A jury took less than 90 minutes to find four social workers not guilty of complicity to commit murder in the beating death of a toddler by his stepfather.
Prosecutors said the social workers should have noticed signs of abuse in time to save the life of 22-month-old Daniel Reynolds.They faced 20 years to life in prison if they had been convicted Wednesday.
Daniel's stepfather, Robert Parker, was convicted of murder, and his wife, Brandy, was convicted of complicity to commit murder. Both are serving life sentences.
Under a court order, the social workers removed Daniel from his parents' home for about two months in 1993 after the child's leg was twisted until it broke.
But with a judge's approval, Daniel was returned home in August 1993. Subsequent reports by social workers indicated there were no problems, although prosecutor Robert Bertram said day- care workers reported bruises on the child's face.
Daniel died in December 1993 from four blows to the head, an autopsy found. There also was evidence of previous injuries, in-cluding a fractured rib that had not completely healed.
The defendants, Jimmy Collins, Frances Waddle, Christy Keith and Martha Blevins, remained on the state payroll, and the state paid for their defense.
Bertram refused to comment after the verdict.