USA - Mississippi. Judge Forrest Johnson overturned the death sentence of Jeffrey Havard

Adams County Circuit Judge Forrest Johnson overturned the death sentence of Jeffrey Havard, 39, White, after questions arose regarding whether 6-month-old Chloe Madison Britt actually died of shaken baby syndrome, something now distrusted by many scientists and doctors. Judge Johnson ruled that a jury should consider a new sentence for Havard, who was convicted in the February 21, 2002 death of the infant daughter of his girlfriend, and sentenced to death on December 19, 2002. In a Mississippi capital murder case, the jury’s only choices would be death or life in prison without parole. The Mississippi Supreme Court ordered a hearing on Havard’s case in 2015, allowing him to present evidence disputing the validity of shaken baby syndrome as a cause of death. Havard has said he accidentally dropped his girlfriend’s baby, 6-month-old Chloe Madison Britt, causing her to hit her head on the toilet.