Against All Odds: A mother’s fight to prove her innocence
by Angela Cannings (with Megan Lloyd Davies)

Time Warner Books, £16.99

Hardback

Reviewed by Jason Hadden



‘One sudden infant death is a tragedy, two is suspicious and three is murder until proved otherwise.’



This was the infamous reasoning of Sir Roy Meadow, the paediatrician and former expert witness whose evidence contributed to the conviction of Angela Cannings for the murder of her sons, seven-week-old Jason in 1991 and 18-week-old Matthew in 1999. Ms Cannings was given a life sentence in April 2002, but denied being responsible, claiming that the boys were victims of cot death owing to a genetic defect, and was cleared by the Court of Appeal in 2003.



This remarkable autobiography (co-written with journalist Megan Lloyd Davies) tells that story, the tale of a normal mother whose life is traumatised after the loss of three children within ten years to sudden infant death syndrome, otherwise known as cot death. When her third child, Matthew, died, sympathy turned to suspicion. The police turned her loss and depression into something more sinister. She was subsequently charged with murder, convicted, and for the next two years imprisoned. She was labelled a child murderer, spat on, mentally abused, and assaulted.



While the book is no literary masterpiece, it is a heart-wrenching and honest account of Ms Cannings surviving not only the loss of her children, but the ensuing implosion of her life. This is a personal and lonely story. It shows Ms Cannings, her husband Terry and their daughter Jade trying to survive as a family after being split up and then reunited.



It also provides an insight into how law-abiding people can find themselves thrust into the criminal justice system – and how that system can fail them.



But perhaps, with some pathos, the most original part of the story is the ending. As a reader, we inevitably presume that because Angela’s conviction was quashed, the ending would be one of happiness. It is not. Angela, Terry and Jade are now involved in their biggest struggle – to rebuild a normal family life that has been shattered to its very core.



Jason Hadden is a freelance journalist and solicitor-advocate