Free Republic

A Clackamas County judge sentenced the couple found guilty of second-degree manslaughter in their infant son's death to more than six years in prison, rejecting their entreaties for mercy and saying their son's fate could have been easily avoided. A jury in September unanimously found Dale and Shannon Hickman, of the Followers of Christ church, guilty in the death of their son, David Hickman, who lived for less than nine hours. He was born approximately two months premature and weighed less than four pounds. After standing and hugging each other, both Hickmans were led out of the courtroom in handcuffs...

SALEM – Prosecutors and lawmakers endorsed a bill Monday that would remove all legal protection for parents who rely on faith healing rather than provide medical treatment to their children. Clackamas County District Attorney John Foote and others told the House Judiciary Committee that House Bill 2721 would help prevent needless deaths. The bill was a response to the Followers of Christ, an Oregon City church with a long history of children dying from treatable medical conditions. HB 2721 would remove spiritual treatment as a defense for all homicide charges and subject parents to mandatory sentencing under Oregon's Measure...

OREGON CITY -- A Beavercreek couple who left their infant daughter's fate to God rather than seek medical treatment for a mass that grew over her left eye will face charges of first-degree criminal mistreatment. Prosecutors revealed Thursday during a custody hearing that a grand jury has indicted Timothy and Rebecca Wyland, members of Oregon City's Followers of Christ church. The Wylands' 7-month-old daughter, Alayna, was placed in state custody earlier this month after child-welfare workers received a tip about the untreated and ballooning growth. Doctors said that the condition could cause permanent damage or loss of vision. The Wylands...

A judge Wednesday refused to return a 7-month-old girl to her parents, members of an Oregon City church that embraces faith healing, after hearing testimony that the child could lose vision in one eye because she didn't get medical care. Details of the child's condition emerged during a four-hour Clackamas County Circuit Court hearing.   The parents, Timothy and Rebecca Wyland, asked Judge Douglas V. Van Dyk to return the child, now in foster care, and promised that they would provide whatever treatment was required by the court or the state Department of Human Services. But Van Dyk denied the...

OREGON CITY -- A Clackamas County judge ruled Thursday that a couple who belong to a church that embraces faith healing must surrender their child for failing to provide medical care. Circuit Judge Douglas V. Van Dyk gave the state temporary custody of the child and ordered medical treatment as directed by doctors at Oregon Health & Science University. The age and medical condition of the child were not disclosed. Timothy J. Wyland, 44,and Rebecca J. Wyland, 23,of Beavercreek appeared in court without an attorney. The couple, members of the Followers of Christ church, seemed stunned by events and close...