From the March 2003 Idaho Observer:

Judge gives state of Florida 30 days to answer Yurko's Motion for Post Conviction Relief

Remember back in the 80s and 90s when healthy babies would mysteriously die from “sudden infant death syndrome” or SIDS? Have you noticed that the topic of “SIDS” and SIDS babies no longer comes up? Did SIDS just go away or was its name changed to protect an industry? Astute researchers like Australia's Viera Scheibner, Ph.D., were beginning to scientifically associate sudden infant death with adverse reactions to routine childhood vaccinations. Public attention on SIDS was removed to prevent the outrage surely to follow public awareness of the link between dead babies and vaccines. To insure that the public was sufficiently distracted from the true cause of SIDS, shaken baby syndrome was invented. Instead of continuing to claim that SIDS is a mystery, innocent parents are now blamed for the deaths of their children and scapegoated into prison. We believe the case of Alan Yurko could put an end to the conspiracy of organized medicine and the justice industry's use of parents as a cover for medical malpractice.

by The Yurko Project

The Ninth Judicial Circuit In And For Orange County, Florida, entered a preliminary ruling and order in the case of Florida v. Alan R. Yurko (CR98-1730) February 17, 2003. Circuit Judge Alan Lawson ordered the state of Florida to file an answer to Yurko's motion for post conviction relief within 30 days. This answer shall either contain matters of law or of record showing why Yurko is not entitled to relief or frame the issues the state will argue should the Court grant Yurko's motion and schedule a hearing.

In 1999, Yurko, now 33, was sentenced to life without parole plus 10 years for allegedly shaking his infant son to death. Since sentencing, new evidence indicates Baby Alan died from a series of medical errors that began after he was rushed to the hospital due to adverse reactions to the series of vaccines he was given. In March, 2002, Yurko filed for post conviction relief based upon the new evidence.

Though there had been no word from the court for nearly a year, the Yurko Project, a growing coalition of international supporters, kept gathering information and pressuring local media and authorities to revisit the Yurko case.

Then, last December, two Florida men's sentences were commuted when it was discovered an incompetent medical examiner incorrectly established the deaths of the babies in their care to be SBS-shaken baby syndrome. Since the release of those two men, local media interest in Yurko's case has increased dramatically and Yurko supporters all over the world have been writing letters, sending emails and faxes, and making phone calls to those who could have a say in reopening this case.

It appears the Court responded by ordering the state to explain why post conviction relief should not be granted in this case or prepare for trial.

Yurko explained that his 100-page Motion for Post Conviction Relief was carefully constructed to limit the scope of the state's argument to the new evidence submitted. Therefore, the state must either cite lawful authority to deny relief or make a record of their refutation of the claims made in the motion.

"It is our legal team's contention that the state will not be able to refute the facts either with law or the record. The next step will be up to Judge Lawson, who will review the state's answer for merit and decide whether or not an evidentiary hearing is warranted," said Yurko.

There is also a possibility, however slight, that the judge will vacate Alan's judgment and sentence and order his immediate release.

The most likely outcome is that an evidentiary hearing will be scheduled at which time Yurko will be transported back to Orlando and the evidence, witnesses, and testimony will be heard in court. Should Judge Lawson deny Yurko relief in this case, his decision can be appealed to Florida District Court.

Yurko is one of hundreds, possibly thousands of innocent parents who have been imprisoned for SBS which has replaced sudden infant death syndrome as a cover for medical malpractice in the contraindicated administration of routine childhood vaccinations.

Medical evidence strongly indicates that one cause of Baby Alan's death was due to the administration of six routine vaccinations at the age of two months, despite being born premature and having a multitude of health problems contraindicating the administration of vaccines. In fact, the particular lot of DTaP vaccine Baby Alan was given happened to be the number one hottest lot out of 810 reported "hot" vaccine lots reported to the national Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System. Other medical bungling contributing to Baby Alan's death include excessive doses of therapeutic medications leading to the SBS diagnosis.

For example, when Alan Yurko rushed Baby Alan to the hospital due to "cardiac arrest and apnea", he was given extremely high doses of sodium bicarbonate and 8.8 times the amount of heparin recommended for an infant. This caused bleeding of the brain and all the other symptoms that were misdiagnosed as SBS.

Furthermore, of the more than two dozen autopsy mistakes, the following stand out: 1) The autopsy report listed Baby Alan as black when he is white; 2) Baby Alan's head was listed on the autopsy report as being 22 cm. His head was 31.5 cm. at birth; 3) the report listed Baby Alan as 8 weeks old when he was in fact 10 weeks old; 4) Baby Alan's internal organs were "harvested" for transplants to other infants prior to autopsy. Although the preamble in the autopsy report notes this fact, several pages into the report is a detailed examination of Baby Alan's myocardium (heart tissue).

If Yurko's sentence is commuted, a convincing precedent will have been set and other innocent parents may be released from prison.

Note from Alan Yurko:

The state will likely file for extension of time to answer. The appeal is complex and contains 660 pages of pleadings, briefs and exhibits. The motion can be viewed at http://www.freeyurko.bizland.com/trial1.html. However, it is likely that by April 17, 2003, we will have the state's response. We will post all court action documents on the website. Yurko Project webservant Peter Tocci has posted the recent actions now and we will post the link to all via email once online.

This action is not only the end to an 11-month wait for the courts to begin the process, but it is also a somewhat significant victory. The vast majority of these appeals are summarily denied. This was a very real concern for us, which would have meant a costly appeal to the appeal that would have dragged out possibly for another year. It is possible we can still be denied, however, this will be difficult considering our claims cannot be refuted by law, or by the record, with any merit. If we are denied, we will appeal the decision to the District Courts. The fact that we were not summarily denied hints that we are being taken seriously.

It is imperative that the letters we've asked all to write start pouring in. The following link is a form letter: http://www.vaclib.org/news/yurkoletter.htm

This is it folks! The wheels are turning and we need all the support we can get. If you want to get active but aren't sure what to do, email us or write Alan:

Alan R. Yurko X13917
Century Correctional Institution
400 Tedder Rd.
Century, FL 32535 USA

Yurkoproject4@yahoo.com

***

Note: The Yurko Project is in desperate need of funds in order for the upcoming trial to have the successful outcome we are anticipating. The cost of providing round trip plane tickets, hotel rooms, and professional fees for many of the expert witnesses is overwhelming. Mrs. Francine Yurko has calculated that if ALL of us who are known supporters of the Yurko Project's were to donate $20 each to the Yurko Project, there would be just enough monies to cover the mounting legal expenses and costs of a successful trial. Since there are many lay people and those who are running non-profit associations at the expense of the basic necessities of life, we are asking medical professionals to consider sending $100 earmarked for the upcoming Yurko Trial to The Yurko Project at the above address. Your financial support is imperative for the success of this trial AND the success of THE precedent-setting case for dismantling our current demise into “Medical Armageddon.”

Mrs. Francine Yurko
The Yurko Project
PO Box 585965
Orlando, FL 32858-5965 USA

Tel/Fx (407) 291-4344

FRANSWRLD@aol.com (no 'o' in wrld)

www.freeyurko.bizland.com