part of my family. 0:04:14.280 --> 0:04:18.279 We would celebrate holidays together and different things. It was 0:04:18.520 --> 0:04:21.480 very fulfilling. I was able to work with children. I 0:04:21.560 --> 0:04:24.120 was able to be at home with my own children. 0:04:24.480 --> 0:04:28.400 I decided at one point to go into special needs children. 0:04:28.800 --> 0:04:31.000 So I took lots of children that came in who 0:04:31.600 --> 0:04:37.560 had speech issues or different disabilities, and I grew a 0:04:37.600 --> 0:04:40.359 real heart for these kids because not a lot of 0:04:40.360 --> 0:04:43.919 places would accept any special needs children. And then I 0:04:44.000 --> 0:04:47.119 decided to branch off a little bit further and start 0:04:47.200 --> 0:04:53.120 taking teenage parent children. So Esther Harris was actually the 0:04:53.279 --> 0:04:56.760 very first teen mom that I took. She was seventeen 0:04:56.839 --> 0:05:01.080 years old when I was introduced to her, Maria. 0:05:01.240 --> 0:05:03.280 And so not only are you taking care of other 0:05:03.279 --> 0:05:05.800 people's kids, you're doing it in your own home, opening 0:05:05.839 --> 0:05:08.920 your doors and your heart and taking care of kids 0:05:08.920 --> 0:05:11.440 who have issues with other people. Well might not want 0:05:11.480 --> 0:05:14.120 to open their home too, or their hearts, right, I mean, 0:05:14.600 --> 0:05:17.920 so this case, I'd like to say it happened a 0:05:17.960 --> 0:05:20.039 long time ago, but it really didn't, right. I mean, 0:05:20.160 --> 0:05:22.960 it would feel a little bit better if it was 0:05:23.040 --> 0:05:26.200 back before we had science evolved to a place that 0:05:26.279 --> 0:05:27.760 it was at in two thousand and eight, which is 0:05:27.760 --> 0:05:30.480 when this tragedy occurred, of course. And I said tragedy 0:05:30.560 --> 0:05:34.120 not crime. That's deliberate, because that's what it was. And 0:05:34.160 --> 0:05:36.599 so Seth, do you want to set the stage for 0:05:36.680 --> 0:05:38.720 us of what happened on that awful day and how 0:05:38.720 --> 0:05:40.000 this became a criminal matter. 0:05:40.520 --> 0:05:43.240 When I think about these cases when a child dies, 0:05:43.760 --> 0:05:46.640 a lot of times the folks involved in trying to 0:05:46.640 --> 0:05:49.320 figure out how that happened kind of go nutty. They 0:05:49.360 --> 0:05:51.640 aren't able to take sober views of what might have 0:05:51.720 --> 0:05:54.120 happened to that child. And that's what happened here in 0:05:54.160 --> 0:05:57.119 this case. Sephie Spurgeon was running an in home daycare 0:05:57.120 --> 0:06:00.280 at her home. It was better business bureau rated had 0:06:00.320 --> 0:06:03.159 generations worth of children who come through the daycare who 0:06:03.360 --> 0:06:08.040 really positive experiences, their families had positive experiences. And the child, 0:06:08.080 --> 0:06:11.440 Maria Harris, was her first day at the daycare. And 0:06:11.480 --> 0:06:15.240 yet on this day, this poor child was suffering from 0:06:15.480 --> 0:06:18.120 what was clearly a distress, a medical situation. 0:06:18.520 --> 0:06:22.360 When Maria's grandmother, Patricia came and picked her up that day, 0:06:22.560 --> 0:06:26.160 Maria had been sleeping. So I reached into the pack 0:06:26.200 --> 0:06:28.280 and play and I picked her up, and she kind 0:06:28.279 --> 0:06:31.160 of stirred in my arms, and I passed her to Patricia, 0:06:31.320 --> 0:06:34.360 and she stirred in Patricia's arms, and then Patricia took 0:06:34.400 --> 0:06:36.680 her and placed her in the car and drove her home. 0:06:37.080 --> 0:06:41.240 Thirty minutes later is when we got the phone call. Maria, 0:06:41.360 --> 0:06:44.480 I guess was deteriorating as she was sleeping, and I 0:06:44.640 --> 0:06:47.880 was unaware that there was any issue because I simply 0:06:47.920 --> 0:06:48.920 thought she was asleep. 