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British MP John Hemming has taken up the cause of families falsely
accused in the family courts. You can read his personal site and blog.
In a series of videos on YouTube he introduces some of the victims. The
introductory
video presents:
- Angela Cannings. She spent two years in jail on a life sentence for
causing the crib deaths of two of her children. Later investigation by
the BBC found that she had a family history of crib death.
- William Bache, solicitor for many of the founders.
- Marianne Williams. She was convicted, and later exonerated, in the salt
poisoning of her son Joshua. The boy was born twelve weeks prematurely
and required salt supplements to compensate for a kidney malfunction that
expelled too much salt.
- Penny Mellor. Mrs Mellor is a long-time advocate for families persecuted
by family law. She was instrumental in bringing down Dr David Southall,
an expert employed by British social services to jail innocent parents.
Mrs Mellor herself was convicted for shielding a family from the child
protection system.
- Angela and Ian Gay. This couple adopted foster child Christian Blewitt.
When the boy was found dead with high levels of sodium, the couple was
convicted of killing him when experts testified they force-fed him salt
as punishment. After a four-year legal ordeal, better informed experts
convinced the courts that the boy suffered from a medical condition
called reset osmostat that impaired the regulation of his body
salt.
- John Hemming, MP
John Hemming chaired a parliamentary lobby on March 28, 2007. Five
YouTube vidios record the proceedings.
| (1)
| Following a minute of silence in honor of the late Sally Clark, Ian
Gay and Angela Gay speak about their ordeal.
| | (2)
| Speakers William Bache, Marianne Williams and Angela Cannings.
| | (3)
| Qutestions for Angela Cannings and John Hemming.
| | (4)
| Discussion on the question from the BBC: How many people are
wrongly in jail? And a later question: Why do so many experts get
it wrong? John Hemming answers with a case in which a child was
taken into care to be a research subject, but would not have been
taken if the parents had consented to the research.
| | (5)
| Further discussion of the last question and closing.
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Another lobby took place on May 16, 2007.
| (1)
| Jack Frost reports that social services employs ex-convicts, and
some social workers operate under fake names. An expert witness,
Gene Morrison, is serving time for providing testimony under fake
credentials. The agency registering experts does not check
credentials.
| | (2)
| Chris Smith. He lost two children to child protectors.
| | (3)
| Marianne Key. She took her child for medical
care and lost all children to social services. Her lawyer blindly
chose an expert for her who turned out to be a charletain. Only the
intervention of competent counsel allowed her to get her children
back.
| | (4)
| Wendy Coulter.
| | (5)
| Mr Eric Coulter.
| | (6)
| John Hemming speaks. Then Barry Aspinall, a former councilor,
speaks about his inability to control his subordinates in social
services. When he got a case into the press, social services
brought a gag order against him, and he was required to defend
himself in court without legal help.
| | (7)
| Chris Smith again.
| | (8)
| Jack Frost again. Children are adopted out of their religion.
Known genetic defects of children are concealed from adoptive
parents, to make the kids more marketable.
| | (9)
| Eric Coulter again. Secrecy covers incompetence and
misrepresentation. An audience member comments on deliberate
delays. Another questioner asks why adoption cannot be reversed
after it is shown to be fraudulent.
| | (10)
| Discussion of publishing pictures of children up for adoption while
parents are gagged. Wendy Coulter discusses use of phrase "risk of
significant harm". Julie answers, the phrase is undefined in the
law.
| | (11)
| Discussion.
| | (12)
| Discussion of open adoption.
| | (13)
| Closing.
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