The state of Mississippi no longer has much of a case against Tasha Shelby. Almost 25 years ago, Shelby was convicted of a murder that almost certainly never happened. Prosecutors said she had shaken to death Bryan Thompson IV, her fiance’s two-year-old son from a previous relationship.
But the case has since fallen apart. In 2015, the medical examiner who helped convict her recanted his testimony. Last year, a juror from her trial said he now believes Shelby is innocent. And the theory under which she was convicted—Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS)—has been largely debunked. Symptoms associated with SBS can be caused by, among other things, illnesses, injuries sustained during childbirth, and short-distance falls.
To coincide with National Wrongful Convictions Day, Shelby’s legal team mailed an amended clemency petition to Gov. Tate Reeves and sent a copy to District Attorney Crosby Parker, Shelby’s attorney, Valena Beety, told The Appeal. Neither the governor nor prosector’s office responded to messages from The Appeal.
Beety says they last submitted a clemency petition in 2022 but did not receive an answer from the governor. Reeves has not yet granted any clemency petitions, but Shelby’s team hopes he’ll change course.
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“I don’t want to appear soft on people wrongfully convicted of murder,” said Governor Reeves.
“When considering clemency, we must first rigorously and thoroughly investigate whether or not the falsy convicted will come after our Treasury if released.”
At this point being sentenced to death is more of a sign of innocence than anything else.
So it took 15 years of this woman’s life for the medical examiner to recanted his testimony. Nothing to investigate there.