0:06:49.600 --> 0:06:52.200 At the end of the day, the child was growing up. 0:06:52.279 --> 0:06:55.640 The child was crying and was clearly kind of lifeless 0:06:55.680 --> 0:06:58.320 in a lot of ways, and called nine one one. 0:06:58.400 --> 0:07:00.120 It took the child to the hospital and when they 0:07:00.160 --> 0:07:01.840 were on the way to the hospital, they tested the 0:07:01.920 --> 0:07:04.600 child's blood sugar and the child had a high. 0:07:04.360 --> 0:07:05.640 Four hundreds of blood sugar. 0:07:05.640 --> 0:07:07.560 And I don't know if any of y'all have diabetes 0:07:07.720 --> 0:07:10.320 or test your blood sugar regularly, but that is four 0:07:10.360 --> 0:07:12.120 to five times the normal level. 0:07:12.240 --> 0:07:14.000 So this child is in major distress. 0:07:14.440 --> 0:07:16.200 What they do when they get this child to the 0:07:16.240 --> 0:07:19.120 hospital is they realize after doing a number of tests 0:07:19.120 --> 0:07:21.760 on the child that the child's suffering from a brain 0:07:22.000 --> 0:07:25.920 lead a subdural hematoma, and the child has brain swelling 0:07:26.080 --> 0:07:29.280 and that has led to the child having retinal hemorrhages. 0:07:29.520 --> 0:07:33.040 And instead of treating the child for what looked like 0:07:33.120 --> 0:07:37.240 a diabetic situation, a diabetic distress because the child had 0:07:37.240 --> 0:07:39.920 the subdual heemotone, because the child had this brain swelling 0:07:40.360 --> 0:07:44.720 and the retinal hemorrhages, the doctors immediately assumed that this 0:07:45.160 --> 0:07:47.720 was an abusive situation because they thought that this was 0:07:48.040 --> 0:07:51.360 the three ingredients the triad as they call it, cause 0:07:51.400 --> 0:07:54.040 by taking baby syndrome or what is more commonly known 0:07:54.080 --> 0:07:56.480 now is abusive head trauma. So that had a chance 0:07:56.520 --> 0:07:59.280 to try to treat this child to maybe ameliorate or 0:07:59.280 --> 0:08:02.559 even prevent and a bigger problem or death to treat 0:08:02.560 --> 0:08:06.280 this metabolic this diabetic situation, but instead they assumed it 0:08:06.320 --> 0:08:09.800 was abuse and were often running taking a medical situation 0:08:09.960 --> 0:08:12.840 and elevating it to the crime, and unfortunately his child 0:08:12.920 --> 0:08:14.080 died seven days later. 0:08:14.720 --> 0:08:17.800 The idea that this might have been prevented if they 0:08:18.320 --> 0:08:21.600 just simply focused on the problem at hand rather than 0:08:21.680 --> 0:08:25.240 turning this into wild accusations of child abuse makes my 0:08:25.360 --> 0:08:28.600 blood boil. I mean, and I think it's worth mentioning. 0:08:28.800 --> 0:08:32.720 As we've covered extensively on our show Junk Science and 0:08:32.800 --> 0:08:36.080 other episodes of Wrongful Conviction as well, just a general 0:08:36.200 --> 0:08:40.640 overview of the theory of shaking baby syndrome or SBS. Now. 0:08:41.040 --> 0:08:44.440 It was initially introduced as a hypothesis by British pediatric 0:08:44.520 --> 0:08:48.520 neurosurgeon doctor Norman guth Kelch, who was trying to explain 0:08:48.720 --> 0:08:52.360 a cause for inexplicable child deaths in which a child 0:08:52.440 --> 0:08:56.400 or baby, toddler whatever had presented subdural hematoma otherwise known 0:08:56.400 --> 0:08:59.160 as bleeding in the brain, retinal hemorrhage, so you know, 0:08:59.200 --> 0:09:03.000 bleeding in the eye, in brain swelling, or cerebral edemon Now. 0:09:03.360 --> 0:09:07.679 Doctor Kuthkelch hypothesized that perhaps a typical method of scolding 0:09:07.720 --> 0:09:09.719 a child in Great Britain at the time, giving the 0:09:09.800 --> 0:09:12.160 child a