Eight cases of parents convicted of killing their children are referred to commission

Just eight cases of parents convicted of killing their children have so far emerged as candidates for criminal appeals following the review by the attorney general in the wake of the release of Angela Cannings.

The attorney general, Lord Goldsmith, has been reviewing almost 300 child killing cases since Mrs Cannings was cleared on appeal at the end of last year of murdering her two baby sons (BMJ 2004;328: 183). The appeal court in that case said that no prosecutions …