Unshakable Science

Unshakable Science

From One Minute Remaining - Stories from the inmates by Jack Laurence

May 3, 2026 · 2 min · Season 53

About this episode

The episode explores the wrongful convictions of Tasha Shelby and Marsha Mills due to flawed medical testimony related to Shaken Baby Syndrome.

In the 1990s and early 2000s, Shaken Baby Syndrome was considered unshakeable medical fact. When doctors found three specific symptoms—subdural bleeding, retinal hemorrhages, and brain swelling—the diagnosis was automatic: someone had violently shaken a baby to death. Two women's lives were destroyed by this "certainty." Tasha Shelby was 25 years old when she was convicted of murdering her fiancé's two-year-old son. Just two weeks after giving birth by emergency C-section, prosecutors claimed this 4'9" woman had shaken 33-pound Bryan Thompson with the force of a car crash. Her trial lasted two days. Her sentence: life without parole. Marsha Mills was a 55-year-old grandmother caring for neighbourhood children when two-year-old Noah Shoup died in her care. Despite her spotless record and the family's trust, medical testimony sent her to prison for life based on the same three symptoms. Neither woman had any history of violence. Neither had any other evidence against them except the testimony of medical experts who claimed absolute certainty. But that certainty was built on a foundation of sand. From prison, both women tell their stories to host Jack Laurence in this groundbreaking…

People in this episode

Host: Jack Laurence

Guests: Tasha Shelby, Marsha Mills

Topics covered

  • Shaken Baby Syndrome
  • flawed science
  • wrongful convictions
  • medical testimony
  • injustice
  • prison stories

Keywords

  • Shaken Baby Syndrome
  • wrongful conviction
  • medical experts
  • injustice
  • prison
  • Tasha Shelby
  • Marsha Mills
  • Valena E. Beety

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Arizona State University, Academy for Justice

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