OREGON CITY, Ore. — Jurors sent a clear signal Feb. 2 that parents who rely solely on faith healing to treat their children face prison if a child dies.
Jeffrey and Marci Beagley were found guilty of criminally negligent homicide in the death of their 16-year-old son, Neil, who died in June 2008 of complications from an undiagnosed congenital urinary blockage. His parents attempted to heal him with prayer, anointing with oil and laying on of hands.
They are the first members of Oregon City’s Followers of Christ church to be convicted of homicide in the congregation’s long history of children dying from treatable medical conditions.
“This is a signal to the religious community that they should be on notice that their activities will be scrutinized,” said Steven K. Green, director of Willamette University’s Center for Religion and Democracy.
Friends and family reacted to the 10–2 verdicts with stunned silence. Marci Beagley hugged her mother in the courthouse lobby as both women wept. Other family members quietly stood by.
The Beagleys will be sentenced Feb. 18. The maximum penalty for criminally negligent homicide is 10 years, but the Beagleys likely will receive no more than 18 months in prison and could be sentenced to probation.
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