good shake. Maybe that was the cause for 0:09:12.360 --> 0:09:16.280 unintended or unexplained child deaths in which this triad of 0:09:16.320 --> 0:09:18.720 medical findings occurred. He never was able to prove this, 0:09:18.800 --> 0:09:24.680 He just hypothesized it and cautioned parents against the practice. Understandably, however, 0:09:24.800 --> 0:09:27.599 since that hypothesis, the criminal legal system just sort of 0:09:27.679 --> 0:09:30.640 ran amuck with this idea, right leaping to the conclusion 0:09:30.640 --> 0:09:34.400 that any child presenting those symptoms, especially if there was 0:09:34.440 --> 0:09:37.160 any other bruisings, had been fatally abused like sort of 0:09:37.160 --> 0:09:39.880 one size fits all, which is ridiculous, and that the 0:09:39.920 --> 0:09:42.839 person less responsible for the child therefore must have been 0:09:42.880 --> 0:09:43.440 the culprit. 0:09:43.559 --> 0:09:46.680 And I think we as people understanding the inner workings 0:09:46.720 --> 0:09:50.160 of the human mind, when bad things happen, we want 0:09:50.200 --> 0:09:53.760 to be able to say there's someone or something responsible 0:09:53.840 --> 0:09:56.760 for that bad thing happening. And so, where there was 0:09:56.800 --> 0:10:01.520 a legitimate science maybe at the inception this idea has 0:10:01.600 --> 0:10:07.200 been horribly bastardized to get convictions involving usually the depth 0:10:07.200 --> 0:10:10.400 of infants or toddlers, and Stephanie's case is a perfect 0:10:10.400 --> 0:10:15.400 example of that. Where there is legitimate scientific evidence that 0:10:15.480 --> 0:10:19.240 this child was in medical distress that went ignored by 0:10:19.280 --> 0:10:23.040 medical professionals because it was easier to say, oh, this 0:10:23.120 --> 0:10:24.480 child must have been harmed. 0:10:25.280 --> 0:10:27.880 Yeah, and it's worth noting that in recent years, as 0:10:27.920 --> 0:10:31.000 doctors in larger and larger numbers have been challenging the 0:10:31.040 --> 0:10:34.040 notion of shaking baby syndrome, they've identified, get this, over 0:10:34.200 --> 0:10:38.040 eighty different preexisting conditions that can cause what they call 0:10:38.160 --> 0:10:41.000 the triad of findings that were historically just attributed to 0:10:41.040 --> 0:10:45.800 shaking baby syndrome almost automatically. Right, So the science is there, 0:10:45.920 --> 0:10:48.520 but I mean, I wish I could say when the 0:10:48.520 --> 0:10:51.200 criminal legal system is going to catch up. It's entirely 0:10:51.240 --> 0:10:54.560 possible that it never will because science, let's face it 0:10:54.559 --> 0:10:59.679 looks forward, while the legal system only looks backward at precedent, 0:11:00.160 --> 0:11:02.240 sort of the opposite. And so, Stephanie, if you could 0:11:02.320 --> 0:11:05.079 take us back to when you were arrested, what all 0:11:05.160 --> 0:11:06.360 happened before the trial. 0:11:07.400 --> 0:11:12.160 My first arrest was August twenty first, August twenty second, 0:11:12.240 --> 0:11:15.880 maybe two thousand and eight. I was arrested on aggravated 0:11:15.960 --> 0:11:19.280 child abuse. I went to Nells County Jail. I was 0:11:19.360 --> 0:11:23.040 housed in a solitaire cell because of course my face 0:11:23.120 --> 0:11:25.880 was on the news, and I was able to bond 0:11:25.920 --> 0:11:28.960 out the next day. I think it's important to say 0:11:29.080 --> 0:11:32.640 my bond was fifty thousand dollars, and my parents got 0:11:32.720 --> 0:11:36.040 an attorney for me, which was fifty thousand dollars, So 0:11:36.320 --> 0:11:40.240 right away we're in the hole. I came home and 0:11:41.240 --> 0:11:44.480 was unable to have a daycare of course, so I 0:11:44.559 --> 0:11:49.160 had no income, so that became an issue immediately. Maria 0:11:49.320 --> 0:11:53.839 passed away seven days later. I was rearrested six weeks later, 0:11:54.000 --> 0:11:59.080 on November eighth, two thousand and eight, on capitol felony murder. 