The Oregonian - June 7, 2011
Timothy, Rebecca Wyland guilty of criminal mistreatment in faith-healing trial
OREGON CITY – A Clackamas County jury spent one hour deliberating Tuesday before unanimously finding an Oregon City couple guilty of felony criminal mistreatment for treating their infant daughter with faith-healing rather than taking her to a doctor.
A growth covered Alayna's left eye.Timothy and Rebecca Wyland face up to five years in prison but are likely to receive probation and possibly some time in jail. They will be sentenced June 24.
As the verdict was read, Timothy Wyland slipped his arm around his wife's waist, and the couple stoically faced the judge. The Wylands made no comment after the proceedings. They walked out of the courtroom surrounded by supporters from their church, some of them sobbing.
The couple's daughter, Alayna, was born in December 2009 with a birthmark above her left eye that developed into abnormal growth of blood vessels, known as a hemangioma, that slowly engulfed her left eye and produced a goopy discharge. Despite the growth and accompanying loss of vision, the Wylands did not consult a doctor.
Jurors had the option of convicting the Wylands on the lesser charge of second-degree criminal mistreatment, a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail.
The case is the latest involving members of Oregon City's Followers of Christ Church, which considers medical treatment a rejection religious faith. The Wylands are the third church couple to be prosecuted over the past two years for failing to provide medical treatment to their children.
In two previous cases, the children died. In the Wyland case, 18-month-old Alayna has improved under court-ordered medical care.
The swift and unanimous verdict stunned the Wylands, their attorneys and about 20 church members in attendance. Defense attorneys Mark Cogan and John Neidig quickly left the courthouse and declined comment.
In her closing argument Tuesday, lead prosecutor Christine Landers spent 29 minutes dismantling defense attorneys' efforts to portray the Wylands as victims of overly aggressive child-welfare workers who snatched their daughter and persecuted the couple for their religious beliefs.
Landers called the defense a smokescreen intended to obscure the facts and distract jurors.The couple had six and a half months to seek medical attention for Alayna and they did not, she noted. "They never would have. The reason why ... is because of their faith."
The facts presented at trial were highly unfavorable to the Wylands.
From January to June 2010 the Wylands watched as the growth on their daughter's face ballooned. Instead of taking her to a doctor, the Wylands relied on faith-healing rituals -- prayer, anointing with oil and laying on of hands.
Under Oregon law, a parent or guardian has committed first-degree criminal mistreatment if that person "intentionally or knowingly withholds ... medical attention."
Doctors who examined and treated Alayna after she was taken into state custody said she was on the verge of blindness in her left eye, and could possibly have lost the eye without treatment ordered by the court.
The Wylands testified during a July juvenile court custody hearing that they wouldn't have willingly taken Alayna to a doctor because it would violate their religious beliefs. The Wylands said they put their trust -- and Alayna's fate -- in God's hands.
The jury heard a recording of the hearing.
Instead of directly challenging prosecutors' contention that the Wylands intentionally withheld medical attention in the early months of their daughter's life, defense attorneys Cogan and Neidig focused on the Wylands' actions after the state intervened. They portrayed the Wylands as loving parents who fully cooperated with DHS and court orders once Alayna was in state custody, diligently attending doctor appointments and making sure Alayna received her medication.
Landers called the defense attorneys' attempt to focus on what happened after Alayna was in state custody misleading. "They want to minimize the conduct of their clients," Landers told the jury. "They don't live in some mountain village in Nepal where they've never hear of doctors."
Clackamas County District Attorney John Foote, who has had several faith-healing trials under his watch, released a short statement: "We agree with the jury's verdict and appreciate their service. There is another case pending trial so we will have no further comment."
Foote was referring to another couple from the church whose son was born prematurely and died nine hours later. They are scheduled to go trial in September on charges of second-degree manslaughter.
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Faith-healing parents face manslaughter trial
ReplyDeleteBy Jim Hyde Sep 14, 2011
OREGON CITY, OR (KPTV) -
A jury in Oregon City began hearing evidence Wednesday in the death of a newborn child whose parents belong to a faith-healing church.
Dale and Shannon Hickman are on trial for second-degree manslaughter. Their son, David, was born prematurely in September 2009 and lived only a few hours.
The Hickmans' trial is the third time in the past two years that members of the Followers of Christ Church have been prosecuted after the death of a child.
In his opening statement Wednesday, the prosecutor said the Hickman's are guilty of manslaughter because they failed to act to get medical help for their baby.
"No call to 911. No call to a doctor. No call to a nurse. No Internet research. Nothing was done," said Deputy District Attorney Mike Reagan.
The courtroom was occupied mainly by members of the Followers of Christ Church.
