In 2002, Jeffrey Havard was wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death in Mississippi for the sexual assault and murder of his girlfriend’s six-month-old daughter, Chloe Britt. In May 2016, the Mississippi Supreme Court ordered an evidentiary hearing for Jeff’s case based on defense claims of new evidence due to changes in the science behind Shaken Baby Syndrome.

In September 2018, Jeff’s death penalty sentence was vacated, and a resentencing hearing was ordered. On December 18, 2018, Jeff was resentenced to life without parole. After nearly 16 years, Jeff is now off death row, but his fight is far from over.

The truth about this case is clear. Chloe slipped from Jeff’s hands while lifting her from the tub after a bath, causing her head to hit a nearby toilet. New expert evidence supports Jeff’s claims. Chloe’s death was a tragic accident, not a murder. Jeffrey Havard is innocent.

Please review the extensive analyses of expert witnesses, court transcripts, videos, podcasts, and other recent updates.

What happened in this case?

On the evening of February 21, 2002, Jeffrey Havard’s live-in girlfriend went to a store to buy groceries, leaving her six-month-old infant, Chloe, in Jeff’s care. Chloe spit up on her clothing and bedding. Jeff bathed her, and he accidentally dropped her. Her head struck the toilet.

Chloe did not seem seriously injured, so Jeff changed her clothes, put her to bed, and said nothing about what had happened. When the baby’s mother checked on her that evening, she seemed fine. A short time later, however, she discovered that Chloe did not appear to be breathing. She and Jeff took the baby to a hospital emergency room, where she died after attempts to resuscitate her failed.

There is no question that Jeff exercised bad judgment that night. He should have explained what had happened right away. But he did not want to admit he had dropped the baby, so he said nothing. It was a big mistake. Medical personnel did not know what had triggered the emergency, and they misunderstood what they saw. Severe brain damage often causes a patient’s sphincter muscle to relax, so the anus becomes dilated. That was what happened to Chloe. The doctors and nurses treating the baby thought it meant she had been anally raped.

There’s no denying that Jeff displayed poor judgment that evening. He should have immediately explained what occurred. Not wanting to admit to dropping the baby, he said nothing, which proved to be a big mistake.

The medical staff was unaware of the incident’s cause, leading to misinterpretation. Severe brain injury often results in sphincter muscle relaxation, causing dilation of the anus, as was the case with Chloe. The medical professionals attending to her mistakenly interpreted this as evidence of anal rape.

They were not the first medical professionals to misread this condition. Similar allegations have arisen in enough cases to warrant a systematic study of accidental deaths involving children. Researchers found that anal dilation in such patients is a common phenomenon and is not an indicator of sexual abuse.

The medical personnel attending to Chloe and the law enforcement officers summoned for investigation were unaware of this information. Consequently, Jeff was arrested and detained. When he eventually disclosed the events two days later, the delayed revelation further undermined his credibility. By that point, authorities were already convinced that he had sexually assaulted and murdered the infant.

This was the story that circulated through the community as well. Rumors gained momentum, blurring the boundary between reality and fiction. By the time Jeff stood trial in December 2002, witnesses who had observed the baby at the hospital were recounting injuries not documented in photos or the autopsy report. Defense attorneys did little to challenge these witnesses or explain the medical evidence, which they did not understand. Jeff was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death in a proceeding that lasted less than two days.

The jury arrived at their conclusion due to the trial’s failure to clarify the details of the medical report and their significance. Subsequent to the trial, two forensic pathologists reviewed the medical report and determined Chloe’s death to be accidental. Notably, her autopsy showed no signs of the injuries expected in cases of sexual assault. Even Dr. Steven Hayne, the prosecution’s medical expert, has consistently maintained that the evidence does not substantiate allegations of sexual assault.

Hayne clarified in a 2014 affidavit that he specifically told prosecutors on more than one occasion before trial that he could not support a finding of sexual abuse. However, this information was withheld from the defense, constituting a Brady violation.

Most shockingly, in January 2014, a full 12 years after the conviction, the defense discovered that Hayne had examined tissue samples under a microscope, conclusively determining the absence of any signs of sexual assault. This revelation was particularly significant in a case where suspicions of sexual assault were initially raised by emergency room doctors and nurses who believed they had observed physical indications of such abuse. Hayne’s microscopic findings were undeniably exonerating and would have clearly demonstrated that the doctors and nurses had misinterpreted their observations. Furthermore, the State failed to disclose this evidence to the defense and neglected to inform the medical personnel before their testimonies.

Unbelievably, the State chose to disregard Hayne’s findings and prosecute Jeff for murder for murder in connection with a sexual assault.

During the trial, prosecutors stood before the Court and asserted to the jury that Dr. Hayne “confirmed the nurses’ and doctors’ worst fear, that this child had been sexually abused.” However, they were fully aware that Dr. Hayne’s findings contradicted this statement; in fact, he had concluded the opposite. Jeffrey Havard’s placement on death row was a result of the prosecution’s deliberate deception of the jury.

Given the evidence that was illegally withheld from the defense, any reasonable jury would have would have reached a different verdict.

Jeffrey Havard is the first to admit he was guilty of bad judgment the night Chloe died. He was 22 years old, and he was scared. But he did not commit murder nor sexually assault Chloe Britt.

Jeffrey Havard readily acknowledges his poor judgment on the night Chloe died. At 22 years old and scared. Despite this, the evidence speaks for itself: Jeffrey Havard did not commit murder or sexually assault Chloe Britt.

Jeffrey Havard spent nearly 16 years on death row, awaiting execution for a crime that never occurred, and has now been incarcerated for over two decades.