Parents found guilty of murder after SECOND child dies from pneumonia

dailymail.co.uk ^ | 14 November 2013 | DAILY MAIL REPORTER and ASSOCIATED PRESS REPORTER

[moonshinner_09]

Parents found guilty of murder after SECOND child dies from pneumonia because they prayed instead of seeking medical attention

A Philadelphia couple were found guilty of the third-degree murder of their son after pleading 'no contest today. Herbert and Catherine Schaible's 7-month-old son Brandon died last April 18 from dehydration and pneumonia when his parents decided to pray for him to get better rather than seek medical attention. At the time, the Schaibles were on 10-year probation for their 2-year-old son Kent's similar death in 2009. The terms of their probation required the Schaibles to seek medical attention any time one of their seven surviving children got sick.The fundamentalist Christian couple will face sentencing February 19 for their crime. 'I can't even imagine being a mother myself, what was happening,' Philadelphia prosecutor Joanne Pescatore said. 'The sheer pain and the stress that that child was in. When a parent can actually say that his breathing was worsening and he was fussy and whiny and crying and still, at that point, not calling anyone for help, it's just unbelievable to me - and totally foreseeable (that he died).' About a dozen U.S. children die each year when parents turn to faith healing instead of medicine, typically from highly treatable problems, according to experts.

Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams said the care was never given and decided to bring murder charges against the couple. Their remaining children have been placed in foster care. ‘He is incarcerated because of his faith,’ said lawyer Bobby Hoof in May when the couple was ordered held without bail. He described client Herbert Schaible's mindset as resolute.

[moonshinner_09]

WHEN GOD DOESN'T ANSWER: THE CASUALTIES OF FAITH-HEALING It is estimated that around a dozen U.S. children die in faith-healing cases each year, a handful of which spawn criminal charges, according to experts. The First Century Gospel Church of Philadelphia’s teachings has clashed with authorities in the past. In 1991, eight children died in a measles outbreak. All the parents were members of either First Century Gospel Church or the nearby Faith Tabernacle of Nicetown which also preaches faith-healing. In 2011, Dale and Shannon Hickman of Oregon were sentenced to 75 months in prison after turning to faith healing to say their premature newborn, which was born in a family home, died from complications that could have easily been averted with medical care. Also in Oregon, Jeff and Marci Beagley, were sentenced to 16 months in 2010 for the death of their 16-year-old son. The couple refused to use medicine for their son Neil, who was suffering from a preventable urinary tract blockage. Instead, they prayed and used anointing oils in the hope of divine intervention. 'Too many children have died unnecessarily - a graveyard full,' Judge Steven Maurer said at their sentencing. 'This has to stop.' Oregon has since banned faith healing as a defense against murder charges.

Above From article..

[4rcane]

sound like a hoax to me. Only a left winger would think a fundamentalist Christian would be stupid enough to simply pray for child to get better without going to the doctor first

[BenLurkin]

Murder?

Negligent homicide at most.

Just my opinion.

[4rcane]

It plays to your stereotype too perfectly, which defy common sense, which makes me think its more likely a hoax than not

[DJ MacWoW]

There are actually Christians who believe that if you or someone you care for dies it’s because of a lack of faith. They’re stupid. I have always been told “Pray and go to the doctor”.

[JimSEA]

It happens. Here in Oregon there have been both tragic deaths and near misses. What I don’t understand is where these beliefs have come from and for so long. Fifty years ago, there were more such instances. Two children in the Arizona town I came from died unnecessarily some sixty years ago. The charges were manslaughter as I recall. The parents were emotionally devastated but their misguided beliefs brought the tragedy on.

[TexasGator]

“sound like a hoax to me. Only a left winger would think a fundamentalist Christian would be stupid enough to simply pray for child to get better without going to the doctor first”

From 2010:

http://articles.philly.com/2010-12-11/news/25293003_1_faith-healing-faith-and-prayer-dental-care

[jazusamo]

Not a hoax. A sect in Oregon has had many run ins with the law over faith healing.

Oregon faith-healing parents fight to get baby back, face criminal charges (photo)

The Oregonian

[GrouchoTex]

The are the “God will provide” bunch, which, I beleive, can happen on occasion (The Lord Moves in Mysterious ways).
However, the best thing I have ever heard a Clergyman tell me was:

“Faith moves mountains, bring a shovel”.

I’ve always remembered that.

[Blood of Tyrants]

Did it ever occur to them that taking the child to a doctor might be God’s answer?

[luvbach1]

There are actually Christians who believe that if you or someone you care for dies it’s because of a lack of faith. They’re stupid. I have always been told “Pray and go to the doctor”.

Are they the ones who will say he/she is now in a better place, yet they grieve?

[EEGator]

Nope, they’re bat poop crazy.

[luvbach1]

Isn’t that, in essence, Mary Baker Eddy’s Christian Science?

[DJ MacWoW]

Absolutely. God uses situations too. You never know who will be blessed, maybe a doctor, someone that you meet in a hospital or doctors office. God can use anything but you have to be willing. Healing is not an "either prayer OR a doctor". It's both. God may want to bless the doctor by using you.

[DJ MacWoW]

Believers grieve because when someone dies they leave an empty place in your life. We know they are in perfect Heaven but we’re still here.

[RedMDer]

[JimSEA]

It was in fact, in Superior, AZ at least.

[luvbach1]

That was a good answer in your post #15.

[mrsmith]

“I don’t understand is where these beliefs have come from”

Until the use of antibiotics there wasn’t much difference in results between prayer and a doctor for treating diseases.

[DJ MacWoW]

Thank you. I pay attention at our church group. That made sense. We also discussed that death is not natural. Man was never meant to die.