Man Sentenced in Death at Wis. 'Exorcism' (2 1/2 yrs?!)

[KamaAina]

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=519&u=/ap/20040817/ap_on_re_us/church_death&printer=1

MILWAUKEE - A church elder was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison Tuesday for abusing an 8-year-old autistic boy who died in what prosecutors called an exorcism at a storefront church.

Prosecutors say Ray Hemphill lay on Terrance Cottrell Jr.'s chest for at least an hour while trying to release "demons" from him, before the boy died Aug. 22, 2003.

"It was your unreasonable and reckless conduct that caused this child to die," Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Jean DiMotto told Hemphill.

Last month, a jury found Hemphill, 46, guilty of physical abuse of a child recklessly causing great bodily harm.

"Physical abuse of a child recklessly causing great bodily harm"? What does that mean, "it's really manslaughter but we don't think the life of a child with autism was worth anything, anyway"?! :grr:

[rkc3]

1. I remember there was a Boston priest convicted of molestation...

who was put in a cell with a victim of child abuse/molestation. The priest was found dead the next day.

We can only hope this guy gets put in with a similar cellmate.

[derby378]

2. You might find this interesting (1 of a 4-part series)

http://www.ntskeptics.org/1998/1998may/may1998.htm

[ContraBass Black]

5. This is intensely disturbing.

[54anickel]

3. The max he would have faced was 10 years and 25K fine. Wonder if this was

a "non-christian" group would there would have been higher charges and stiffer penalties?

[tom_paine]

4. You betcha. Maximum fine and punishment.

Was it always thus, even during the Days of the Old American Republic?

Or have things gotten substantially worse since the Busheviks began transitioning us to Tyranny?

[htuttle]

12. Depends

South Dakota Senator Janklow (R) only got 100 days in the county jail for manslaughter. He's already back out.

[et]

6. 2.5 Yrs!!!???!!!??? It's MURDER, MURDER, MURDER

What the hell is going on there? Now, I didn't hear the case, and only got the 100 or so words from the article, but HOLY-SHIT - what was that judge/jury thinking.

I hate to admit this ... But the wife and I watch "Judging Amy" and a year or so ago they included this story line - fortunately saving the child. Shocking to see this really happening and moving to the unnerving and natural end - the death of an innocent child.

Shame on this "church", it's leaders, and congregation - Shame on the parents - Shame on any religion that does not wholely denounce "exorcism" (hello, any catholics out there?) - Shame on everyone in the justice system and citizenry who apparently failed in this case. This many should be in jail for the rest of his life - maybe there he can better understand how even the criminals of our country feel about killing children - Don't bend-over, Ray.

Sorry - </RANT>

[Sequoia]

7. A few years ago I read a book which stated

that excorsims were fake and that the Right Wing fundlementalist were out to control the USA by getting elected in small towns and working their way up to the state and national levels. The guy who wrote it said in the church he was in that was all they talked about (1989) and that they used excorsims to control their congration by making up rituals and quoted Bible verse (throwing in a little Latin for good measure) because the people were basically controllable.

[54anickel]

8. It was a very small church and I believe this was a "self-ordained"

minister. I'll see if I can find some of the early articles about this. It was a poor church, poor neighborhood, poor everything - so nobody seemed to really care. Lot's of outrage when the story broke until it became known this was on "the other side of the tracks".

[54anickel]

9. Couple of articles

Prosecutors in boy's death allow choice of lesser charge
http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/jul04/242424.asp?format=print

In a last-minute move that surprised the judge, prosecutors opted Thursday to allow the jury to consider a lesser child-abuse charge against a minister on trial for the death of an autistic 8-year-old.

snip>

The lesser charge, a felony count of child abuse-recklessly causing bodily harm, can be considered by the jury if they believe the physical, two-hour prayer service harmed the boy, but not enough to meet the threshold of "great" injury. The boy died during the service, and the county medical examiner concluded that suffocation caused the death.

But Hemphill's attorney tried to prove via expert testimony that the boy actually died of an overdose of medication.

snip>

Laura Liddicoat, who supervises chemists in the State Laboratory of Hygiene, said when called by Williams to counter Bederka's testimony that the content of Terrance's blood after his death was misleading, since internal organs and tissues release chemicals into the blood upon death, which can double or quadruple the measured amounts for most people.

The case goes to the jury for consideration today.


http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,95668,00.html
The first reports of the story

[ContraBass Black]

10. Hold on,...

"...if they believe the physical, two-hour prayer service harmed the boy, but not enough to meet the threshold of "great" injury. The boy died ..."

Isn't a fatality an indication of great injury?

[54anickel]

14. Yeah, it seems the prosecutor was afraid that the jury would tend to

blame the drugs for the death if they went for the greater charge. Not sure of the make up of the jury. The story got a lot of play in the local news in the beginning but then just sort of faded away. The parents seemed to be accepting of what happened so it all seemed to just drop. No one was irate and screaming for justice I guess. :shrug:

[Lizzie Borden]

11. I live in WI. ...

It was a very poor neighborhood and many of the congregation seemed to have been poorly educated. The pastor was self-ordained. Of course that doesn't excuse what took place, but it makes it more understable.

[54anickel]

13. Me too! I'm out in the sticks of SE WI, well at least we used to be

considered out in the sticks!

[Princess Turandot]

16. But what type of jury did they have?..

My first thought unfortunately was whether the fact that this was a poor, autistic, and if I remember correctly, black child, had any impact on the jury. Sort of along the lines of thinking that if the parents took the child to such a minister, the consequence was their fault, and not the minister's primarily.

I remember the case being reported here in NY originally. I wonder if the parents were charged with anything. In addition to the minister getting a higher level conviction, I hope that they didn't leave any other children with them. It almost sounds like a story out of the Middle Ages.

[KamaAina]

15. Update: In WI, *animal cruelty* can bring a 12-year sentence

http://www.allanimals.org/events/herbeckparole.html

Barry Herbeck of Janesville, WI received a 12-year sentence for killing five cats (with a weapons charge thrown in as well). Compare and contrast to Rev.* Hemphill getting less than three years for killing a child.

Who knows? Maybe the cats were purebred or something, hence seen as more valuable than the late Terence Cottrell, who was both African American and developmentally disabled. </sarcasm>

Don't get me wrong. I love cats as much as the next guy. Probably more, in fact. But at the very least, Herbeck and Hemphill should be cellmates for the full twelve years.

Which reminds me, the thrust of the article is that Herbeck is/was up for parole after three years. When is Hemphill up for parole? Please tell me it's not, like, next Thursday or something...

[gatlingforme]

18. I respect your point, but for a guy (usually 99% of time) who kills cats

for whatever reason has a serious problem. Not to mention he was a felon with a firearm conviction. What is the problem here? I am not sure why people must always compare what a person gets for cruelty to animals as compared to child abuse,? Both charges stem from the fact that the person has a sociopathic mentality. I would not live next to an animal abuser as I would not live next to a child abuser. Both are scum in my book.

[gatlingforme]

17. I remember this case. The prosecution could not show that the asshole

intentionally hurt the boy. That was the biggest problem for the prosecution. I think they did a good job with what they had -- which was aggravated child abuse to start with.