The Syndrome

2016 • 86 minutes

About this movie

A mother of three spent 11 years in prison for killing a baby she never harmed. That’s what happens when widely held beliefs based on junk science lead to the convictions of innocent people. The explosive documentary The Syndrome follows the crusade of a group of doctors, scientists, and legal scholars who have uncovered that “Shaken Baby Syndrome,” a child abuse theory used in hundreds of U.S. prosecutions each year, is not scientifically valid. In fact, they say, it doesn’t exist. Filmmaker Meryl Goldsmith and national award-winning investigative reporter Susan Goldsmith document the unimaginable nightmare for those accused and focus on the men and women dedicating their lives to defending the prosecuted and freeing the convicted. How did the myth of “SBS” begin and who are the shocking people behind it who have built careers and profited from the theory? Both are unflinchingly identified. Shaken baby proponents want to silence their critics even as countless lives are ruined.

Ratings and reviews

this is junk & letting child abusers go free..i hope cps still takes all their children away..don't believe this nonsense junk thank you

It's about time someone dispelled this modern day witch hunt! Utterly disgusting what the court systems and flawed doctors are doing to these poor families. For the naysayers out there, educate yourselves and come out of the dark ages.

Susan Goldsmith is pure gold. She does not seek to change facts and truth , but to expose them. Just like the doctors who stepped forward to expose an injustice, Susan and Meryl have done a remarkable job at revealing the truth behind the myths. We just blindly believe in and trust our system--what choice do we have? We do have the choice to open our eyes, ears, and mouths! The system is not broke, and has the power to do justice, but the people in the system often misuse their position and chose to use the tools of the system to do harm. This documentary is thought-provoking and excellent.