Hi,

I think I missed posting this one up. interesting that she got 3 years and they managed to get her out in 7 months. Which is thankfully less than we have to wiat to get to the next stage, but its been long enough now, for all concerned. 

Anyway here its is. From the Times of course, who seem to have their fingers on the pulse with these cases. Shame I haven’t been as observant!

Jailed nanny Jasmin Schmidt cleared of injuring baby

Court of Appeal rules that convictions for causing grievous bodily harm to ten-week-old child were unsafe

Helen Nugent

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A nanny who was jailed for seriously injuring a baby has had her name cleared by the Court of Appeal.

Jasmin Schmidt, from Germany, was sentenced to three years in prison last September and served seven months. She had been found guilty of two counts of causing grievous bodily harm.

During the trial, the jury at the Old Bailey was told that Ms Schmidt, 33, who had previously worked for a pop star and other celebrities, had lost her temper with the ten-week-old child during a restless night and shook him violently. Ms Schmidt, a qualified paediatric nurse from Bonn, had been hired to look after the child while his parents, who cannot be named, attended a London Fashion Week event in 2002.

Last week three Court of Appeal judges ruled that Ms Schmidt’s convictions were unsafe. This judgment can only be reported nnow after a ruling that she should not face a retrial.

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Ms Schmidt’s barrister, Diana Ellis, QC, had argued that problems in the way that the case had been summed up to the jury rendered the convictions unsafe. The appeal was allowed and the convictions quashed by Lord Justice Scott Baker, Mr Justice Mackay and Mr Justice Beatson. The case was adjourned until this week.

Yesterday, lawyers for the prosecution applied for the case to be heard again by another jury, but the application was rejected by the court.

“We have considered carefully the arguments both ways, but we come to the clear conclusion that it would not be in the interests of justice for there to be a retrial in this case,” Lord Justice Scott Baker said.

It was alleged at last year’s trial that the baby’s parents, who run a shop in North Yorkshire, had found him whimpering in his cot after Ms Schmidt’s third night working for the family. He was taken to hospital suffering from a fractured elbow and brain injuries, but made a full recovery after a long period in a critical state.

Giving evidence, the child’s mother said: “I could tell his body was feeling a little bit more limp. I could tell he was very poorly.” When she telephoned Ms Schmidt, the nanny claimed that the baby could be suffering from a bug.

Lets hope that the message is getting through to those that need to listen, you do need to protect children form abuse of course you do (and better than you have been) but also you DO NOT need to go off on witch hunts to make up for the numerous cock ups.

Lets sit down shall we and calmly look at what goes wrong and how we can sort it out.

Whoever is in power…

Hi,

I don’t know if you saw the case the other week of the 15 year old babysitter who apparently abused a little 2 year old girl in his care?

Yet ANOTHER tragic case, a little girl, her time unfairly cut short. Some commentators thought she didn’t have much of a chance as she was born to a mother who sadly had taken the drugs route.

But what concerns me yet again is that if the child was at the on risk register, then why aren’t people being prosecuted for negligence under Manslaughter rules, that little girl didn’t need to die. Tragically she has, so lets review the case shall we…no doubt a quick of no ones to blame, or they get a warning letter or ticking off.

I really don’t want to throw people into prison having seen what its like up close.

So let us learn from it finally, come next year we want a root and branch review of these cases as they just can’t get them right often enough and when they get them wrong, boy do they go horribly wrong!

The other factor to this is the babysitter was only 15, a babe himself, although like most 15 year olds probably things they know it all now. What is the story in there, why do what he did? Maybe we will find out at the end of July at the sentencing??

Let us pray that the little girl rests in peace and that this young 15 year old takes the time to reflect on what has happened ( i wasn’t there obviously so can’t say one way or the other, unlike expert witnesses and their crystal balls - thats where I want to put my foot down - and you can take that anyway you like).

Stay safe

Hi,

 Just sat and watched the show on the Rachel Nickell case and the series of cockups involved in it, some seem to say the expert/profiler led them towards nicking Colin Stagg, others say it was the Police and it goes round and around (the blame).

It took too long to right that wrong, but you have to worry as some don’t want to speak about it openly and others are now teaching at University - potentially creating future problems?!

Well we will see.

So much that just shouldn’t have happened these Blue Tinted glasses that people stick on, with added blinkers for good measure.

Anyway from that bunch onto some real hereos, today was armed services day, about time too! But it reminded me abit of the Trafalgar Day ceremonies a couple of years back, when most of it was held MID WEEK. Why have this ’DAY’ on a weekday??

Well no surprise there then.

They must be experts at screwing it up as they do it all the time.

Meanwhile Op Panthers Claw is on going and our troops are very much in harms way, as you go to bed, that nice warm bed, they will be sat in dust, with their mates around them, not knowing if the next bomb or bullet has their name on it.

Maybe the experts could go out there and spread their good out there. Nawh, not yet…I won’t let them go off this just yet as we have to have our fun yet!

Take care and sllep well, we have a new speaker in da house. Maybe he can do some good to…maybe….. 

I am not a fan of all the threatening ads out there, i saw one tonight for Fishing Licenses, you don’t pay they will pluck your eyebrows with a flamethrower or something like that. So I think this is kind of a right back at ya moment.

Iain