British nanny freed from jail

Manjit Basuta has always protested her innocence

A former nanny who was jailed in the United States for shaking a baby to death has been freed.

Manjit Basuta, a former nurse, from Slough, Berkshire, was sentenced to 25 years in 1999 for killing a San Diego baby.

Basuta's term was reduced to eight years after she admitted involuntary manslaughter before a judge last year.

The 48-year-old has been handed over to US immigration authorities and is expected to face deportation proceedings.

Plea bargain

She has always protested her innocence, and her family, from West Bromwich, who set up the Free Manjit Basuta Campaign to fight for her release, maintained she only pleaded guilty as part of a plea bargain.

Basuta had already served three years when her sentence was reduced to eight years - making her eligible for parole.

In 1999, she was found guilty of causing 13-month-old Oliver Smith's fatal brain injury by shaking him.

Last year the mother-of-three admitted mistreating Oliver after he refused to co-operate when having his nappy changed.

The family, which includes Basuta's husband who is also called Manjit, moved to the US in 1989.