DAVID HICKMAN - Newborn (2009) - Oregon City OR

Followers of Christ judge bars 'witch hunt' comment from upcoming trial in baby's death
Wednesday, August 03, 2011, 6:00 AM
A state medical examiner who concluded that two members of an Oregon City faith-healing church were victims of a prosecutorial "witch hunt" will not be allowed to offer that opinion when the defendants go to trial next month.

Clackamas County Presiding Judge Robert D. Herndon ruled in a pretrial hearing Tuesday that the comment made by Dr. Clifford Nelson is "his personal opinion and not relevant" and would have a "prejudicial effect" that outweighs its value as evidence.

Nelson performed an autopsy on David Hickman, who was born Sept. 26, 2009, at his maternal grandmother's house and lived only nine hours. The baby's parents, Dale and Shannon Hickman, are charged with second-degree manslaughter.

If allowed into evidence at trial, Nelson's "witch hunt" comment would have provided defense attorneys with a potentially powerful image to make the case for selective prosecution and religious persecution of their clients. In fact, the defense team included a reference in court filings comparing the Hickman case to the Salem witch trials of the late 1600s.

The defense pointed to comments Nelson made to an investigator that underscore his reason for the witch-hunt observation.
"This had become a criminal investigation before it really was known what the cause or manner of death was," Nelson told the investigator. "It was proceeding much differently than another investigation would have taken place, had these people not been involved with a specific church group."

The Hickmans are members of the Followers of Christ, which embraces faith healing and rejects medical care. Prosecutors claim the Hickmans failed to provide medical care for the baby because of their religious beliefs.

Prosecutors said Nelson was misinformed, that his unsolicited opinion was ignored by investigators and viewed as an unprofessional personal comment.

The state is legally required to investigate all child deaths, said Michael Regan, a senior deputy district attorney. Nelson mistakenly believed that an outside doctor was being brought in to assist with the investigation, which would have violated state guidelines for death investigations. In fact, prosecutors were trying to determine the baby's gestational age, something outside Nelson's expertise.

The baby was born six to eight weeks premature and weighed about 3 1/2 pounds. Shannon Hickman went into labor more than 24 hours before she gave birth, prosecutors said. David Hickman died of a bacterial infection of his lungs, which were underdeveloped.

Had the Hickmans called for medical aid when labor started or when the baby was born, it is likely the baby would have survived, Regan said. Failure to seek medical care led to the manslaughter charge.

In the case of premature labor, a trained homebirth midwife would direct the mother to go to the hospital. Shannon Hickman was attended by other female church members who apparently have no medical training.

Wouldn't parents of a child born two months prematurely call for medical help, Regan asked.

"That's what ... most people would do," Nelson said.

Although David Hickman arrived prematurely and was underweight, he appeared to be healthy until the last 15 minutes of his life, said defense attorneys Mark Cogan and John Neidig. When the end came, there was nothing that could be done. Even if an ambulance was called, it would not have arrived before the baby died, the attorneys said.

The Hickmans are the seventh and eighth church members to be tried for failure to seek medical care for their children.

http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-city/index.ssf/2011/08/followers_of_christ_judge_bars_witch_hunt_charge_from_upcoming_trial_in_babys_death.html

Followers of Christ manslaughter trial starts as prosecutors present case against Dale and Shannon Hickman

Published: Wednesday, September 14, 2011, 5:50 AM




The trial of Dale and Shannon Hickman, who are charged with second-degree manslaughter in the death of their newborn son, starts this morning.

The Hickmans belong to the Followers of Christ, an Oregon City church whose members generally embrace faith healing and reject mainstream medicine.

Defense attorneys Mark Cogan and John Neidig will tell jurors that the Hickman's baby, David, was born prematurely but appeared to be fine. The child lived almost nine hours before suddenly dying. The change in condition was so rapid, there was nothing the Hickmans could do to save David.


The defense also will claim the Hickmans were singled out for punishment by the Clackamas County District Attorney's Office because the couple are members of the Followers, a church with unorthodox religious views.

Prosecutors Mike Regan and John Wentworth will argue that the Hickmans themselves had never been to a doctor, that Shannon Hickman did not seek prenatal care and that the couple would never have taken David to a doctor because it would violated their religious practices.

The first prosecution witnesses will be a DA's office medical examiner and the Clackamas County Sheriff's detective who led the criminal investigation

http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-city/index.ssf/2011/09/followers_of_christ_manslaughter_trial_starts_today_as_prosecutors_present_the_case_against_dale_and.html#incart_mce

Defense attorneys plan to hammer away at Clackamas County DA when Followers of Christ trial resumes today
Published: Thursday, September 15, 2011, 5:15 AM

Defense attorneys will try to discredit the Clackamas County District Attorney's Office prosecution of Dale and Shannon when Oregon City couple's trial resumes Thursday.

The Hickmans are charged with second-degree manslaughter for failing to recognize that their newborn son David was in the throes of a fatal medical emergency. The baby was born prematurely with under developed lungs and a deadly bacterial infection.

Defense lawyers claimed in opening statements Wednesday that the District Attorney targeted the Hickmans because of their religious beliefs and exerted pressure on investigators in pursuit of a homicide indictment.

The Hickmans are members of the Followers of Christ, an Oregon City church that preaches faith healing and rejects medical care.

The Hickmans are members of the Followers of Christ, an Oregon City church that preaches faith healing and rejects medical care.

Defense attorneys will get their first opportunity to develop their theory of prosecutorial bias at 9 a.m. when medical investigator Jeff McLennan returns to the stand for cross examination.

Prosecutors say the Hickmans should have known that the undersized infant born two months early should have been immediately transported to a hospital. Instead, the baby was treated with prayer and anointed with olive oil.

http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-city/index.ssf/2011/09/defense_attorneys_will_hammer_away_at_clackamas_county_da_for_unfair_prosecution_of_faith_healers_wh.html#incart_mce

Update: Defense attorneys go on offense against prosecution in Followers of Christ homicide trial
Published: Thursday, September 15, 2011, 3:04 PM


Defense attorneys representing Dale and Shannon Hickman tried to turn the tables today by making the Clackamas County district attorney's office the focus of their clients' faith-healing homicide trial.

The Hickmans' defense team started the trial's second day by grilling Jeff McLennan, an investigator for the state medical examiner's office. The couple is accused of second-degree manslaughter for failing to provide medical care for their newborn son.

Mark Cogan, Dale Hickman's attorney, bored in on a memo McLennan wrote in September 2009, two days after the Hickmans' son died. The baby was born two months prematurely with under developed lungs and a deadly bacterial infection. He lived less than nine hours.

McLennan wrote that prosecutor Mike Regan was concerned that he and detectives investigating the death may not be giving it enough scrutiny. Regan also had doubts that those present at the birth were being truthful about events and may have misled investigators.

The memo was written after a 45-minute telephone conversation in which Regan outlined his concerns that the investigation might not have the investigators' full attention. Regan was "passionate about impressing on me the need for a very thorough investigation," McLennan testified.

McLennan did not say that Regan had acted unethically or illegally or attempted to steer the investigation.

"Mr. Regan was telling you how to do your job?" Cogan asked.

"I didn't necessarily take it that way," McLennan replied.

The medical examiner who performed the baby's autopsy concluded that death came suddenly.

Regan consulted with a neonatologist who said the baby would have exhibited signs of distress hours before dying.

The defense played some short video clips taken of the baby, David Arthur Hickman, shortly after his birth. The baby appears reddish-pink and is crying and waving his arms. The defense contends that the infant was doing well until 10 or 15 minutes before he died. The sudden change in condition left the Hickmans no time to take life-saving measures, according to defense attorneys

Prosecutor John Wentworth noted that the videos provided a snapshot of the baby's condition at birth but not the child's condition over the following eight hours.

In afternoon testimony, lead Detective Brian Pearson described arriving at the Hickman home about five hours after the baby died. A church official told investigators that the none of those present in the house would agree to a one-on-one interview, Pearson said.

Wentworth played a taped interview conducted with Dale Hickman in a bedroom at Shannon Hickman’s parents house where the birth occurred. Several relatives and a church official were present during the interview, which was done about 5 1/2 hours after the baby died.

Pearson asked Hickman if he considered that the baby might not survive. “Yeah, that was in the back of my mind,” said Hickman, who spoke through tears and obvious grief. Asked if he would do anything different, he said “no.” It was God’s will and nothing could have been done to prevent the death, Hickman said.

Pearson said no one in the District Attorney’s Office attempted to influence the detective unit’s investigation and that no one had made a conclusion about the outcome of the investigation. 



Defense attorneys maintain that the District Attorney's Office targeted the Hickmans because of their religious beliefs, The couple belong to the Followers of Christ, an Oregon City congregation that rejects doctors in favor of spiritual treatment.

Prosecutors say some church members let their children die of easily curable conditions rather than take them to doctors. They said the Hickmans would never have called for medical help because their religious beliefs forbid seeking secular medical care.

Cogan also raised another concern: The Hickman prosecution was politically motivated.

He noted that District Attorney John Foote testified before a Legislative committee earlier this year, urging that the state law eliminate spiritual treatment as a defense against criminal prosecution. Foote was one of many law enforcement officials who supported the change, which passed with almost no opposition.

http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-city/index.ssf/2011/09/defense_attorneys_in_followers_of_christ_homicide_trial_put_prosecution_on_the_defensive.html#incart_mce

Parents in Followers of Christ case made 'a horrible choice,' physician testifies (video)
Published: Friday, September 16, 2011, 4:19 PM

Dale and Shannon Hickman made "a horrible choice" for their child when they decided to go to a relative's house for the premature birth instead of immediately heading to a hospital, a pediatrician testified Friday at the couple's manslaughter trial.

The Hickmans' son, David, was born two months prematurely and lived less than nine hours.

If the Hickmans had sought medical help in the first few hours of David's life, the baby had about a 90 percent chance of survival, said Dr. Dan Leonhardt, a pediatrician and child abuse expert at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center. "In this case, a 9-1-1 call is all it would have taken," Leonhardt said under questioning from prosecutor Mike Regan.

Leonhardt, who reviewed medical records and saw David in brief video clips taken at the birth, said he saw a baby that appeared to be 30 to 32 weeks old. The baby's forearm appeared to be smaller than an adult's index finger.

The Hickmans, who are charged with second-degree manslaughter for failing to provide necessary medical care for David, told investigators they believed the chid was approximately two month premature.

Leonhardt said the Hickmans made bad decisions at crucial times. When Shannon Hickman went into labor and experienced pain and cramping more than 17 hours before birth, she should have called her obstetrician, he said.

The Hickmans, however, did not have a doctor. They belong to the Followers of Christ, an Oregon City faith-healing church, and adhere to the church's teaching to avoid doctors and put their faith in God to heal.

A few hours before David's birth, the couple went to the home of Shannon Hickman's parents. That was "a horrible choice for the safety of this baby," Leonhardt said.

Leonhardt said David Hickman was doomed without medical intervention. The baby had difficulty breathing from the start because his lungs were underdeveloped. Although the child was pink and crying at birth, that does not mean the 3-pound, 7-ounce baby was healthy.

Those present at the birth "were not seeing anything close to a normal healthy baby," Leonhardt said.

At first the baby would have started breathing rapidly and grunting as he struggled to get air, Leonhardt said. Eventually, the baby would grow weaker, skin color would change and breathing would slow then stop. "You don't have the energy to keep going," Leonhardt said.

When the baby turned gray and had obvious difficulty breathing, defense attorneys said the Hickman felt a call for help would have been futile. The baby died minutes later.

That's not a legitimate excuse, Leonhardt said, because no one could tell how much longer David would live.

There were several effective treatments available to slow labor, strengthen the baby before birth and assist with breathing after birth, Leonhardt said. Likewise, antibiotics would have fought off a life-threatening bacterial infection present in the child.

http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-city/index.ssf/2011/09/parents_in_followers_of_christ.html

Followers of Christ trial jury hears testimony today from a pediatrician specializing in newborns
Published: Monday, September 19, 2011, 4:45 AM

Jurors in the manslaughter trial of Dale and Shannon Hickman will hear from Dr. Joseph Kaempf today. Kaempf is a neonatologist, a pediatrician specializing in the care of newborn infants, especially those who are sick or premature.

Kaempf will testify about the medical treatment that could have saved the life of the Hickman's son, David, and the likelihood the baby could have survived.

David Hickman lived less than nine hours. He was born at home two months prematurely with a bacterial infection and under-developed lungs. The Hickmans are charged with second-degree manslaughter for failing to seek medical care for him. The couple belongs to the Followers of Christ, an Oregon City faith-healing church, and adhere to the church's teaching to avoid doctors and put their faith in God to heal.

Defense attorneys said the Hickmans are the victims of religious discrimination and if they were not Followers they would not have been charged with a crime. Prosecutors say the Hickmans knew David was premature and took no steps to get proper care for him, even after he turned gray and struggled to breath.


On Friday, another doctor testified that if the Hickmans had sought medical help, the baby had about a 90 percent chance of survival. Had the Hickmans sought medical help in the first few hours of David's life, the baby had about a 90 percent chance of survival, "A 9-1-1 call is all it would have taken," said Dr. Dan Leonhardt, a pediatrician and child abuse expert at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center.

Kaempf will give a more precise analysis of the baby's odds of survival. He is expected to be the only witness on Monday.

http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-city/index.ssf/2011/09/followers_of_christ_trial_jury.html

Baby in faith-healing case never should have died, neonatologist testifies
Published: Monday, September 19, 2011, 1:30 PM

A pediatrician who specializes in the care of fragile newborn infants testified today that an Oregon City couple almost certainly could have saved their premature son by seeking medical care.

Instead, Dale and Shannon Hickman, members of a church that relies on faith healing instead of doctors, prayed for their son, David, who was born about two months prematurely at the home of a relative and lived less than nine hours.

The Hickmans, members of Oregon City's Followers of Christ church, are charged with second-degree manslaughter for failing to provide their baby with adequate medical care.

Dr. Joseph Kaempf, a neonatologist, testified in Clackamas County Circuit Court that based on his experience, a child born at 31 to 32 weeks has a greater than 99 percent chance of survival. Kaempf based his estimate on experience with babies born at that age born at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center in Portland.

Kaempf also said that based on autopsy findings, he concluded that David Hickman died of respiratory failure due to the infant's underdeveloped lungs, not of bacterial or other causes.

Of 1,071 babies of the same age cohort treated in recent years at St. Vincent's, Kaempf said one died of sepsis and 10 died of birth defects, but none died of respiratory failure. Kaempf also challenged the defense assertion that the baby looked fine and then took a sudden turn for the worse.

The baby would have shown breathing distress shortly after birth, Kaempf said. The baby did not look good for eight hours then suddenly die, as the Hickmans and church members maintained. "It doesn't happen that way," Kaempf said. "It makes no biological sense."

Defense attorneys contend the Hickmans are the victims of religious discrimination and that non-religious parents in similar circumstances would not have been charged with a crime. Prosecutors say the Hickmans knew David was premature and took no steps to provide proper care, even after he turned gray and struggled to breath.

On Friday, another doctor testified that if the Hickmans had sought medical help, the baby had about a 90 percent chance of survival. "A 9-1-1 call is all it would have taken," said Dr. Dan Leonhardt, a pediatrician and child abuse expert at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center.

http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-city/index.ssf/2011/09/baby_in_faith-healing_case_nev.html

Grandmother in faith-healing trial says it was not her place to call 9-1-1
Published: Tuesday, September 20, 2011


The maternal grandmother of a premature baby that died less than nine hours after birth said Tuesday that she was not concerned with the infant's health and would not have called an ambulance when he struggled for breath because it was not her decision.

Karen White testified Tuesday in Clackamas County Circuit Court during the trial of Shannon and Dale Hickman, her daughter and son-in-law. The Hickmans are accused of second-degree manslaughter for failing to provide medical care to their baby.

David Hickman was born about two months early. He weighed 3 pounds, 7 ounces and died of respiratory distress. White and the Hickmans belong to the Followers of Christ, an Oregon City church that preaches faith healing and rejects the use of doctors or medical care.

Doctors testified earlier in the trial that it was almost certain the baby would have survived if the Hickmans had sought medical treatment. White said she believed no extraordinary care was needed.

"Have you ever seen a baby that small," asked prosecutor Mike Regan.

No, White said. "(David) was normal, he was just small."

"I thought he would be OK," White said. "I didn't believe he was going to die."

Defense attorneys played a video taken the evening David was born. It was taken in a bedroom at White's house, where the Hickmans went for the birth. The video shows the couple, their then 5-year-old daughter, Daisy, and Dale's mother, who held David. Everyone is smiling and joyful.

White said she was sleeping and was awakened when David's condition changed around 2 a.m, not long before he died. She said she could see a physical change in the baby.

"I could hear him breathe. I could hear something in his throat," White said. But she said that she never considered calling for emergency medical care.

The family prayed and Dale Hickman anointed the baby with olive oil. "That's what the Bible tells us to do," she said.

It wasn't very long afterward that the baby died, she said. White said she prayed but did not consider calling 9-1-1.

"It's not my place to do that," White said. "I am a woman in the church" and the Followers believe that a wife must defer to her husband, in accordance with biblical teachings, she said.

As the head of the household, "it is ultimately Dale's decision," she said.

In life-or-death situations, White said she would not call for emergency medical assistance.

"I believe in God. I believe all things are possible with God," White said.

Do you understand the risks of premature birth; that premature infants are at greater risk, Regan asked.

"I don't know what you mean by a higher risk," White said.

White said church members are not prohibited from going to doctors and are not forced out of the church if the seek medical care

White said that others in the church have called 9-1-1 for help at difficult births.

White is one of nine church members subpoenaed to testify at the trial. It is not clear how many will be called.

This afternoon, prosecution witnesses include midwifery experts. They will be questioned about medical practices involving home births.

Shannon Hickman was attended by three female church members who are called midwives. Although they reportedly have attended hundreds of births, it is unclear what training they received or what their protocol is for medical emergencies.

http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-city/index.ssf/2011/09/grandmother_in_faith-healing_t.html

Prosecution rests in Followers of Christ faith-healing trial
Published: Thursday, September 22, 2011, 5:59 PM


OREGON CITY – Three relatives of Dale and Shannon Hickman said Wednesday they didn't notice anything unusual or troubling about the health of the couple's newborn son until minutes before the baby died.

The Hickmans are charged in Clackamas County Circuit Court with second-degree manslaughter for failing to provide medical care for their son, David, who was born two months early and lived nine hours. The Oregon City couple -- and others at the birth -- attended the Followers of Christ church, an Oregon City congregation that rejects medical care and relies on prayer and faith-healing rituals to treat illness.

None of those at the birth go to doctors.

Prosecutors, who rested their case Thursday, said the Hickmans committed a crime when they refused to take their fragile son, David, to a hospital or call 9-1-1 while he was dying. The Hickmans would never have called for medical help because doing so would violate their religious beliefs, prosecutors said.

The three witnesses at times seemed unable or unwilling to answer questions or unable to recall events surrounding David's sudden death two years ago.

Elaine Nichols, Shannon Hickman's aunt, was caring for David in the early morning of Sept. 27, 2009, shortly before the infant died of respiratory distress. Nichols said she was not concerned about David's prematurity or low birth weight. "He was strong and crying pretty good," Nichols said.

"To you, this little 3 1/2 pound baby was normal?" asked prosecutor Mike Regan.

Yes, Nichols relied.

Nichols said she noticed David started "fading," but she found it difficult to explain what she observed. "It's hard to say unless you've seen somebody" in that condition, she said.

"Did you view that as an emergency?" Reagan said.

"Yes ... but I didn't think of calling anybody" other than immediate family members who were sleeping, Nichols said.

Nichols may have been nervous because she and her husband left the Followers of Christ several months ago and she faced a courtroom packed with church members.

Shelly Smith, who shared child care duty with Nichols that night, said she "didn't notice anything troubling or concerning" about David until the "color just left him."

Was this an emergency? Regan asked.

"I don't know what emergency means," said Smith, Shannon Hickman's sister-in-law. What if someone's life was threatened, "was this one of those moments?" Regan asked.

"Threatened by who," Smith replied.

"Threatened period," Regan said.

"Was this a test of Dale's faith?" Regan asked.

"It may have been," Smith said, "but it's not for me to answer."

The final witness was Shannon Hickman's teenage sister, Sarah White. She was not present at the birth, which occurred at her parents home, but was awakened when David's condition became dire.

She recalled seeing her mother, Karen White, "trying to wake up the baby."

Sarah White found it difficult to catalog the evening's events.

"Time stops," she said.

http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-city/index.ssf/2011/09/prosecution_rests_in_followers.html

Church midwife says premature baby's death was 'God's will'
Published: Friday, September 23, 2011, 6:53 PM

A church midwife who attended the home birth of David Hickman, who was born two months early and lived only nine hours, said she does not believe the premature baby should have been taken to the hospital.

In unusually candid testimony, Lavona Keith said "it wasn't God's will for David to live."

Keith testified for the defense Friday at the trial of Dale and Shannon Hickman. The Oregon City couple are accused of second-degree manslaughter for failing to seek medical care for David, who died in 2009.

The medical examiner determined the infant died from underdeveloped lungs and staph pneumonia. Medical experts previously called by the prosecution disputed whether a staph infection played a role in the baby's death, but a second defense witness, Dr. Stanley Berry disagreed. He said David died of a staph-related blood infection that was not obvious to those who attended the home birth.

The Hickmans and Keith are members of the Followers of Christ, an Oregon City church that preaches faith healing and rejects doctors and medical care.

Keith, who is Shannon Hickman's aunt and one of three church midwives who attended the birth, said David "pinked right up and was vibrant and healthy." She said she had no concerns about the baby's well-being when she left him two or three hours after the birth.

Under questioning by prosecutor John Wentworth, Keith said it is for God to decide whether a baby lives or dies.

"Is there anything a doctor can do to change that?" Wentworth asked.

"I don't think so," Keith said.

The central theme of the prosecution's case is that the Hickmans' actions -- before and after David's birth -- led to his death, including their decision not to seek prenatal care and failure to call 9-1-1 when the child's condition deteriorated and he stopped breathing.

Instead the Hickmans relied on church midwives.

"What would you do if a baby was struggling to breathe?" Wentworth asked.

"I would anoint" the child with oil but would not call a doctor, Keith said. "I believe in trusting in God."

What would God do, Wentworth asked.

"He would heal my baby," Keith said.

"What lesson was learned from David's death?" Wentworth asked.

"I don't know," Keith replied.

Berry said medical intervention wouldn't have mattered. David died in a matter of minutes once the blood infection struck, and nothing could have been done to save the child. The baby "was doing fine until (he) fell off a cliff," said Berry, an obstetrician and fetal medicine specialist at William Beaumont Hospital in Detroit.

Prosecutors said Berry's conclusions are not supported by laboratory tests and are more theory than science.

The state medical examiner who performed an autopsy found large concentrations of bacteria and suspected Group B streptococcus, which causes blood and lung infections that can quickly kill. Attempts to culture the bacteria and specifically identify the strain were unsuccessful.

Based on David's initial healthy appearance then rapid decline, Berry said Group B strep was the obvious culprit.


http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-city/index.ssf/2011/09/church_midwife_says_babys_fait.html

Parents defend using prayer, not medical care, in faith-healing baby's death
Published: Tuesday, September 27, 2011, 9:06 PM

On Tuesday -- the second anniversary of David Hickman's death -- his parents took the witness stand and told jurors that there was nothing they could have done to save their newborn boy. Even now, they said, they would do nothing differently.

The Hickmans are charged with second-degree manslaughter for failing to provide medical care for David, who was born two months prematurely and lived less than nine hours. Doctors said the baby would have lived if he had been taken to a hospital -- the standard response for premature babies born at home.

Defense attorneys rested their case Tuesday and after closing arguments today, jurors will start deliberating.

The Hickmans' responses to questions from their attorneys and prosecutors were at times tearful, terse or testy.

Their answers also shed some light on the religious beliefs and practices of the Followers of Christ, the Oregon City faith-healing church that the Hickmans and their relatives have attended for generations.

The Hickmans said they never considered calling 9-1-1 after David was born because the baby's condition changed instantly, and he died within minutes.

David was premature but healthy, pink and crying and the Hickmans said they saw no reason to panic.

Dale Hickman said he went to sleep around 10 p.m., about 4 1/2 hours after the birth, "looking forward to the next day."

Hickman said he was awakened around 2:15 a.m. by a female relative who was caring for the baby while the couple slept. David struggled to breathe, was ashen and listless, said Hickman, who held his son and anointed him with oil, a common faith-healing ritual. The baby died minutes later.

Prosecutors said evidence shows Hickman may have been alerted as much as 45 minutes before the death and that the parents had plenty of time to seek medical help.

When you recognized he was dying you still did not call 9-1-1, said prosecutor Mike Regan.

"I did not," Dale Hickman said

"You did not know how much longer he would live, did you?" Regan said. Why didn't you call 9-1-1 at that moment of crisis, he asked.

"Because I was praying," Hickman responded.

After hearing pediatricians testify that David had a 99.9 percent chance of surviving with medical care, do you still believe nothing could have been done to save your son, Regan asked?

"Yeah, I still believe that," Dale Hickman said.

Even when Hickman was questioned by his own attorney, Mark Cogan, he was hesitant to say he would have called 9-1-1 for David. If you thought your son could have benefited from a doctor, would you have sought medical care for him, Cogan asked.

"I put my faith in God, and I can't say in every situation what I would do," Hickman said.

Although Shannon Hickman professed devotion to her children -- the couple has a 7-year-old daughter and a 3-month-old son -- she said she follows a biblical directive to always defer to her husband.

Even if she wanted to call 9-1-1, Shannon Hickman said she would not do so without her husband's permission, she told prosecutor John Wentworth.

"I can say what I feel, but ultimately, he decides. It's kind of a fine line because I don't want to disobey him or anger him," she said. "If I gave him my opinion, and he told me to shut up and I didn't, then my marriage could be in jeopardy," Shannon Hickman said. "I have to submit my husband."

"You will do anything for your child except disobey your husband?" Wentworth asked.

"I will not disobey my husband," she responded.

Shannon Hickman said she watched as her husband cradled their baby. David was pale "and he didn't look like the baby I'd seen a couple of hours before. And I think I heard him breathe once or twice before he died," she said.

In retrospect, do you think it would have been a good idea to call 9-1-1, Wentworth asked.

"I would not have been able to call 9-1-1" because I didn't have a phone and would not have been physically able, Shannon Hickman said. "That's not my decision anyway," she said. "I think it's God's will whatever happens."

Other church members offered similar testimony, stating a deeply held tenet that God makes life and death determinations, and human intervention is futile.

Nevertheless, the Hickmans said they loved David and mourn his loss.

Shannon Hickman cried as she recalled her short time with David. "I got to be close to him, but I didn't get to touch him." She remembers hearing his strong cries as she went to sleep but little more. "I really don't remember much after he was born," she said.

"I never got to hold him until after he passed," she said. "I thought I would have the rest of his life."

http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-city/index.ssf/2011/09/parents_defend_using_prayer_no.html

Dale Hickman describes baby son's death in trial that questions his faith healing
Posted: Tuesday, September 27, 2011, 9:19 PM

Dale Hickman said he went to sleep around 10 p.m. that night, about 4 1/2 hours after the birth, "looking forward to the next day." He was awakened around 2:15 a.m. by a relative who was caring for the baby while the couple slept. David struggled to breathe, was ashen and listless, said Hickman, who held his son and anointed him with oil, a common faith-healing ritual. The baby died minutes later. Pool video courtesy of KGW.

http://videos.oregonlive.com/oregonian/2011/09/dale_hickman_describes_baby_so.html

Jury to begin deliberating fate of parents in faith-healing case
Published: Wednesday, September 28, 2011, 9:36 PM

Dale and Shannon Hickman failed their newborn son at several points in his ever-so-brief life, prosecutors said Wednesday during closing arguments of the Oregon City couple's trial.

Shannon Hickman never sought prenatal care and the couple never considered taking the premature infant to a hospital, prosecutors said. And when the baby turned blue and struggled for breath, no one called 9-1-1. "The chance of his survival ... was zero," said Clackamas County prosecutor Mike Regan.

The Hickmans are charged with second-degree manslaughter in the death of their son, David, who was born two months early and lived less than nine hours. Oregon law requires parents to seek adequate medical care for their children and to be aware of risks that would be obvious to a reasonable person.

Jurors, who begin deliberating today, also may consider a lesser charge, second-degree criminal mistreatment.


Regan told jurors that the deck was stacked against David because the Hickmans and their relatives are members of the Followers of Christ, an Oregon City church that uses faith-healing rituals and rejects medical treatment. "I respect the fact that they lost their son" and grieve for him, Regan said. David Hickman was doomed because "he was born into an ideology that does not believe in medical care." Regan said.

Defense attorneys said the Hickmans and their church are victims of religious persecution and were targeted by the district attorney's office.

Mark Cogan, Dale Hickman's attorney, urged jurors to set aside the role of religion in the case. "We're not here to debate theology," Cogan said. "All religions have beliefs and practices that when put under the microscope" look strange to outsiders, Cogan said. "The Followers of Christ church is not on trial."

Regan told jurors that everyone at the birth knew David faced serious risks. "These people are not stupid."

For those who believe as the Hickmans do, "that moment of life and death ... is when God is testing your faith," Regan said. "Faith healing in life-and-death situations is illegal.

Cogan countered that there's no proof medical intervention could have saved the infant. "There was rejoicing," not alarm, at David's birth. Some of those present called him "our little miracle," Cogan said.

"Nobody foresaw what would happen within 12 hours" between Shannon Hickman's labor and her son's death, Cogan said.

Defense attorneys said the infant died from an undetected blood infection and that the death came so quickly there was nothing the Hickmans could have done. Prosecutors say the baby died from respiratory distress and staph pneumonia.

Defense attorneys said he was killed by sepsis, a blood infection caused by Group B streptococcus. Prosecutors point out that laboratory tests did not confirm that strep was present and contend that defense attorneys were stretching the facts to fit their version of events.

Cogan said no one saw David fighting for breath until minutes before he died. The baby "came into the world looking so healthy" and sepsis swiftly took his life "without anyone being at fault," Cogan said.

It is unfair to fault the Hickmans for failing to call 9-1-1, Cogan said. "What opportunity was there? What benefit would there have been?"

The prosecution has "no idea whether (paramedics) could have saved the child," Cogan said. "There's no proof of it," Cogan said. "There's no evidence."

Prosecutor John Wentworth said the Hickmans ignored glaring signals that David, who would have celebrated his second birthday this past Monday, was in danger. David's underdeveloped lungs made him struggle for every breath until he weakened and died, Wentworth said.

The Hickmans, both 26, and family members present at the home birth, knew David was born early and was abnormally small, Wentworth said.

"What would a reasonable person do in this situation?" Wentworth asked the jury. "That baby goes to the hospital."

Wentworth said those in the home noticed clear changes in David's condition and there was ample time to call for help. The baby's breathing slowed, his color changed from pink to pale to blue to gray, his features slackened and he lost consciousness.

"There was plenty of time to do something," Wentworth said. "What did Shannon and Dale Hickman do? Nothing," he said. "They didn't even try. What kind of parent doesn't even try?"

Wentworth told jurors that the Hickmans use dentists and eye doctors and noted that they called on a medical doctor to testify on their behalf during trial, saying "trust what he has to say even though we don't."

"The hypocrisy in this case," Wentworth said, "is overwhelming."

http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-city/index.ssf/2011/09/jury_begins_deliberating_fate.html

Jury convicts Dale, Shannon Hickman of manslaughter in faith-healing trial
Published: Thursday, September 29, 2011, 2:38 PM

A jury today unanimously convicted Dale and Shannon Hickman in the faith-healing death of their infant son.

Both parents were found guilty of second-degree manslaughter, a Class B felony that requires a sentence of at least six years and three months in prison under Measure 11, Oregon's mandatory sentencing law. However, because of a religious exemption that was eliminated after the Hickmans were indicted, they are likely to face no more than 18 months in prison and a $250,000 fine.

After the jury left the courtroom, the Hickmans stood and embraced. Shannon Hickman pressed her face against her husband's chest and sobbed.

The couple, who have two other children, will be sentenced Oct. 31. Prosecutors asked that they be held in jail until sentencing, but Judge Robert Herndon allowed them to remain free until then.

The Hickmans are members of Oregon City's Followers of Christ church, which has a long history of children dying from treatable conditions because their parents relied on faith healing rather than taking them to doctors. In response to such cases, legislators this year removed religious exemptions from Oregon's criminal statutes.

As word got out that the jury had reached a verdict, the Clackamas County courtroom filled with about 80 friends and family from the Followers of Christ church. Among those present Carl and Raylene Worthington, another Followers of Christ couple tried in the faith-healing death of a child. Carl Worthington was convicted of criminal mistreatment and sentenced in 2009 to six months in jail. Raylene Worthington was acquitted.


David Hickman was born on Sept. 26, 2009, and lived less than nine hours.

His mother, Shannon Hickman, went into labor two months before her due date. Instead of going to a hospital, she and her husband opted to have the baby in her mother's home. At birth, he weighed 3 pounds, 7 ounces.

The Hickmans testified that David appeared healthy then took a sudden dire turn. Dale Hickman responded by holding his newborn son, praying for him and anointing him with olive oil. The parents said they never considered calling a doctor, and the baby died quickly.

In closing arguments, defense attorney Mark Cogan maintained it is unfair to fault the Hickmans for failing to call 9-1-1. "What opportunity was there?" he asked. "What benefit would there have been?"

Prosecutors contended that the Hickmans knew their son was born dangerously premature and that he struggled from the beginning, giving them plenty of time to seek medical assistance. If they had done so, medical experts testified, there was more than a 99 percent change the baby would have survived.

"There was plenty of time to do something," prosecutor John Wentworth said in closing arguments. "What did Shannon and Dale Hickman do? Nothing," he said. "They didn't even try."

Dale and Shannon Hickman both testified in their defense.

When asked why he didn't call 9-1-1 once he realized his infant son was failing, Dale Hickman responded, "Because I was praying."

Asked the same question, Shannon Hickman said that as a woman in the church, she must defer to her husband. "That's not my decision anyway," she said. "I think it's God's will whatever happens."

Medical experts called by the prosecution also challenged the defense assertion that the baby's health was fine until he suddenly died. They testified that a baby born two months prematurely would have struggled from birth with underdeveloped lungs.

Defense attorneys contended the Hickmans were singled out for prosecution because of their religious beliefs, noting that the district attorney waited a year to file charges against the Hickmans, indicting them shortly after the arrests of Timothy and Rebecca Wyland, also members of the church.

The Wylands failed to take their infant daughter to a doctor for a growth that almost destroyed her left eye. They were convicted in June of criminal mistreatment and sentenced to 90 days in jail. The back-to-back arrests of the two couples further inflamed public animosity toward the church, the defense attorneys said.

Two days after the Wylands were convicted, Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber signed a law that removed the remnants of Oregon's legal protection for parents who rely solely on faith healing to meet their children's medical needs. The law, a direct response to the Followers of Christ cases, eliminates spiritual treatment as a defense against all homicide charges and subjects parents to mandatory sentencing under Oregon's Measure 11.

Unless the law changes again, the Hickmans will be the last Oregon parents protected by religious exemptions to state homicide statutes.

http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-city/index.ssf/2011/09/jury_reaches_verdict_in_faith-.html

Dale and Shannon Hickman of the Followers of Christ church sentenced to six years in prison
Published: Monday, October 31, 2011, 10:35 AM

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 as supporters sobbed. Close to 100 people packed Judge Robert Herndon's courtroom, nearly all of them believers in the Followers of Christ church, an Oregon City congregation that shuns medicine in favor of faith-healing and has a lengthy history of child deaths. About 30 more supporters milled outside the room.

The Hickmans were sentenced to 75 months in prison, the mandatory minimum under Measure 11 sentencing guidelines. Herndon also gave them three years of probation.

Herndon's tone, which steered clear of harshest admonishment, almost contrasted with the sentence he doled out, the longest ever given to a Followers of Christ couple for failing to seek medical care for a child.

"As the evidence unfolded and the witnesses testified, it became evident to me and certainly to the jury … that this death just simply did not need to occur," said Herndon, referencing that the jury had come back with a verdict in a "stunningly" short time.

Defense attorneys pleaded for leniency under a Measure 11 religious exemption statute that would have allowed the judge to avoid giving the mandatory minimum, but Herndon rejected the notion that this case qualified. The exemption was eliminated by the legislature after the Hickmans' indictment.

The sentence, Herndon said, was a "modest penalty" for causing an avoidable death.

He insisted he didn't need to castigate the church, but said their beliefs were simply wrong.

At one point, he expressed surprise at how little one of the congregation’s midwives had known about premature births when she testified. He seemed to know about premature births more than she did, he said. “She’s one of the most dangerous people in Clackamas County,” Herndon said.

Before the sentencing, both parents tearfully asked Herndon for mercy, especially for their seven-year-old child and a baby born after their son's death.
Shannon Hickman mentioned she spent "24 hours a day" with her children, and Dale Hickman asked the court to have mercy on his wife.
“We are willing to do anything that the court sees fit,” Dale Hickman said, adding that the couple had been honest during the trial, despite the prosecution’s insistence that they had lied under oath.


Prosecutor Mike Regan took a hard line on the couple, seeking a maximum of six years. He hammered on both the Hickmans and the church, saying the couple continually resisted negotiations with prosecutors because “they did not think they did anything wrong.”

Regan railed at the version of events presented by defense during the trial, when they argued the couple knew nothing was wrong until about fifteen minutes before his death. “Are these an arrogant and stubborn group of martyrs with no contrition whatsoever?” he asked.

A message needed to be sent to the church, Regan said. Child abuse for any motive, he said, is still child abuse.

“These generally are good, decent, law-abiding folks, except in this one narrow area of their lives,” Regan said. “One (area) where they have told us stubbornly – and arrogantly, if I may – that ‘We are not going to change.’”

“The law of civil society demands that they change,” he continued. “It demands that we sent a message to all of them that whether you believe this or not in Oregon, you cannot act upon that belief.”

Regan said he was loathe to use the cliché of asking the judge to “send a message,” but said he thought it was necessary. Using an exaggerated analogy of a pagan group that sacrifices children in the woods, he asked Herndon how the effect of that groups differs from the situation at hand.

“The only thing different in the effect is that we have a religious group sacrificing children’s lives, year after year, decade after decade,” he said. “In order to stop that effect, we have to do something.”

The Hickmans were the fourth couple from the church to stand trial in the past three years for refusing to get medicine for a sick child.

Timothy and Rebecca Wyland, who were convicted of first-degree criminal mistreatment for failing to treat a large growth on their young daughter’s eye, supported the Hickmans at the courthouse on Monday. Carl Brent Worthington, who was convicted of criminal mistreatment in the death of his 15-month-old daughter, also sat in the courtroom. Jeffrey and Marci Beagley were sentenced to 16 months of prison after being found guilty of criminally negligent homicide.

Dale Hickmans' defense attorney, Mark Cogan, pushed for probation, saying the Hickmans would be compliant with any court orders for medical care. The couple has already taken their two remaining children to see a pediatrician, Cogan noted.

"These are not criminals," Cogan said.

He characterized a six-year sentence as cruel. “The penalty, the punishment that the government is urging is severe, and would inflict cruel consequences,” on the couple, he said.

Both Cogan and John Neidig, Shannon Hickman's attorney, mentioned the couple's remaining children. “As a parent, I can’t even imagine getting up this morning, taking my seven-year-old to school, kissing her goodbye, and having the possibility of not seeing her or holding her in my arms again until she’s a teenager,” Cogan said.

Dale Hickman and Neidig seemed to ask the judge for even more special consideration for Shannon Hickman. Neidig, her attorney, said she did not have as many chances to call for help: in their church, the decisions are made by the husband.

"That is a function of their religion, a religious practice," Neidig insisted. "The husband is the head of the household, like Christ is the head of the church."

Allowing probation would be a chance to acquaint the couple with medicine, Neidig said, and also said a few Followers had already inquired about medical treatment after the verdict. "It has already had an impact on a few that I know of," he said.


http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-city/index.ssf/2011/10/dale_and_shannon_hickman_of_th.html#incart_mce