A 29-year-old Baltimore man previously convicted and later retried for the death of his 5-month-old daughter in 2018 accepted an Alford plea of 15 years incarceration on Aug. 24 in Baltimore City Circuit Court.
Anthony Ford was scheduled for a second retrial before Judge Anthony F. Vittoria; however, counsel informed the court that the parties reached an agreement. The defendant accepted an Alford plea of 40 years, suspending all but 15 years, and three years of supervised probation for first-degree child abuse resulting in the death of his daughter, Brailynn Ford. His first-degree assault charged was dismissed.
Under an Alford plea, Ford pleaded guilty to the charge but does not admit any wrongdoing for the crime. Defense attorneys Marci Johnson and Shaneel Myles represented Ford during Monday’s proceeding.
On Oct. 4, 2018, the defendant called the Baltimore Police Department (BPD) around 3:40 p.m. and said that Brailynn was not breathing and unresponsive at the family’s home on the 1000 block of Mosher Street. When detectives from BPD’s Child Abuse Unit took over the investigation, court documents state, a doctor from University of Maryland Pediatrics reported that Brailynn had no brain activity.
Further examination from a University of Maryland Hospital physician found that Brailynn’s injuries included brain bleeding and swelling and bleeding in the back of her eyes as well as fresh bruises around her head, neck, chest and back. The physician reported the baby’s injuries were consistent with Shaken Baby Syndrome.
In August 2022, Ford was tried and convicted before a jury before Judge Cynthia H. Jones and sentenced to life, suspending all but 50 years, for first-degree child abuse resulting in death and a concurrent 20 years for first-degree assault in October 2022.
The case was reopened in January 2025 after the Appellate Court of Maryland’s ruling found that an expert witness’ testimony did not provide sufficient evidence ruling out any potential involvement from the baby’s minor cousin.
Earlier this year, Judge Barry G. Williams presided over Ford’s retrial, which concluded with a hung jury in April.
