The Louise Mason Case
Two of Louise Mason's children were taken into care when
she was wrongly accused of battering her month-old baby.
The 38-year-old mum was cleared of assault by a Crown Court jury in 2004, but
it was not until February 20, 2008 that her children were officially returned
to her.
Mr Justice Gillen also took the unusual step of lifting a publicity ban in the
case - saying it would help give Ms Mason "a sense of justice".
A series of articles in Irish and British media 2008-02-20 - -
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Camilla Cavendish: Analysis
This story is, sadly, not unique. It is symptomatic of the extraordinary power
that social services departments now wield over our lives.
Before Louise Mason’s trial in 2004, social workers
apparently told her that they would be putting her children up for adoption
irrespective of the outcome. That is precisely what they did, two weeks after
her acquittal. They clung to their own “guilty” verdict despite the verdict of
the jury.
Timesonline.co.uk, February 23, 2008
By David Sharrock, Ireland Correspondent
Louise Mason is finally a mother again, leading a
family life for the first time in more than five years.
She
presents a calm — if brittle — front as she talks of her ordeal since she was
falsely accused of harming her baby and having her children disappear into the
care system one by one.
The
long battle to clear her name and have her children returned to her has left
this 38-year-old single mother utterly drained and emotionless. She pauses
before answering questions, chooses her responses with caution, and, even as
she insists that she is happy, can barely raise a smile.
Shadowing
her happiness is the knowledge that, despite being cleared of all claims, she
may never have her middle child — taken from her at four weeks — returned. He
has bonded so well with his foster family that she may lose him permanently
into enforced adoption.
One
November afternoon at just after two o'clock, Louise Mason stood in a hospital
ward and kissed her 11-week- old baby goodbye.
She
had dressed the little girl with care, packing a suitcase of tiny clothes and
soft toys. Inside, she had placed a handwritten letter to the foster parents
who would look after her in the future.
On
that day five years ago, Louise felt as though her heart would burst.
"I wrote down everything about my
daughter," she told me this week.
The Daily Mail, dailymail.co.uk, February 22, 2008
The
case of Louise Mason should give us all time to pause and think about the nature
of the family law and child protection system in Northern Ireland.
Louise's
three children were taken away from her by the state, and altogether they have
spent five years in care.
She
was accused of assaulting a baby daughter and it was not until it was shown,
very late in the day, that the child's internal bleeding was likely to have
come from a kidney tumour that her mother was allowed to resume proper contact
with her children.
The
Belfast Telegraph, belfasttelegraph.co.uk, February 21, 2008
Now
we're going to be a family again
A
report in the Belfast Telegraph has helped reunite an Ulster mother with her
children after five years - three years after she was acquitted of assaulting
her baby daughter.
A headline in this newspaper caught the eye of a doctor at
Londonderry's Altnagelvin Hospital, who eventually helped collate medical
evidence which helped acquit 38-year-old Louise Mason in 2004.
The
Belfast Telegraph, belfasttelegraph.co.uk, February 21, 2008
Silence
from the Trust - despite a call for openness
The
Trust that seized Louise Mason's children declined to comment on the case last
night - in spite of a judge's indication that there should be further scrutiny of
the episode. Mr Justice Gillen said one reason he was lifting a publicity ban
on the case was because the mum's five-year nightmare merits "open
discussion".
"Public
confidence in the process is necessary," he said.
Two
of Ms Mason's children were taken into care when she was wrongly accused of
battering her month-old baby.
They
were being put up for permanent adoption when a doctor who treated the baby
stepped forward to clear Ms Mason after reading coverage of the case in the
Belfast Telegraph.
The Belfast Telegraph, belfasttelegraph.co.uk, February 21, 2008
Wronged
mum is reunited with kids
A
mum wrongly accused of assaulting her month-old baby girl had her five-year
nightmare ended by a judge today.
The
High Court ordered that Londonderry woman Louise Mason should be reunited with
her three children who had been taken into care when she was accused of the
attack.
Mr
Justice Gillen also took the unusual step of lifting a publicity ban in the
case - saying it would help give Ms Mason "a sense of justice".
The
38-year-old mum, who was cleared of assault by a Crown Court jury in 2004,
spoke of her sense of relief at having her children returned to her - including
a one-year-old taken by the authorities after she had been found not guilty.
"I
have been accused of something I didn't do," she said outside the court today.
"It's been an absolute nightmare.
The Belfast Telegraph, belfasttelegraph.co.uk, February 20, 2008
The Sally Clark site
Innocent
Angela Cannings
The
Destruction of a Family: The case of the Family of seven children