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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Josh Marcus

Sabrina Butler-Smith escaped execution after she was falsely accused of killing her son. Now, she’s fighting for Melissa Lucio

AP

Sabrina Butler-Smith was nearly executed for what she looked like—or rather, what she didn’t look like.

In 1989, she rushed to a Mississippi hospital, after her infant son Walter stopped breathing and she couldn’t resuscitate him with CPR. Police arrest Ms Butler-Smith, who is Black, the same day Walter died, believing bruises on his chest from the CPR were the result of child abuse.

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