Some of them were called on Sept. 26, 2009, when Shannon Hickman began to have contractions.
They joined the parents, midwives, family and friends to pray and anoint the child with oil in accord with their faith.
"You will find that Shannon Hickman had excellent prenatal care," said defense attorney Mark Cogan. "These are women who delivered hundreds of babies."
The defense said Shannon Hickman had received help and education throughout her pregnancy from midwives, who are members of the church, and who are registered with the state.
Defense lawyers promised the jury will see video of a small, healthy newborn child.
But baby David Hickman weakened and died nine hours after birth.
An autopsy determined the cause of death: pneumonia, complicated by underdeveloped lungs and an infection.
"It is most probable the premature birth was spurred by the mother's infected fetal membranes," the prosecutor said. "Mother never went to a doctor for an easily treatable condition."
The defense told the jury that prosecutors treated the members of the Hickmans' church differently. They alleged that county investigators sought to "hijack the body" of David Hickman and have it examined by another doctor before the medical examiner.
"This is a case of malicious prosecution of innocent people who did not commit a crime," said defense lawyer Mark Cogan.
The first prosecution witness, a deputy county medical examiner, said he knew of no such attitude toward the church nor attempt to "hijack."
The prosecution concluded its opening statement saying, "You can fail to act and that is a crime if you cause someone's death. We are not going to prove that they intended David to die. We are going to prove that they failed to be aware of the risk that he would."
The defense told the jury to keep an open mind as they cross examine the criminal and medical experts the prosecution will bring in the weeks ahead.
That first opportunity to cross examine investigators will begin with Thursday's testimony.
http://www.kptv.com/story/15465711/faith-healing-parents-face-manslaughter-trial
Jury convicts Dale, Shannon Hickman of manslaughter in faith-healing trial
ReplyDeleteBy Steve Mayes, The Oregonian September 29, 2011
A jury today unanimously convicted Dale and Shannon Hickman in the faith-healing death of their infant son.
Both parents were found guilty of second-degree manslaughter, a Class B felony that requires a sentence of at least six years and three months in prison under Measure 11, Oregon's mandatory sentencing law. However, because of a religious exemption that was eliminated after the Hickmans were indicted, they could face no more than 18 months in prison and a $250,000 fine.
After the jury left the courtroom, the Hickmans stood and embraced. Shannon Hickman pressed her face against her husband's chest and sobbed.
The couple, who have two other children, will be sentenced Oct. 31. Prosecutors asked that they be held in jail until sentencing, but Judge Robert Herndon allowed them to remain free until then.
The Hickmans are members of Oregon City's Followers of Christ church, which has a long history of children dying from treatable conditions because their parents relied on faith healing rather than taking them to doctors. In response to such cases, legislators this year removed religious exemptions from Oregon's criminal statutes.
As word got out that the jury had reached a verdict, the Clackamas County courtroom filled with about 80 friends and family from the Followers of Christ church. Among those present Carl and Raylene Worthington, another Followers of Christ couple tried in the faith-healing death of a child. Carl Worthington was convicted of criminal mistreatment and sentenced in 2009 to six months in jail. Raylene Worthington was acquitted.
David Hickman was born on Sept. 26, 2009, and lived less than nine hours.
His mother, Shannon Hickman, went into labor two months before her due date. Instead of going to a hospital, she and her husband opted to have the baby in her mother's home. At birth, he weighed 3 pounds, 7 ounces.
The Hickmans testified that David appeared healthy then took a sudden dire turn. Dale Hickman responded by holding his newborn son, praying for him and anointing him with olive oil. The parents said they never considered calling a doctor, and the baby died quickly.
In closing arguments, defense attorney Mark Cogan maintained it is unfair to fault the Hickmans for failing to call 9-1-1. "What opportunity was there?" he asked. "What benefit would there have been?"
Prosecutors contended that the Hickmans knew their son was born dangerously premature and that he struggled from the beginning, giving them plenty of time to seek medical assistance. If they had done so, medical experts testified, there was more than a 99 percent change the baby would have survived.
"There was plenty of time to do something," prosecutor John Wentworth said in closing arguments. "What did Shannon and Dale Hickman do? Nothing," he said. "They didn't even try."
Dale and Shannon Hickman both testified in their defense.
When asked why he didn't call 9-1-1 once he realized his infant son was failing, Dale Hickman responded, "Because I was praying."
Asked the same question, Shannon Hickman said that as a woman in the church, she must defer to her husband. "That's not my decision anyway," she said. "I think it's God's will whatever happens."
read the rest at:
http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-city/index.ssf/2011/09/jury_reaches_verdict_in_faith-.html