A Cass County day care provider has pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter more than a year after the Iowa Supreme Court reversed her previous conviction for murder.
Alison Dorsey, 42, of Massena was charged with first-degree murder in the October 2019 death of an 11-month-old boy in her care. Doctors determined the infant had died of severe brain hemorrhages consistent with being shaken or suffering other “abusive head trauma.”
Dorsey’s first trial, in November 2021, ended in a hung jury, with 10 members voting to acquit and two to convict. The court moved her second trial to Pottawattamie County, where in May 2023 she was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 50 years in prison.
In January 2025, however, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled the change in venue was improper and sent the case back for a third trial.
Instead, on Thursday, Feb. 26, Dorsey returned to court to plead guilty to a reduced charge of involuntary manslaughter and received a five-year sentence. She’ll be eligible for parole immediately and will receive credit for 20 months already spent in custody, meaning she could have little or no additional time to serve. Under Iowa law, Dorsey also must pay $150,000 in restitution to the child’s family.
A second count of child endangerment causing death was dismissed as part of the plea.
Defense attorneys Bill Kutmus and Trever Hook said they and their client were pleased with the deal they reached with prosecutors.
“What we finally accomplished was we negotiated a plea agreement that Ali Dorsey pleaded to involuntary manslaughter,” Kutmus said. “What’s important is it was not a murder case, and we knew it from the very get-go.”
Defense questions shaken-baby science
The infant in Dorsey’s case had a pattern of bleeding in his brain often interpreted as a sign of abusive head trauma, also known as shaken baby syndrome. At trial, opposing experts presented differing theories for what could have caused the child’s injuries, and how recently they had occurred.
Hook said after the sentencing that shaken baby syndrome “is a hypothesis that has never been proven” and that courts around the country have found it amounts to “junk science.” In particular, he said, medical experts now acknowledge the injuries can be caused by something as simple as falling off of a couch, rather than severe shaking.
“And there are still people in prison for murder from when (experts) said it could not,” he said. “As time goes on, the science gets worse and worse for shaken baby syndrome.”
The Iowa Attorney General’s Office, which prosecuted Dorsey’s case, did not respond to messages seeking comment.
William Morris covers courts for the Des Moines Register. He can be contacted at wrmorris2@registermedia.com or 715-573-8166.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Murder conviction reversed, day care provider pleads to manslaughter
Reporting by William Morris, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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