He was born in 1869, to an Indian official and very religious mother. She exposed her son to a morally rigorous Indian religion, Jainism, which advocated nonviolence. He took an opportunity to study law in England in 1888 and shortly following he accepted a one-year contract in South Africa in 1893. This opened his eyes to racism and South African laws that restricted the rights of Indians. In this instance, he decided he needed to fight for justice and defend his rights as an Indian man. After the contract expired, he remained in South Africa and began a campaign against the legislation that denied Indians the right to vote. It was here that he formed the Natal Indian Congress and organized his first mass civil disobedience, called satyagraha. He was able to negotiate a compromise with the South African government after seven years.

Gandhi then returned to India in 1914 and began to live out his life spiritually.  He first supported Britain during the First World War; however, he launched a new satyagraha in response to the mandatory order that required all Indians to be drafted into the military. In 1920, he became known as the leader to the Indian movement for independence. When he reorganized the Indian National Congress, he created a boycott of all British goods. This was a problem once violence occurred and the satyahraha was called off. He was then arrested in 1922, found guilty of sedition, and imprisoned.

He was released in 1924 and began protesting against the Hindu-Muslim violence by leading an extended fast. He returned to his position in national politics in 1928 and launched a protest against the British salt tax in 1930. His most famous campaign included the march to the Arabian Sea, where people made their own salt from evaporating sea water. However, he was once again arrested with about 60,000 others.

He led another fast while in prison against the British government’s treatment of the “untouchables”– Indians in the lowest tier of the caste system, who were the impoverished and degraded.  However, in 1934 he left the Indian Congress Party to aid in India’s poor population.

Shortly following, World War II broke out. Gandhi got back into politics and asked for Indian cooperation with the British war effort, but in exchange for independence. The request was denied and the wish was to divide India into Hindu and Muslim groups. Gandhi chose to launch “Quit India”, a movement in 1942 that wanted complete British withdrawal. He was again imprisoned in 1944.

After 1945, a new government was put into place in Britain. Gandhi hoped for a unified India. During the war, the Muslim League grew in influence, and they disagreed with this unification. Following discussion, two separate states were created, India and Pakistan. This separation occurred on August 15, 1947. Soon bloody violence broke out between the Muslims and Hindus of India. Only a year later, he was fatally shot by a Hindu extremist while on a visit to a troubled area in New Delhi. He has been known as Mahatma or “the great soul” and has influenced many great characters, one in particular being Martin Luther King Jr.

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Shirley Ree Smith was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison in December 1997 for the murder of her 7-week-old grandson. In 2006, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned her conviction by stating the case was a “miscarriage of justice.”

In November 2011, the Supreme Court Justices voted 6-3 to reverse the ruling in favor of Smith and to reinstate her conviction. Although the high court agreed that the doubts of Smith’s guilt are “understandable,” they believe the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals should have upheld the state’s conviction.

These “understandable” doubts about the guilt of Shirley Ree Smith are the result of an ongoing controversy about the existence of Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS). SBS is a phrase used to describe child abuse involving head trauma that could be the result of shaking. The three main symptoms of SBS include subdural hemorrhage, retinal hemorrhage, and brain swelling or damage. These symptoms are believed to be caused by an adult holding a child by their body and shaking them rigorously back and forth, causing their head to rock as well. This theory is generally accepted due to the lack of evidence of an impact-induced injury.

Those who disregard the existence of SBS believe that shaking alone is not enough to cause such injuries that lead to death. They believe some sort of impact against a surface is necessary to cause this sort of damage. Many people have their own beliefs about the existence of SBS. An autopsy has proven that there was enough damage done to Smith’s grandson to tear his brainstem. Also, there was bleeding into his optic nerves as a result of contusions to the brain. These contusions are the result of “violent shaking.”

As you can see, there is a lot of evidence supporting the existence of SBS especially in the Smith case. However, the Supreme Court did not reinstate her conviction as a matter of opinion concerning her guilt or the existence of SBS. They reinstated her conviction on the basis that it is not their job, nor the job of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, to determine whether the state was correct in their theory about Smith’s guilt. That was the jury’s job.

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