The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals stayed Cathy Henderson’s scheduled execution of June 13 and has remanded her case back to the trial court for a more careful review of new scientific evidence that casts doubt on the state’s claim that she intentionally killed Brandon Baugh, an infant in her care. The appeals court decision was largely based on a recent affidavit submitted by former Travis County medical examiner Dr. Roberto Bayardo (pictured), whose expert testimony was crucial to the state’s case against Henderson. In his new sworn statement, Dr. Bayardo recanted his original testimony that the child’s injuries were the result of an intentional act by Henderson, and stated that new evidence suggests the infant’s injuries could have been the result of an accidental fall, a claim that Henderson has maintained since her 1994 arrest.
Dr. Bayardo’s affidavit noted, “Since 1995, when I testified at Cathy Henderson’s trial, the medical profession has gained a greater understanding of pediatric head trauma and the extent of injuries that can occur in infants as a result of relatively short distance falls … I cannot determine with a reasonable degree of medical certainty whether Brandon Baugh’s injuries resulted from an intentional act or an accidental fall. In fact, had the new scientific information been available to me in 1995, I would not have been able to testify the way I did about the degree of force needed to cause Brandon Baugh’s head injury.”
The new hearing ordered by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals will take place before the same judge who presided over Henderson’s original trial in 1995. It will likely be months before the hearings take place.
(KVUE News, June 12, 2007, and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruling, June 11, 2007). Read the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Order. See also, Women and Innocence.
Innocence
Oct 15, 2024