0:11:59.559 --> 0:12:02.400 I had just taken my son to his bus stop 0:12:02.400 --> 0:12:04.800 in the morning, and when I came back home, I 0:12:04.840 --> 0:12:09.200 put up in a driveway, like three squad cars surrounded me, 0:12:09.400 --> 0:12:12.520 and everybody come racing out, screaming and yelling and put 0:12:12.520 --> 0:12:14.320 me in cuffs and put me in the back of 0:12:14.360 --> 0:12:17.719 the cruiser and took me back to County jail. When 0:12:17.720 --> 0:12:20.600 they brought me in from booking that day, they brought 0:12:20.600 --> 0:12:24.560 me straight to a solitaire cell in the lobby area, 0:12:25.240 --> 0:12:27.520 and I could look out and see my face on 0:12:27.600 --> 0:12:29.800 the news. And as I'm looking at my face on 0:12:29.840 --> 0:12:32.600 the news. I'm looking at the other inmates that are 0:12:32.720 --> 0:12:36.040 in there getting processed in and they're all looking back 0:12:36.080 --> 0:12:38.880 at me and that solitaire cell. So it was a 0:12:39.000 --> 0:12:43.560 very scary situation. There was a grand jury hearing, and 0:12:43.960 --> 0:12:47.280 the attorney that I had that was fifty thousand dollars 0:12:47.480 --> 0:12:49.400 he wouldn't try a capital case, so we had to 0:12:49.480 --> 0:12:53.319 hire another firm and they cost us one hundred thousand. 0:12:54.160 --> 0:12:58.120 I ended up getting indicted and then we moved for 0:12:58.160 --> 0:13:02.600 a bond hearing. My bond hearing was successful, except it 0:13:02.720 --> 0:13:05.920 was three hundred and fifty thousand dollars with an ankle 0:13:06.000 --> 0:13:09.240 monitor and no contact with any child in the age 0:13:09.280 --> 0:13:13.720 of twelve. I thought there was no way that my 0:13:13.800 --> 0:13:15.520 family was ever going to be able to come up 0:13:15.520 --> 0:13:18.199 with those kind of funds because we had already spent 0:13:18.480 --> 0:13:23.000 so much. They did come up with it. They fundraised, 0:13:23.320 --> 0:13:28.200 They drained all of your savings, accounts, everything, and one night, 0:13:28.320 --> 0:13:32.400 on January twenty sixth, two thousand and nine, after I 0:13:32.440 --> 0:13:35.480 think eighty nine days in a solitaire cell, I was 0:13:35.520 --> 0:13:38.040 released at two am, so I was able to come 0:13:38.080 --> 0:13:41.439 home and wake both of my kids up. My daughter 0:13:41.440 --> 0:13:43.920 and I ended up sitting on the front porch in 0:13:43.960 --> 0:13:47.320 a rocking chair and watch the sunrise together. It was 0:13:47.480 --> 0:13:49.920 very hard to sleep because I kept thinking I was 0:13:50.120 --> 0:13:52.080 going to wake up and be back in there. The 0:13:52.200 --> 0:13:53.480 nightmare would be there again. 0:14:04.880 --> 0:14:09.079 This episode is underwritten by AIG, a leading global insurance company, 0:14:09.160 --> 0:14:13.000 and by Accentsure, a global professional services company with leading 0:14:13.000 --> 0:14:17.080 capabilities in digital, cloud and security. Working to reform the 0:14:17.080 --> 0:14:19.600 criminal justice system is a key pillar of the AIG 0:14:19.720 --> 0:14:22.960 pro Bono program, which provides free legal services and other 0:14:23.000 --> 0:14:27.400 support to many nonprofit organizations and individuals most in need 0:14:27.640 --> 0:14:30.960 as part of Extensure's commitment to racial and civil justice. 0:14:31.080 --> 0:14:35.160 Accenture's Legal Access Program provides pro bono legal services in 0:14:35.240 --> 0:14:39.200 partnership with more than forty organizations, bringing meaningful change to 0:14:39.280 --> 0:14:41.400 people and communities worldwide. 