Dale and Shannon Hickman failed their newborn son at several points in his ever-so-brief life, a prosecutor said in closing arguments of the trial of the Oregon City couple. Defense attorney countered that "there's no proof" medical intervention could have saved the infant.

Jurors began deliberating Wednesday shortly after closing arguments.

The Hickmans are charged with second-degree manslaughter in the death of their son, David, who was born two months prematurely and lived less than nine hours. The 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 also may consider a lesser charge, second-degree criminal mistreatment.

Mark Cogan, Dale Hickman's attorney, told the jury that when David was born "there was rejoicing," not alarm. Some present at the birth 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. He noted that the Hickmans relied on church midwives and family members to care for David in his first hours.

"Putting your trust in those living arms is not criminal behavior," Cogan said.

He also urged jurors to set aside the role of religion in the case.

"We're not here to debate theology. Every religion has its arbitrariness," Cogan said. "Don't all religions have beliefs and practices that when put under the microscope" would look strange to an outside observer, Cogan asked.

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"We must not engage in guilt by association," Cogan said."The Followers of Christ church is not on trial."

Cogan said David died of sepsis, a blood infection cause by Group B streptococcus, not respiratory distress, as the prosecution claims. 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.

The charges

Second-degree manslaughter:

A Class B felony punishable by a prison sentence of up to 10 years.





Second-degree criminal mistreatment

: A Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a $6,250 fine.

Conviction:

Requires at least 10 of 12 jurors to find them guilty.

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."

Clackamas County prosecutor John Wentworth said the Hickmans ignored glaring signals that David, who would have celebrated his second birthday on 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 at 31 or 32 weeks and, at 3 pounds and 7 ounces, was abnormally small. "What would a reasonable persion do in this situation?" Wentworth asked the jury. "That baby goes to the hospital."

Defense attorneys said the baby died almost instantly of an undetected blood infection and that the death came so quickly there was nothing the Hickmans could have done.

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," Wentworth said. "What kind of parent doesn't even try?"

The Hickmans did not call 9-1-1 for religious reasons, prosecutors say. The couple belong to the Followers of Christ, an Oregon City church that embraces faith healing and rejects medical care because relying on doctors shows a lack of trust in God.

Every medical expert who testified at the trial, including two defense witnesses, said David Hickman's life was in danger from the second he was born and that he should have been transported to a hospital, Wentworth noted.

"The hypocrisy in this case is overwhelming," Wentworth said. The Hickmans have never sought care from a medical doctor but use dentists and eye doctors.

They called a doctor to testify on their behalf at the trial and say "trust what he has to say even though we don't," Wentworth said. "It's the height of hypocrisy."

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