Faith-Healing Parents Sentenced

The fundamentalist Christian couple from Philadelphia was sentenced Wednesday for causing the death of their toddler son by failing to get him medical care.

Herbert and Catherine Schaible must take their remaining seven children for medical check-ups as part of their sentence in the boy's death.
      
A Philadelphia judge also sentenced the couple to 10 years of probation.

They were convicted in December of involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment in the January 2009 pneumonia death of 2-year-old Kent.
      
Prosecutors said the child could have been saved with basic medical care -- probably even over-the-counter medication -- but the couple relied on prayer instead. Defense attorneys argued that their clients did not know how sick the child was, and their beliefs played no role in their decision.
      
Experts say about a dozen U.S. children die in faith-healing cases each year.


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Copyright AP - Associated Press
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