0:14:48.240 --> 0:14:51.320 There were signals even before the trial that the state 0:14:51.440 --> 0:14:55.080 was going to move away from a shaken baby syndrome diagnosis. 0:14:55.120 --> 0:14:56.960 The real issue in this case is that we had 0:14:57.000 --> 0:15:01.000 these presentations in the brain and the skull, and the 0:15:01.080 --> 0:15:04.120 doctors were used to saying, oh, this could only be abused, 0:15:04.160 --> 0:15:06.680 it's shaken baby syndrome. The problem is these things are 0:15:06.720 --> 0:15:11.200 normally associated with signs of abuse, external injuries, and this 0:15:11.320 --> 0:15:13.120 child did not have a scratch or a bruise or 0:15:13.160 --> 0:15:16.000 not even a single mark on her, and so the 0:15:16.040 --> 0:15:17.840 doctors are trying to figure out, well, how can we 0:15:17.880 --> 0:15:20.840 make this abuse and explain away to the fact that 0:15:20.880 --> 0:15:23.760 there's no visual injuries on this child. And this is 0:15:23.840 --> 0:15:26.720 how what they call the child abuse pediatrician I'm using 0:15:26.760 --> 0:15:29.960 air quotes, she came up with the theory that, well, 0:15:30.160 --> 0:15:33.120 the reason there's no injuries that are apparent on the 0:15:33.120 --> 0:15:37.120 outside is because the child was slammed repeatedly on a 0:15:37.120 --> 0:15:39.160 soft surface like a crib mattress. 0:15:39.960 --> 0:15:44.160 So this case is nutty, right, because you don't see 0:15:44.160 --> 0:15:48.080 it very often that the state changes their theory sort 0:15:48.080 --> 0:15:50.960 of midstream, right, So then they came up with this 0:15:51.080 --> 0:15:54.920 soft impact theory. But the crazy thing is it seemed 0:15:54.960 --> 0:15:59.240 like her attorneys were defending a different theory than the 0:15:59.240 --> 0:16:01.200 one that the state was trying to convict her on. 0:16:01.320 --> 0:16:03.120 Am I mistaken about that? 0:16:03.120 --> 0:16:04.080 That's exactly right. 0:16:04.200 --> 0:16:07.160 The defense attorney was very focused on shaking in Mey syndrome. 0:16:07.200 --> 0:16:09.520 And when I deposed this attorney in post conviction, I 0:16:09.560 --> 0:16:12.560 asked them about cases that he had done previously, and 0:16:12.600 --> 0:16:14.800 what I found out was that he had done a 0:16:14.840 --> 0:16:18.160 series of shaking baby syndrome cases where he got favorable 0:16:18.160 --> 0:16:21.640 results from his clients. So he had his pat experts 0:16:21.680 --> 0:16:23.960 in a formula for how he would approach these cases. 0:16:24.360 --> 0:16:27.800 But he simply failed to learn his own case well 0:16:27.920 --> 0:16:30.760 enough to know that he could not simply employ the 0:16:30.800 --> 0:16:33.880 same formula that he employed in other cases where shaking 0:16:33.960 --> 0:16:36.480 baby syndrome was a theory. Because not all cases are 0:16:36.520 --> 0:16:38.720 the same, they're not creating equal In this case, the 0:16:38.760 --> 0:16:41.480 state had already abandoned the shaking baby syndrome theory for 0:16:41.640 --> 0:16:44.600 this seft impact theory, And so we're pressing long. In 0:16:44.640 --> 0:16:47.240 a case they get to buy a mechanical expert. They 0:16:47.280 --> 0:16:49.280 do the thing that a lot of people don't do. 0:16:49.600 --> 0:16:50.480 They get the right. 0:16:50.360 --> 0:16:53.600 Expert, they prepare that expert, but they prepare them for 0:16:53.720 --> 0:16:57.080 the wrong theory. And there was this striking moment in 0:16:57.160 --> 0:17:00.720 the trial where after the defense attorney sits down, he 0:17:00.760 --> 0:17:03.320 thinks he's done a great job with the biomaccant of expert. 