Pathologist Charles Smith told an Ontario inquiry into his botched child autopsies that his findings were never affected by investigators' comments about parents' economic or social status.

Charles Smith sits on the stand as he waits to deliver testimony at the Goudge inquiry in Toronto Monday.
(Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)

Smith, speaking Friday during his final day of testimony at the inquiry in Toronto, said in fact there were many occasions when his work "disproved" any observations made to him about "socio-economic or cultural factors" and he takes pride in that.

Lawyer James Lockyer, representing nine people convicted of crimes in part because of Smith's testimony, raised the case of "R," a baby who died in a crib. He said in Smith's notes on the case, the pathologist wrote, "Mom was shooting pool." He asked why such a note would be relevant to the case.

Smith said the note was made to indicate the absence of a parent at the time of death. Lockyer questioned the detail used in the note.

The inquiry has heard of other cases where Smith scribbled down such observations as "hooker" and "cocaine."

The pathologist said such observations never influenced his conclusions from the autopsies.

"I don't believe I played any role in the decision-making as to who the police would charge," he said, adding that determining guilt or innocence was never his role in the cases.

The inquiry, headed by Justice Stephen Goudge, was called after a team of forensic experts reviewed Smith's work and found his conclusions of foul play to be questionable in 20 cases, 13 of which resulted in criminal convictions.

The review focused on 45 child autopsies Smith conducted from 1991 to 2002, when he was considered a leading expert on pediatric forensics at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children.

Never intentionally misled: Smith

Also on Friday, Smith said he never gave testimony that he didn't stand behind, though he later realized he had made errors.

Speaking about the case of Sharon, a seven-year-old who he concluded died of 80 scissor stab wounds, Smith said he had little experience with penetrating wounds and "certainly did not intend to mislead anyone."

'I supported what I thought to be the correct diagnosis. I did not feel like I was an agent of the police or the Crown.'—Charles Smith

Second-degree murder charges against the child's mother, Louise Reynolds of Kingston, Ont., were dropped after other experts later concluded the child was mauled by a dog.

Lockyer also noted that Smith gave the preliminary evidence in Sharon's case based on naked eye assessments, not microscopic analysis.

Smith agreed with Lockyer that he "made a number of errors" but said he was as thorough as he could be with his understanding.

"At no point did I understand that what I was looking at was anything but stab wounds," he said.

The lawyer alleged Smith simply "reinforced the current working theory of the police" that the child was stabbed with scissors.

"I supported what I thought to be the correct diagnosis," Smith said. "I did not feel like I was an agent of the police or the Crown."

Emotional apology accepted

William Mullins-Johnson, who was wrongfully convicted of sodomizing and strangling his niece, told CBC News Friday that an emotional apology from Smith during Thursday's hearing "took me totally by surprise."

William Mullins-Johnson, who was wrongfully convicted in the death of his niece, says Smith's apology on Thursday 'took me totally by surprise.'
(CBC)

Mullins-Johnson spent 12 years in jail, but was released from custody in 2005 after evidence surfaced that Smith had lost tissue samples that could have shown the four-year-old died of natural causes. Mullins-Johnson was acquitted in October 2007.

Under pressure from Lockyer to offer a direct apology, Smith locked eyes with Mullins-Johnson and apologized in a broken voice.

"I'm sorry. I do want to make it very clear to you that I am profoundly sorry for the role I played in the ultimate decision that affected you," he said.

From the audience, Mullins-Johnson said, "You destroyed my family … I'll never forget that, but for my own healing … I must forgive you."

Speaking from outside the hearing Friday, Mullins-Johnson said, "I wasn't expecting anything like that at all, it took me totally by surprise actually."

Biggest revelation

He said the exchange "helped me to express to him how he actually impacted my life and my family."

Throughout the week-long testimony, Mullins-Johnson said the biggest revelation was that Smith was barely trained.

Mullins-Johnson added that he thought there should be a criminal investigation into the cases and people be held responsible for what happened.

The inquiry is scheduled to deliver its final report by April 25, 2008.

With files from the Canadian Press