Interviews

He is a doctor and Stanford professor who specializes in pediatric radiology and neuroradiology, and also is a member of the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital SCAN [Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect] team. Barnes was a key prosecution witness in the 1997 trial of Louise Woodward, the British nanny who was accused of shaking an 8-month-old baby to death, hitting his head and causing fatal bleeding. The trial was a turning point for him -- while it was clear something happened to the child, he now says, "Shaking was irrelevant in that case in retrospect."

He is the pathologist in chief at Vanderbilt University and specializes in patients with bleeding and clotting disorders, which he says can manifest in ways that look like child abuse.

A board-certified forensic pathologist, he's the chief medical examiner for Florida's District Six, which covers Pinellas and Pasco counties. During his tenure thus far, he reversed two child death cases handled by his predecessor. He says of one case: "They imagined injuries that weren't there."