0:17:03.600 --> 0:17:06.520 And the first question the state asked the expert when 0:17:06.520 --> 0:17:09.000 they get up is who told you that this was 0:17:09.040 --> 0:17:12.399 a shaken baby syndrome case. It was a devastating moment 0:17:12.440 --> 0:17:15.120 in the trial and of course, he could have put 0:17:15.160 --> 0:17:18.760 his expert back up, got them to prepare all the calculations, 0:17:18.800 --> 0:17:20.720 and he failed to do that because he just didn't 0:17:20.720 --> 0:17:22.000 even understand his own case. 0:17:22.720 --> 0:17:26.080 The State of Florida, in their prosecution of Stephanie, relied 0:17:26.119 --> 0:17:29.720 on one particular pediatrician that they frequently rely on. It's 0:17:29.800 --> 0:17:34.520 so hard because these doctors and experts come in to 0:17:34.680 --> 0:17:39.800 court couched with credibility and reliability, and especially in areas 0:17:39.840 --> 0:17:42.760 like Vanillas and Pasco County where we've used the same 0:17:42.920 --> 0:17:48.200 experts forever, it's hard helping whomever the FactFinder is, jurors 0:17:48.280 --> 0:17:52.120 or judges to understand this is a misapplication of science. 0:17:52.640 --> 0:17:55.160 And so you get doctors that come in and they 0:17:55.320 --> 0:18:00.240 use words that we as average folks don't understand, and 0:18:00.400 --> 0:18:03.080 it sounds like it must be true. And then at 0:18:03.119 --> 0:18:06.680 the end it's with the conclusion that this child died 0:18:06.760 --> 0:18:10.120 as a result of intentionally inflicted abuse of trauma. 0:18:10.920 --> 0:18:13.560 Yeah, so the deck is truly stacked against even someone 0:18:13.600 --> 0:18:16.920 like Stephanie. Right, she gets swept under this tidal wave 0:18:16.960 --> 0:18:21.000 of nonsense that comes from preconceived biases and notions and things. 0:18:21.040 --> 0:18:23.959 Right because someone sees her in the defendant's chair. They 0:18:24.000 --> 0:18:27.000 automatically assume somebody who's there must have done something to 0:18:27.040 --> 0:18:29.320 be there. Right, there's that you have to overcome. Then, 0:18:29.359 --> 0:18:31.200 as you said, there's all the medical stuff. A guy 0:18:31.200 --> 0:18:34.639 gets up there and reads his credentials sounds very impressive, 0:18:34.680 --> 0:18:37.480 and then spouting these theories that most jurors are not 0:18:37.600 --> 0:18:41.680 equipped to understand or unpacked, so they think they're doing 0:18:41.720 --> 0:18:43.560 the right thing. And I have empathy for them too 0:18:43.600 --> 0:18:46.399 for making these mistakes. And Stephanie, you've lived through this, 0:18:46.560 --> 0:18:48.560 so I want to get back to you. What was 0:18:48.600 --> 0:18:53.119 this like from your perspective as a mom nineteen years married, 0:18:53.240 --> 0:18:56.640 you know, upstanding citizen to say the least, Well. 0:18:56.480 --> 0:19:00.399 Jason, I was absolutely devastating, to say the least. Kept 0:19:00.520 --> 0:19:04.560 waiting for truth to prevail. I knew that I didn't 0:19:04.640 --> 0:19:09.560 hurt Maria, so I knew that something would eventually come 0:19:09.600 --> 0:19:13.840 to surface that would show what had happened. It was terrifying, 0:19:14.200 --> 0:19:17.520 terrifying for me, It was terrifying for my children, It 0:19:17.640 --> 0:19:21.440 was terrifying for my then husband. It was awful, and 0:19:21.480 --> 0:19:24.720 in the end, it destroyed our whole family. I got 0:19:24.760 --> 0:19:28.159 a divorce, went to prison, and my kids grew up 0:19:28.200 --> 0:19:28.840 without their mom. 0:19:29.400 --> 0:19:31.160 How old were the kids when this happened. 0:19:32.000 --> 0:19:35.959 My son was twelve, my daughter was seventeen. 0:19:36.960 --> 0:19:40.520 So Stephanie, when the jury went out, can you tell 0:19:40.600 --> 0:19:43.199 us what you were thinking at that time? Did you 0:19:43.960 --> 0:19:47.119 think that finally this wrong would be righted and this 0:19:47.320 --> 0:19:48.760 nightmare would come to an end. 0:19:49.440 --> 0:19:53.000 I just kept thinking that eventually they would realize that 0:19:53.200 --> 0:19:57.680 there's no way that I did this, that nobody hurt Maria. 