"I understand that Zach was not a 'sleeping baby when he arrived at the hospital,' " Burns wrote, referring to a quote Simmons used.
Burns was quoted in Simmons' article as saying: "The injuries were not consistent with this horrible pummeling. ... We know he was kicked, he fell and hit his head, he fell between two cars. He probably injured something in the fall or he had a pre-existing condition. There was no evidence of the vicious beating, no evidence of stomping."
She also questioned whether Anna Sowers' statements were "100 [percent] accurate."
According to medical records and photos in Sowers' assailant's court file, the 28-year-old victim had 19 different "diagnoses/problems" from head trauma to hemorrhages, bruises to brain tissue, respiratory failure and excess water build-up in his brain. Photos entered into evidence by prosecutors also show Sowers bleeding from the right side of his head, in a neck brace, wrapped in bandages and with multiple tubes coming from his mouth.
The patient "sustained an isolated traumatic brain injury and had a complicated hospital course," one report reads.
Sowers said she wants a public apology because Burns' statements have undermined her efforts to lobby for changes in state law that would help crime victims.
"For her to say that I'm not saying things that are 100 percent accurate, that makes it harder for me to work with delegates and get laws changed," Sowers said.
melissa.harris@baltsun.com
ONLINE
Read the e-mail from Burns to Sowers at baltimoresun. com/sowers
