Skip to main content.
Religion News Blog is a non-profit service providing academics, religion professionals and other researchers with religion & cult news
ReligionNewsBlog

Religion news articles about religious cults, sects, world religions, and related issues

Navigation:
A Random Image
Faith Healing, Madeline Neumann:

Trial for faith healing death case back on track


ReligionNewsBlog.com • Item 23076 • Posted: Friday December 19, 2008  

  • Google Bookmarks
  • Google Reader
  • Gmail
  • Yahoo Mail
  • Twitter
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Digg
  • Delicious
  • Blogger Post
  • Evernote
  • Facebook
  • Share/Bookmark
Click here... More articles on this topic: Faith Healing, Madeline Neumann

Trial date expected to be set Monday in prayer death case

Attorneys are expected to meet Monday with a Marathon County judge to schedule trial dates for the parents of a Weston girl who died when their faith-healing efforts failed.

Dale and Leilani Neumann both face second-degree reckless homicide charges in connection with the March 23 death of their 11-year-old daughter, Madeline Kara Neumann. A coroner’s report said Kara, as she was known, died from complications of untreated diabetes.

Marathon County Circuit Judge Vincent Howard, who refused earlier this month to dismiss the charges against the Neumanns, will preside at the trial. A request for a speedy trial was made this week, which requires the trial to be held in 90 days.
[...]

- Source: Trial date expected to be set Monday in prayer death case, Wausau Daily Herald, Dec. 19, 2008 — Summarized by Religion News Blog

Trial for prayer death back on track

… Jay Kronenwetter, one of the attorneys for Dale and Leilani Neumann, said Thursday that Marathon County Circuit Judge Vincent Howard’s refusal to dismiss the charges on constitutional grounds would not be appealed.
[...]

Faith Healing
The term ‘faith healing’ refers to healing that occurs supernaturally — as the result of prayer rather than the use of medicines or the involvement of physicians or other medical care.
But while faith healings do take place today just as they did in the early Christian church, the teachings of some churches, movements and individuals on this subject amount to spiritual abuse.
Legitimate churches and movements do not equal using drugs or receiving proper medical attention with unbelief, insufficient faith, or otherwise sinning against God.

Commentary/resources by ReligionNewsBlog.com

The Neumanns have pleaded not guilty to second-degree reckless homicide, which carries a maximum punishment of 25 years in prison.

Their daughter, Madeline, died at their Weston home on Easter. Prosecutors say the girl was too weak to speak, eat, drink or walk and the parents had a legal duty to seek medical care.

Earlier this month, Howard rejected defense arguments that prosecuting the parents violated their constitutional rights to freedom of religion and due process.

“The free exercise clause of the First Amendment protects religious belief, but not necessarily conduct,” Howard wrote in a |20-page decision.

The sole issue for a jury to decide is whether the parents reasonably knew that refusing to rush the girl to a doctor threatened her with death, Howard wrote.

Howard ruled that two Wisconsin laws — one that says it is not child abuse to treat illness through prayer alone and a homicide law that makes no exception for prayer — are not inconsistent to the point of violating the parents’ due process rights in having “fair notice” of prohibited behavior.

Howard had said he expected his ruling on the constitutional questions to be appealed, perhaps to the state Supreme Court, because the case was unprecedented in Wisconsin.

Leilani Neumann, 40, has said the family believes in the Bible, which says healing comes from God, and she never expected her daughter to die as they prayed for her. The parents told investigators the girl had not been to a doctor since she was 3.

Dale Neumann, 46, considered his daughter’s illness “a test of faith,” the criminal complaint said.

Kronenwetter said Thursday there was no guarantee an appeals court would take the case at this point without more facts on the record.
[...]

- Source: Trial for prayer death back on track, Robert Imrie, AP via the Green Bay Press-Gazette, Dec. 19, 2008 — Summarized by Religion News Blog
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Google Reader
  • Gmail
  • Yahoo Mail
  • Twitter
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Digg
  • Delicious
  • Blogger Post
  • Evernote
  • Facebook
  • Share/Bookmark


What You Can Do From Here

Read More Articles On These Topics
more religion news aboutmore Religion News Blog articles about
Share, Blog About, Bookmark, or Email This Article
Subscribe
Follow Religion News Blog on Twitter


Read Another Article
Find Related Information
cult research search enginecountercult information Use our custom search engines to find additional research resources on religions and cults
Find Related Books


Most Popular Today


Share This Article

To share this page simply copy and paste one of these URL's:





Counter Cult Search

Search for information about (religious) cults, cult-like organizations, -- as well as paranormal-, New Age, and pseudoscientific claims -- across 260+ websites, blogs and forums dedicated to cult research, spiritual abuse, ex-cult counseling & support.


Note: results are listed on another domain -- CounterCultSearch.com -- from which you can easily return here.


Apologetics Search

Search for apologetics articles, books, videos, and other research resources across 135 Christian apologetics websites and blogs.


Note: results are listed on another domain -- ApologeticsSearch.com -- from which you can easily return here.

About Religion News Blog
Religion News Blog (RNB), published by Apologetics Index, highlights news items and other resources on world religions, cults, religious sects, alternative religions and related issues. RNB's non-profit news clipping service is used by - among others - Christian apologists, countercult professionals, anticult organizations, cult experts, teachers, religion professionals, reporters and other researchers.

Home
Latest Headlines
RSS news feed [?]
Headlines by Email
News Trackers
Free content for your site
About RNB
Privacy Policy
Contact RNB
Link to RNB
Advertise on RNB
Apologetics Index
Cult FAQ
Apologetics Search Engine
CounterCult Search Engine