TOLEDO - The Lucas County prosecutor said she will not seek another trial against a man whose conviction for involuntary manslaughter in the death of his 2-month-old son was later overturned.

        Prosecutor Julia Bates announced her decision Friday in the case against Matthew Reiner.

        A Ford Motor Co. engineer, Mr. Reiner was convicted in the 1995 death of his 10-week-old son, Alex. At trial, Mr. Reiner's lawyers blamed the family nanny, Susan Batt, for the child's death. Doctors also found that Alex's twin brother, Derek, had suffered broken bones, but no one was charged in connection with his injuries.

        Mr. Reiner's case received national attention when it reached the Ohio Supreme Court twice and the U.S. Supreme Court once.

        Ms. Bates said retrying the case would be difficult because of the state Supreme Court's decision last year that Ms. Batt could not receive immunity as she did in the original trial. Lorin Zaner, Ms. Batt's attorney, said she would not testify in a new trial without immunity.

        “It would have been a total waste of time for them to pursue the case,” Ms. Zaner said.

        Ms. Batt watched the Reiners' three children for about a month before the child died from shaken baby syndrome.

        She surprised prosecutors days before the original trial by refusing to take the stand against Mr. Reiner unless granted immunity from prosecution herself. If forced to testify without immunity, she said, she would invoke the Fifth Amendment, which guards against self-incrimination.

        She testified under immunity that she did not harm Alex. Mr. Reiner also testified and denied the charges.

        The Ohio Supreme Court in 1998 reversed Mr. Reiner's conviction on the grounds that Ms. Batt did not deserve Fifth Amendment protection.

        The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year that Ms. Batt had legitimate reason to fear testifying and was protected under the Fifth Amendment because she spent time with the children around the time of the baby's death.

        The case made it back to the state Supreme Court, which ruled giving Ms. Batt immunity could have hindered the defense by sending a message to the jury that she did not cause Alex's injuries.

        Ms. Bates appealed that decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, which declined last month to hear the case and left the state court's ruling intact.

        Mr. Reiner was two years into his sentence of five years of community control before his conviction was overturned.

        Mr. Reiner's attorney, Sam Kaplan, said his client was prepared for a new trial.

        “In the seven-year life of this case, there have been good and bad days. And today being the last day, we're very relieved that it's a good one,” Mr. Kaplan said Friday

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