Well another couple now arrested. This is now case number four. A couple will face second degree manslaughter charges in the death of their newbor son, because of their faith healing beliefs. This makes the third fatality out of four cases, in the past two years. Dale R. Hickman and his wife, Shannon M Hickman, both 25, were both booked at 1am Friday morning in the Clackamas County Jail. Dale Hickman’s father, Phillip Hickman, posted 10 percent of their $500,000 bail, and they were released about two hours later. They will be formally charged Aug. 30.
Their infant son was born in September of 2009, and was 6 weeks premature. He weighed 3 pounds, 5 ounces and lived nine hours. There were no medical personel present at the time of the birth, and no one called for a doctor or an ambulance. The autopsy showed the baby died from staph pneumonia and complications from a premature birth, including underdeveloped lungs. There was the presence of a bacterial infection, which could have caused the amniotic sac to rupture, or the water to break as the event is commonly called.
The Hickmans, and other family members have no comment. Dale Hickman’s attorney asked the public to withhold judgment. “Mr. and Mrs. Hickman are presumed innocent,” defense attorney Mark Cogan said. “The government has the burden of proving the charges beyond a reasonable doubt. We have not seen the evidence yet.”
If you may recall, members of the Followers of Christ church on faith-healing rituals – anointing with oil, prayer and the laying on of hands – rather than secular medicine. Church members who have testified in previous cases have said they would not go to a doctor, even it meant a difference between life and death. They prefer to put their faith in God’s hands to heal. The Hickman and Wyland indictments underscore a pledge by Clackamas County District Attorney John Foote to aggressively prosecute church members who fail to provide necessary medical care to their children, as required under Oregon law.
The state medical examiner has said since the 1990s, more than 20 children of church members had died in recent decades from preventable or curable illnesses. In part because of laws granting parents legal immunity for certain crimes in such cases, none of the Followers of Christ deaths resulted in prosecution. In 1999 the legislature passed a law that eliminated religious protections in cases of second-degree manslaughter and first- and second-degree criminal mistreatment.
newsdeskinternational
/ 08/30/2010Oregon faith healing couple plead not guilty to manslaughter after infant death
An Oregon couple who belong to a church that practices faith healing have pleaded not guilty to manslaughter charges in the death of their infant son.
The Oregonian reports that attorneys for Dale R. Hickman and Shannon M. Hickman entered the not guilty pleas Monday during an arraignment before Clackamas County Circuit Judge Jeffrey Jones.
The judge set a tentative Nov. 19 trial date for the Hickmans, who are members of the Followers of Christ church in Oregon City.
Their son was born in September 2009, about six weeks premature. No one with medical training attended the birth, and no one called a doctor or ambulance.
An autopsy determined the infant died of staph pneumonia and complications from a premature birth, including underdeveloped lungs.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/08/30/oregon-faith-healing-couple-plead-guilty-manslaughter-infant-death/
newsdeskinternational
/ 09/19/2010Faith-healing couple ordered to take young child to doctor
A Clackamas County judge has ordered a faith-healing couple to bring their six-year-old daughter to the doctor when she is sick, rather than only praying for her recovery.
Shannon and Dale Hickman belong to Followers of Christ Church where the congregation chooses prayer over modern medicine. But last fall, prayers were not enough when the Hickmans’ baby developed a bacterial infection and eventually died.
The Hickmans were arrested after their infant’s death and charged with manslaughter. Their trial has been scheduled to begin in November.
Background: Hickmans charged with manslaughter
http://www.kgw.com/home/Followers-of-Christ-couple-charged-with-manslaughter-in-infants-death-99667279.html
In the meantime, the judge agreed to reduce the bail for the couple under the condition that they bring their other child, a six-year-old girl named Daisy, to a doctor when she is sick. In addition, the Department of Human Services will also make surprise visits to the Hickman home.
“Daisy would likely be at risk if something goes wrong medically and she is not sent to the hospital,” said prosecuting attorney Michael Regan.
The Hickmans’ attorney promised that Daisy has already been examined by a doctor and given tests and at this time, appears to be healthy.
Janet
/ 08/07/2011Followers of Christ judge bars ‘witch hunt’ comment from upcoming trial in baby’s death
A state medical examiner who concluded that two members of an Oregon City faith-healing church were victims of a prosecutorial “witch hunt” will not be allowed to offer that opinion when the defendants go to trial next month.
http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-city/index.ssf/2011/08/followers_of_christ_judge_bars_witch_hunt_charge_from_upcoming_trial_in_babys_death.html
Janet
/ 09/11/2011Another faith-healing death of a child puts Oregon City parents on trial
When the trial of Dale and Shannon Hickman begins this week in Clackamas County, the curtain again rises on a familiar tragedy, one centered on the death of a child and on parents whose unwavering faith in divine healing may lead them to prison.
Oregonlive.com
Janet
/ 09/14/2011Defense accuses prosecutors of religious bias in Followers of Christ trial
Attorneys for Dale and Shannon Hickman vowed Wednesday to show the Clackamas County District Attorney’s Office engaged in “meddling, interference and questionable conduct” in prosecuting the couple in the 2009 death of their newborn son.
OregonLive.com
Janet
/ 09/24/2011Church midwife says premature baby’s death was ‘God’s will’
A church midwife who attended the home birth of David Hickman, who was born two months early and lived only nine hours, said she does not believe the premature baby should have been taken to the hospital.
OregonLive
Janet
/ 09/28/2011Jury deliberates in faith healing trial
An attorney in Oregon said there was no proof doctors could have saved the life of a baby whose parents are on trial for failing to take him to a hospital.
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2011/09/28/Jury-deliberates-in-faith-healing-trial/UPI-82341317257607/
Janet
/ 10/31/2011Faith-healing couple sentenced to 6+ years in prison
An Oregon City couple who practices “faith healing” will spend the next six years in prison, as their sentence for the death of their newborn.
NWCN