This is truly a tragic case, and I cannot really understand the idea of some who believe in just prayer, etc. as a way to heal illness—it’s known, just from a secular perspective, that those things help healing, and from a religious perspective obviously prayer is part of any medical issue, but I’d rather be praying in an ambulance myself.
That being said, in this case, I don’t think the specific charges really make sense—if anything, these parents could be charged with neglect, but “manslaugher” and “mistreatment” mean that they would have done something wrong, not failed to do something right. Furthermore I have to wonder how exactly things happened—I cannot recall, how long was the girl sick? Did the parents know what it was and how serious it was? If this had happened to a girl in a different, secular family, would the parents have known how dangerous the sickness was, or was this something where anybody could have failed to realize the severity of the case?
God bless.

Joey, if a child has pneumonia, a parent would take the child to the doctor just because listening to the cough and misery the child was in would be the incentive! As to the blood infection,I’d guess that wouldn’t be obvious, but an untreated 4 inch cyst on her neck would be very obvious.
This is another case of religion at it’s worst….neglect of a sick (or well) child of any age is not acceptable. This litte girl was 15 months old, a baby. She would have been in pain from the coughing. Prayer indeed….a total case of neglect. It is hard for me to believe that anyone could sit by a child in pain and misery and “PRAY” for some invisible being to make the child well. Guess the parents now know it doesn’t work…huh? (or is the excuse “it was God’s will.” My reaction to that is Bull !
Good for the state of Oregon…taking the protection of religion away from parents who don’t provide medical care for their gravely ill children. More states should pass laws to that effect.

Manslaughter: The unlawful killing of one human by another without express or implied intent to do injury.
I don’t know that’s the legal definition but it’s surely close, and it sure fits the crime.
It’s good Oregon changed the law; the knowledge of the change may well have saved some lives there in the intervening years. I hope they can charge those fools in Wisconsin but it may well be they can’t, in which case they need to change their laws.
Your state may need a change in laws, too. With two cases like these this would be a good time to hit up your state legislators.

Joey, et al. -
This sure is strikingly similar to the story of the parents in Wisconsin whose daughter died of diabetes. Which story got tons of commentary.
If I remember right, one of the marks which differentiate manslaughter and homicide is malice. There doesn’t seem to be any allegation of maliciousness, just reckless or willful failure to act, so manslaughter would be the correct charge.
As to mistreatment: parents have duties to do things for, and to refrain from doing things to, children in their care. Failure do so, either in action or failing to act, would be what Oregon seems to call “mistreatment.”
In Illinois, we use the expressions, “abuse” and “neglect,” respectively, to refer to doing to a child what duty prohibits, or failing to do what duty requires. There is also an Illinois charge of “reckless endangerment,” which might mean what Oregon means by “mistreatment,” here.
Language changes from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, as do specific required or prohibited actions, but the principles remain fairly constant.
Just going on the story, above, I think the top charge, manslaughter, might be easier to prosecute. “Mistreatment” sounds like the State means to compel parents to take particular actions (which may or may not be necessary to health, and which may or may not be in keeping with the parents’ religious tradition), whereas “manslaughter” sounds like the State not requiring any particular action, just that adequate, positive, reasonable action be taken.

Yet ANOTHER example of awful “christian” – NOT! – parents who let their child die.
You oughtta have to get a license to parent!

These parents should be charged with a weighter crime. Negligent Homicide, or Second Degree Murder should be the top count, and then they can negotiate from there. The other thing is, once the “prayer” didn’t work, and yet the kept on doing it anyway, they should have left their church, instead of letting the church brainwash them into staying.

recovering ex-Pentecostal: China comes close to licensing parents, as couples are only allowed 1 kid. Thus girl babies are either abandoned (to die) killed outright or actually taken to one of thousands of orphanages…to be adopted by Americans.

“The Followers of Christ….came under state scrutiny in the late 1990s after several church children died from medically treatable conditions.”
“…pleaded not guilty to charges…”
Sad thing is they probably thought god was just testing them after the first few children died.
Even sadder, they plead not guilty.

pagansister,
I’m not arguing for limiting numbrs of children but for ensuring that parents are qualified to have and raise ANY children to begin with. It’s too important a job to leave it to just anyone who CAN procreate.

I THINK ITS BULL THAT THESE PEOPLE WERE PRAYING WHILE THE BABY WAS DYING.THEY NEGLECTED HER AND THEN TO COVER THEIR A$$ES THEY CLAIM RELIGION AS AN EXCUSE. THEY SHOULD GET LIFE NOT NO 6 YEARS .THATS NOTHING.

“Their 15-month-old daughter, Ava Worthington, died at home March 2 from bacterial bronchial pneumonia and a blood infection. Both conditions could have been treated with antibiotics, according to Dr. Christopher Young, a deputy state medical examiner.
Ava’s breathing was further compromised by a benign four-inch cyst on her neck that had never been medically addressed, Young said.”
Please let me enlighten those of you who do not work in the medical profession. Bronchial pheumonia is an accumulation of fluid in the bronchial tubes. If you put an ear to this child’s chest, she would’ve sounded like she was breathing under water.
You know what a child feels like when they burn from fever? Fever is the body’s indication that it’s fighting an infection. A blood infection would’ve felt like a total body fever.
Okay, let’s visualize a four inch cyst on a 15 month old neck. A gymnastic balance beam is 4 inches wide!!!
So this poor child not only had it’s airway blocked, but felt like it was drowning in its own chest along with burning from a fever.
I totally agree with the second degree murder charge – these parents make me sick.
The older daughter should be removed from their care.

ely – please don’t shout.

Thanks, LMC for the particulars of what that baby went through. I knew it was awful, but your medical explanation makes it more real.