0:19:57.960 --> 0:20:01.680 There had to have been something else. They jury deliberated 0:20:01.800 --> 0:20:04.919 for twenty one and a half hours before they came 0:20:05.000 --> 0:20:08.040 back with an acquittal of capital failing murder but a 0:20:08.080 --> 0:20:14.600 guilty charge in manslaughter. I heard a horrible noise from 0:20:14.920 --> 0:20:19.119 behind me, and it was my son crying out. It 0:20:19.160 --> 0:20:21.800 was surreal. It just felt like I was in a fog. 0:20:22.440 --> 0:20:26.800 I remember mouthing I love you to my family before 0:20:27.040 --> 0:20:29.480 they haled me out of the courtroom and put me 0:20:29.560 --> 0:20:44.479 back in that solitaire sell I got to prison. I 0:20:44.520 --> 0:20:47.760 was absolutely terrified and had to learn very quickly how 0:20:47.800 --> 0:20:50.879 to adapt in a maximum security prison. You have to 0:20:51.359 --> 0:20:54.679 always pay attention to what's going around you, and you 0:20:54.720 --> 0:20:57.159 had to kind of learn how to bob and weave 0:20:57.320 --> 0:21:00.720 between people. You didn't want to draw any attention to yourself. 0:21:01.280 --> 0:21:03.960 It's a very scary place. And not only is it 0:21:04.000 --> 0:21:07.679 scary from the other inmates, but not all the officers 0:21:07.720 --> 0:21:10.359 are on the up and up. The officers are also 0:21:10.600 --> 0:21:16.520 very scary. So I got to prison, and naturally I 0:21:16.600 --> 0:21:19.760 was quite angry, and I knew that if I didn't 0:21:20.040 --> 0:21:22.879 do something with my anger, I was just going to 0:21:22.960 --> 0:21:26.840 go down a dark path. So I threw myself into 0:21:27.040 --> 0:21:30.919 learning about my own case, and I got certified and 0:21:30.960 --> 0:21:34.280 became a law clerk, which of course is how I 0:21:34.400 --> 0:21:37.879 met Amanda Brumfield. We were co workers in the law library. 0:21:38.400 --> 0:21:41.080 We both left the maximum security prison and we found 0:21:41.080 --> 0:21:45.520 ourselves at a faith and character based war camp, and 0:21:45.640 --> 0:21:49.240 that was a much safer environment, albeit it did not 0:21:49.400 --> 0:21:53.919 have ac so it was extremely excruciatingly hot, but I 0:21:54.040 --> 0:21:57.479 traded the heat for the safety and I worked with 0:21:57.560 --> 0:22:00.040 Amanda in the law library and we did every I 0:22:00.080 --> 0:22:04.320 think we could for other people in there, meanwhile, both 0:22:04.440 --> 0:22:07.320 learning each other's case as well as our own case. 0:22:07.800 --> 0:22:09.200 And that's how I survived. 0:22:10.200 --> 0:22:11.919 Yeah. I don't know where. I don't know where they 0:22:12.080 --> 0:22:17.159 make people like you that find this sort of otherworldly strength, spirit, courage, 0:22:17.160 --> 0:22:19.240 whatever you want to call it. But I'm just glad 0:22:19.280 --> 0:22:22.080 you did, and I'm glad that Amanda Broomfield did as well. 0:22:22.160 --> 0:22:25.400 I mean, she just recently joined us here on Rafel Convictions, 0:22:25.400 --> 0:22:28.920 and yeah, I'm so freaking glad that you both found 0:22:28.960 --> 0:22:30.640 the strength to pull through and be here. 0:22:31.480 --> 0:22:34.440 Well, I had a good support system, Jason. I had 0:22:34.520 --> 0:22:38.000 wonderful parents and my brother and my children, and they 0:22:38.200 --> 0:22:40.639 made sure I had all of my needs, because you know, 0:22:40.680 --> 0:22:44.440 in prison they don't give you shampoo and deodor and 0:22:44.480 --> 0:22:47.320 things like that. You have to buy these things. Thankfully, 0:22:47.440 --> 0:22:50.560 I had an amazing support system that are still my 0:22:50.600 --> 0:22:55.479