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| Sally Clark dies at family home | Sally Clark dies at family home |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Sally Clark - the solicitor wrongly jailed for murdering her two sons - has died, her family has announced. | Sally Clark - the solicitor wrongly jailed for murdering her two sons - has died, her family has announced. |
| Mrs Clark, 42, was jailed in 1999 for killing her 11-week-old son Christopher in December 1996 and eight-week-old Harry in January 1998. | Mrs Clark, 42, was jailed in 1999 for killing her 11-week-old son Christopher in December 1996 and eight-week-old Harry in January 1998. |
| A first appeal against the convictions failed in 2000 but she was freed in 2003 after a fresh appeal. | A first appeal against the convictions failed in 2000 but she was freed in 2003 after a fresh appeal. |
| A statement released by the family solicitor said she passed away during Thursday night at her home. | A statement released by the family solicitor said she passed away during Thursday night at her home. |
| It said she "never fully recovered" from the effects of the "appalling miscarriage of justice" she suffered, which saw her spend three years in jail. | It said she "never fully recovered" from the effects of the "appalling miscarriage of justice" she suffered, which saw her spend three years in jail. |
| "Sally... was a loving and talented wife, mother, daughter and friend. She will be greatly missed by all who knew her." | "Sally... was a loving and talented wife, mother, daughter and friend. She will be greatly missed by all who knew her." |
| Brain infection | |
| The statement also said the matter was in the hands of the coroner and it was too early to provide any further information. | The statement also said the matter was in the hands of the coroner and it was too early to provide any further information. |
| Mrs Clark, from Wilmslow, Cheshire, was convicted of smothering Christopher and shaking Harry to death at the luxury home she shared with her husband Stephen. | Mrs Clark, from Wilmslow, Cheshire, was convicted of smothering Christopher and shaking Harry to death at the luxury home she shared with her husband Stephen. |
| Three Court of Appeal judges eventually decided that her conviction was "unsafe". | |
| The court had been told that new medical evidence which suggested Harry Clark may have been suffering from a brain infection was withheld from her defence team. | |
| Evidence from two pathologists helped convict Mrs Clark. | |
| Dr Alan Williams initially said Harry had died from being shaken - and then changed his finding to smothering during the trial. | |
| Criticism | |
| Michael Green, professor of forensic pathology at Sheffield University also changed his opinion about the cause of death. | |
| Mrs Clark's barrister, Clare Montgomery QC, said at her successful appeal that new evidence emerged in 2000 that there was a staphylococcus aureus infection which had spread as far as Harry's cerebral spinal fluid. | |
| She said the prosecution pathologist Dr Alan Williams, who had carried out post mortems on both babies, had known about this evidence since February 1998. | |
| Microbiological test results demonstrated Harry probably died suddenly in reaction to the bacteria, she added. | |
| Lord Justice Kay, one of the appeal judges, also criticised Dr Williams, saying the medical evidence was not disclosed because of his "failure... to share with other doctors investigating the cause of death information that a competent pathologist ought to have appreciated needed to be assessed before any conclusion was reached". |