| "Child
abuse in the form of Shaken Baby Syndrome has reached
a critical level" (Butler, 1995, p. 50).
"Education
on a national level is crucial for change to help
the victims of Shaken Baby Syndrome. The national
statistics for child abuse reinforce the United States
must deal with the issue and focus on education"(Butler,
1995, p. 50).
"Health
care providers are in a strategic position to offer
primary and secondary prevention interventions, to
identify families at risk and to recognize victims
of Shaken Baby Syndrome" (Butler, 1995, p. 50).
"The
first publication about infantile whiplash injuries
was in 1971 by Guhkelch" (Butler, 1995, p. 47).
"In
1972, John Caffey coined the term "Whiplash Shaken
Baby Syndrome. This syndrome is now commonly referred
to as Shaken Baby Syndrome" (Butler, 1995, p.
47).
"Infants
and small child are particularly at risk because of
their physical combination of a heavy head, weak neck
muscles, soft and rapidly growing brain, thin skull
wall, and lack of mobility and control of the head
and neck" (Showers, 1992, cited in Butler, 1995,
p. 47).
"The
hallmark features of SBS are retinal hemorrhage an
intracranial injury" (Butler, 1995, p. 47).
"Many cases of Shaken Baby syndrome go unrecorded
because of a lack of external injuries; no witnesses
to the incident; and failure of the abuser to admit
to the incident" (Butler, 1995, p. 47).
"Shaken
Baby syndrome (SBS) involves vigorous manual shaking
of children who are being held by the extremities
or shoulders that causes whiplash-induced intracranial
or intraocular bleeding, but with no external signs
of health trauma" (Coody, Brown, Montgomery,
Flynn & Yetman, 1994; cited in Butler, 1995, p.
47).
"Torture is a world-wide social disease"
(Crelenstin & Schmid, 1993). "New methods
of torture are being devised and refined continuously.
In Israel the interrogation of Palestinians form the
occupied territories has provided the setting for
this regressive creativity" (Human Rights Watch,
1994) (Pounder, 1997, p. 323; cited in Pounder, 1997,
p. 322).
"Shaken
Adult Syndrome-The shaking of detainees by Israeli
interrogators has been documented since the 1980's
but appears to have been increasing in recent years.
The shaking may be conducted with the detainee standing
or sitting, but the usual procedure at the present
time seems to be with the detainee in a sitting position
with the legs shackled below a low chair and the wrists
cuffed behind and between the back bars of the chair"
(Amnesty International, 1995; cited in Pounder, 1997,
p. 323).
"The
first reported case of fatal shaken adult syndrome
occurred on April 25, 1995 in Israel. A 30 year old
computer expert was arrested from his home by members
of the Israeli Defense Force and the general Security
Service. He was transferred to the Moscobiyyah Detention
Centre in Jerusalem for interrogation concerning alleged
membership of Hamus, the Islamic Resistance movement.
The 30 year old Palestinian collapsed under interrogation
and was considered brain dead 3 days later. Information
on the circumstances and interrogation methods were
denied on security grounds. Autopsy disclosed extensive
anterior chest and should bruising and acute subdural
hemorrhage but no other trauma. On this evidence,
violent shaking was postulated as the mechanism of
injury. Later this was admitted by Israeli and corroborated
by histopathologically proved diffuse axonal injury
and retinal hemorrhages" (Pounder, 1997, p. 322).
"This
death sparked off a wide public debate in Israel on
torture, particularly on the use of shaking as a means
of torture. Currently physicians for human rights
and Amnesty International (1995) are actively campaigning
on the issue" (Pounder, 1997, p. 322-323).
"The
pathological findings in this case are directly analogous
with fatal shaken baby syndrome" (Spitz &
Platt, 1993) and are composed of (1) blunt forced
trauma to the chest and upper shoulders, (2) acute
subdural hemorrhage (3) diffuse axonal injury and
(4) retinal injuries" (Pounder, 1997, p. 323).
|
Topic
E - Forensic (ER) Emergency > Section E.6.0. Forensic Concepts>
Unit.E.6.3. Shaken Baby Syndrome
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