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Richard Brant is from Belleville, Ontario. He lived a pretty middle-class life as a truck driver. By the age of 22, Richard had a son named Dustin.

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When Richard took his son out for a walk one day he realized that something wasn't right. He then lifted Dustin out of his carrier and noticed that his son was motionless with red foam coming out of his mouth. This is the day his son passed away due to a syndrome called "Baby Shaken Syndrome" he was then taken to the hospital with his son and was questioned later on and eventually Richard was wrongfully convicted of Aggravated assault and manslaughter.

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After getting accused of killing his 6 week old son he served 6 months in jail. It wasn't until later 2011 when the charges got dropped because the doctor that had diagnosed his sons syndrome had his cases questioned for lack of proof. After he pleaded innocent in court in 2011 the word was out that Richard Brant was not responsible for his sons passing and the doctor had his license revoked as well as served time in jail himself.

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Richard Brant, on November 17th 1992 Richards 6 week old son had passed way. After his sons passing a Doctor by the name “Dr. Smith” concluded that the babys death was caused by a syndrome called “The shaken baby syndrome” This is when infants face permanent brain damage that is caused by forcefully shaking an infant. Not too long after the event Richard was arrested for in 1993 and pled guilty in 1995 for aggravated assault and manslaughter due to his sons passing. He then served 6 months is jail. Fast forward to 2005 when Dr. Smith had his files looked up because there was alot of questionable cases that he dealt with revolving childrens deaths. Dr. Smiths reputation was then questioned after noticing these cases, as they stumbled across Richards Sons case they noticed that there was no true supporting evidence that Richard had assaulted his son and it wasnt proven that he was guilty for his sons syndrome. Even though Richard only spent 6 months in 1995 he was still wrongfully convicted. Dr. Smith did have his licence revoked aswell as he was sent to prison later on for these cases. In 2011 Richard apealed to court about the case and he was let off inocient. He stated that with the conviction had put it in everyones heads that he was the reason for his sons passing. Richard didnt necessarily get awarded after proven innocent but the word was out that he did not kill his son, and knowing that Dr. Smith had his doctors license revoked and was sent to prison himself, Richard deftidently felt a little bit better about himself, aswell as a sense of justice that Dr. Smiths license was revoked and he served his time aswell. In my opinion a wrongfully convicted person shouldnt exactly be rewarded but instead it should be known to public that he was wrongfully convicted aswell as the root of the origional problem (In Richards case Dr. Smith) has been dealt with accordingly. I dont believe that the wrongfully convicted should receive money or anything along those lines but i do truly believe that they deserve justice and for it to be known to public that they were convicted for something that they hadnt done. This topic did surprise me because they just assumed that Richard had killed his baby with no formal proof. The part that i really didnt understand is how they leave it up to a single doctor to make such a big decision without double checking or proofing with a different set of doctors or eyes. I do understand that this type of thing happens all the time and is more commonly getting brushed over but in my opinion it is still serious enough to make a bigger deal out of it and getting a separate set of doctors to proof Dr. Smiths work would have been more appropriate. I am most likely to remember that Richard got justice at the end of the day and honestly i will never forget what baby shaken syndrome is.

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This website walks you through what Richard Brant had to go through from the time his son passed away to the time he finally pleaded innocent.

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Richard Brant, fell victim to the injustices that result from wrongful accusations when on April 21, 1995 he was convicted of manslaughter.

This was precipitated by the death of his 9-week-old son Dustin's death on November 17th 1992, followed by Dr Charles Smith's diagnosis that the cause was Shaken Baby Syndrome. This led to his arrest 1993 and after pleading guilty in 1995 to aggravated assault, Brant spent 6 months incarcerated. The unraveling of the plausibility of Brant's case began when Dr Smith's reputation was questioned because other faulty diagnoses came to light, and his became one of the 45 cases involving suspicious deaths of children that were reopened in 2005. New conclusions by forensic neuropathologist Dr. Whitwell showed that no evidence supported the original findings by Smith allegedly ensuring Richard, nor Shaken Baby Syndrome caused Dustin's death.

