It's a victory for a former Waunakee daycare provider convicted of shaking a baby to death in 1995: the Wisconsin Supreme Court has declined to review a decision that freed Audrey Edmunds.
Edmunds, who had maintained her innocence in the death of seven month old Natalie Beard, was released from prison in February. A state appeals court ruled new research cast doubt on whether she shook the infant to death, and because of that Edmunds deserved a new trail. The state Department of Justice appealed that decision to the Supreme Court, claiming the ruling would make it virtually impossible for prosecutors to bring charges in shaken baby cases. The court has notified Edmunds it will let the ruling stand, which means prosecutors now have to decide whether to retry her or drop the charges. Dane County District Attorney Brian Blanchard will now have to decide whether to accept the ruling, or attempt to proceed with a new trial.
