November 18, 2024      3:48 PM

Dallas County man exonerated for 2000 conviction based on shaken baby syndrome

The exoneration immediately drew comparisons to the case against death row inmate Robert Roberson, who's at the center of the controversy over a Texas House committee taking extraordinary steps to delay an execution.

The Dallas Morning News has the details on the case of Andrew Wayne Roark:

A Dallas County man convicted of injuring a child based on a theory of “shaken baby syndrome” presented at his 2000 trial was cleared of wrongdoing, the district attorney’s office announced Monday.

Andrew Wayne Roark, 48, was tried decades ago based on medical evidence prosecutors said proved his girlfriend’s 1-year-old child was violently shaken, causing permanent brain damage. Advancements in science and medicine would no longer support the prosecution’s theory at trial, the Dallas County district attorney’s office said in a news release: “There exists no evidence in which we could support a conviction and believe Mr. Roark is actually innocent,” Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot said in a statement. “We firmly believe would the same facts and circumstances occur today, Mr. Roark would be acquitted of any charges brought against him, therefore he should enjoy the presumption of innocence.”

Copyright November 18, 2024, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved