Kara Neumann avenged in court

You may remember the tragic story of little Kara Neumann, who died last year when her religiot parents refused her one single, simple insulin injection that would've saved her from the clutches of her terrible (and highly preventable) form of diabetes. Her parents chose to do nothing and pray (which still counts as "doing nothing") rather than administer actual medical help, and for that, an innocent young girl suffered through a horrible demise.

Thankfully, the lights of justice seem to be shining in Wisconsin today as the courts have convicted the Neumanns of second-degree reckless homicide.

Dale Neumann, 47, was convicted in the March 23, 2008, death of his daughter, Madeline, from undiagnosed diabetes. Prosecutors contended he should have rushed the girl to a hospital because she couldn't walk, talk, eat or drink. Instead, Madeline died on the floor of the family's rural Weston home as people surrounded her and prayed. Someone called 911 when she stopped breathing.

Now, here is the father's testimony, which certainly didn't help his case much:

Neumann, who once studied to be a Pentecostal minister, testified Thursday that he believed God would heal his daughter and he never expected her to die. God promises in the Bible to heal, he said.

"If I go to the doctor, I am putting the doctor before God," Neumann testified. "I am not believing what he said he would do."

Typical words from the deluded. And now, compare his testimony to that of the prosecution's:

Assistant District Attorney LaMont Jacobson told jurors in closing arguments Friday that Neumann was "overwhelmed by pride" in his interpretation of the Bible and selfishly let Madeline die as a test of faith.

Neumann knew he should have taken his daughter to a doctor and minimized her illness when speaking with investigators, Jacobson said, calling Neumann no different than a drunken driver who remarks he only had a couple of beers.

Actually, this I think is a little too harsh. Yes, he's a deluded fool who let his daughter die needlessly, but he certainly didn't act in a way he knew would result in her death. I do believe he honestly thought God would heal his daughter; he was not intentionally letting her die as a test of faith, or acting like a drunken driver, who know they're drunk and that driving in such a condition is dangerous at best. He is not a bad man ... just mislead by his silly faith, and this deception tragically resulted in loss of life.

But that does not absolve him or his wife of what they did. An innocent child did die, and for that, they need to pay. Law of life.

(via Pharyngula)