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A Pentecostal Christian couple who believed in 'faith healing' have been sent to prison after two of their children died US ‘faith healers’ sent to prison for death of second sick child
(about 5 hours later)
A US couple who believed in faith healing have been sentenced to up to seven years in prison after the death of their second child. A judge in Philadelphia has imprisoned parents who allowed a second child to die from treatable illnesses because of their faith in the healing powers of Jesus.
Despite their two-year-old son Kent dying of untreated pneumonia in 2009, Herbert and Catherine Schaible defied a court order to get medical care for their other children. Herbert and Catherine Schaible were convicted of withholding medical care from seven-month-old Brandon, who died of pneumonia and dehydration in April.
Last year, eight-month-old Brandon also died of treatable pneumonia when the couple tried to comfort and pray over him instead of sending him to hospital. Another son, Kent, died under similar circumstances in 2009 at age two.
“My religious beliefs are that you should pray, and not have to use medicine. But because it is against the law, then whatever sentence you give me, I will accept,” Catherine Schaible, 44, told the judge, adding that her beliefs have since changed. Sentencing them to three to seven years behind bars, judge Benjamin Lerner was unsparing in his condemnation of what he said had been their criminal neglect. “You’ve killed two of your children,” he said “Not God. Not your church. Not religious devotion. You.”
The Schaibles are third-generation members of an insular Pentecostal community, the First Century Gospel Church in northeast Philadelphia, where they also taught at the church school. While experts say about 12 children die every year in America because their parents refuse modern medical care, it is very rare to see two deaths in one family. “I’ve never seen in my career a case like this,” the judge noted.
Experts say about a dozen US children die in cases linked to faith healing each year. When Kent died in 2009, the parents were found guilty at trial of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to 10 years of probation.
“April of 2013 wasn't Brandon's time to die,” Judge Benjamin Lerner said. After that conviction the family was ordered to submit to regular monitoring by probation officers and to get annual check-ups for their children. However, that oversight failed to prevent a second tragedy when the family lost Brandon after failing to seek help from a doctor.
“You've killed two of your children," he said, adding: "Not God. Not your church. Not religious devotion. You.” The Schaibles belong to the First Century Gospel Church in northeast Philadelphia that urges its congregation to eschew medicine in favour of relying on faith. “My religious beliefs are that you should pray, and not have to use medicine. But because it is against the law, then whatever sentence you give me, I will accept,” Catherine Schaible, 44, told the judge.
After the first death, Assistant District Attorney Joanne Pescatore and public defender Mythri Jayaraman agreed that the couple's beliefs were so ingrained that their children remained at risk. She noted that since Brandon’s death she has changed her view on the church.
Their pastor, Nelson Clark, blamed Kent's death on a “spiritual lack” in the parents' lives, and insisted they would never seek medical care, even if another child was dying. Herbert Schaible has already served a year in prison while his wife has thus far been free on bail. “We believe in divine healing, that Jesus shed blood for our healing and that he died on the cross to break the devil’s power,” Mr Schaible, 45, said in a police statement last year.
Six of their surviving children are now in foster care, while others are with relatives. They have since attended state schools for the first time, and are getting medical, dental and optical care. Several now wear glasses. The Schaibles had pleaded no contest to charges against them in Brandon’s death. They were convicted of involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment in his death.
The oldest child, who is 18, sat in court with his grandparents, the family pastor and other supporters. The prosecutor in the case, assistant district attorney Joanne Pescatore, had asked the judge for sentences of 16 years. “It was so foreseeable to me that this was going to happen,” Ms Pescatore said. “Everybody in the system failed these children.” She noted that the nature of Brendan’s passing – laboured breathing a refusal to eat – had been “eerily similar” to that of Kent before him.
Additional reporting by AP The Schaibles’ six surviving minor children have been placed in foster care.