Hannah was convicted for the murder of Andrew Burd in 2007, a special needs child who she was adopting. Andrew Burd was taken to hospital, and the state argued that he died due to salt poisoning.
There are several disturbing issues, related to the conduct of former prosecutor, Sandra Eastwood, who was taking alcohol and prescription diet pills during the trial.
She appears to have had a “win at all costs attitude” and suppressed evidence that showed Hannah did not poison Andrew. According to Anna Jiminez her former assistant, Eastwood said “I will do anything to win this case”. Jimenez stated that in her opinion Eastwood’s behavior during the Overton murder trial was “so far out”.
In 2010, Hannah’s attorneys discovered that Eastwood did not call physician Dr. Edgar Cortes. He wrote a letter to the defense team and informed them he would he would have testified that Andrew’s death was accidental. Andrew was a hyperactive child that also suffered from an autism spectrum disorder. This would account for his inappropriate eating habits, obsessive scratching and picking, head banging and the wounds on his body. Many people believe that Andrew likely suffered from the eating disorder known as Pica. A similar case in the UK, Ian and Angela Gay, also resulted in a conviction being overturned, see Daily Mail, Jan 12, 2012 “The unending nightmare: Ian and Angela Gay speak out”.
The doubtful character and integrity of Eastwood was confirmed in 2010 when she was fired from the DA office after being romantically involved with a sex offender.
In addition, the jury convicted on the very doubtful theory of “murder by omission”, that is the failure to take Andrew to hospital quickly enough. The symptoms Andrew would have showed would not suggest he was in immediate danger, and by the time they are recognised, it is generally too late to prevent death. There is no clear evidence of unreasonable delay, and common sense tells us that it is hard to know when to take a child to hospital.
Such an error of judgement, if there was such an error, is not a criminal offense, and certainly does not rise to the level of murder.
Also note:
The attorneys who scored the victory for Overton were also involved in freeing Michael Morton, who won a claim of actual innocence after he spent 25 years in prison because he was wrongfully convicted of the murder of his wife. Cynthia Orr, the original appellate lawyer for Overton, noted that she and John Raley are working pro bono for Overton, as they did for Morton.
“It’s my personal case I decided to take on,” said Orr, an attorney at Goldstein, Goldstein & Hilley in San Antonio. She said she appreciates the court “having the courage and wisdom to grant her relief.”
from here ( Angela Morris, TexasLawyer.com ).
( See Texas prosecutor Ken Anderson jailed for convicting innocent Michael Morton, November 2013 )
Please see: Hannah Overton is Innocent.
Trial by Media 