The Ontario Court of Appeal exonerated Richard on May 4 2011, an entire 16 years later. Richard claimed that "the truth always comes out. I waited and it came". However, it isn't as simple as announcing an exoneration and getting your life back, unfortunately as Richard stated in a telephone interview from a halfway house in Moncton, "With the conviction, it just put it into everybody's head that I had done something".

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Richard Brant, fell victim to the injustices that result from wrongful accusations when on April 21, 1995 he was convicted of manslaughter. This was precipitated by the death of his 9-week-old son Dustin's death on November 17th 1992, followed by Dr Charles Smith's diagnosis that the cause was Shaken Baby Syndrome.

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This website tells you more about Richards home life and takes you through most of his trial process. It goes further into depth on the law side of things and how his charges happened.

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Brant’s wrongful conviction was largely due to disgraced former doctor Charles Smith’s flawed forensic pathology evidence.

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This website is about when Richard pleaded innocent, after serving 6 months in jail for allegedly killing his 6-week-old son it wasn't until years later that he was found innocent and the doctor that diagnosed his son with baby shake syndrome had his doctors licence revoked.

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TORONTO - A man who pleaded guilty in the death of his infant son because of findings by now-disgraced pathologist Charles Smith says he's feeling "a lot lighter" after Ontario's highest court quashed the conviction Wednesday.

The Ontario Court of Appeal acquitted Richard Brant of aggravated assault, saying that his conviction was "unreasonable" and "a miscarriage of justice."

Brant, now 38, was charged in 1993 with manslaughter in his baby's death the previous year. He eventually pleaded guilty to the lesser charge and was sentenced to six months in jail.

Clutching pictures of his son Dustin, Brant said he was relieved his name had finally been cleared.

"Good, very good to get all this weight off my shoulders," Brant said outside the courthouse. "Make sure that nobody has any more doubts. You know I'm innocent, I did nothing so it makes me feel a lot better, a lot lighter now."

Justice Marc Rosenberg told Brant that this has been "a terrible ordeal for you" as the court set aside his conviction for the two-month-old boy's death.

Both the Crown and defence asked the three-judge panel to acquit Brant, who had always maintained his innocence despite his plea.

Brant was walking with Dustin in his stroller when he found the boy lifeless with thick, red foam around his nose in November 1992, court heard. The baby was rushed to Belleville General Hospital and was taken off life support the next day.

Smith -- who was considered a pre-eminent child forensic pathology expert at the time -- put forward a powerful case that the baby had died from shaken baby syndrome.

Defence lawyer James Lockyer told the appeal court Smith had ignored autopsy results from the neuropathologist who had found the baby died of pneumonia and respiratory failure, and suggested those results be filed "in the garbage".

His client was facing an impossible dilemma -- a manslaughter conviction or a six- month sentence for aggravated assault, said Lockyer.

Both the defence and Crown told the court there is no evidence that Brant had ever harmed Dustin.

An inquiry found that errors in Smith's work were responsible for several people being wrongfully convicted and sent to prison. His medical licence was revoked earlier this year.

Brant, who now works as a truck driver in Moncton, said the last 19 years have been difficult.

Early on there were "the bad looks, the time incarcerated," he said.

He doesn't think of Smith, but said he should be held responsible.

"I think he needs to go to jail for a little while to see what he put a lot of people through," said Brant. "He ruined a lot of people's lives."

Brant intends to seek compensation, said Lockyer.

"It's not going to make up for what he's been through, but it's something," the lawyer said.

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Court of Appeal acquits man convicted in son's death

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A man who pleaded guilty in the death of his infant son because of findings by now-disgraced pathologist Charles Smith says he's feeling "a lot lighter" after Ontario's highest court quashed the conviction Wednesday.