Bowes also cites in his client's defense a 2008 Indiana Supreme Court decision that affirmed the parental right to discipline children in ways parents consider appropriate, even when others could deem that behavior as excessive.



According to court documents, Thaing said she stopped her son from dangerous behavior on Feb. 3 that would have seriously harmed his 3-year-old sister and hit both children with a plastic coat hanger before telling them to pray for forgiveness.



Child welfare officials took the children into their care in February, but it's unclear where they are now. Bowes' attorney and a spokeswoman for Marion County's prosecutor said they could not comment on the children's whereabouts.



Thaing, who faces an Oct. 19 trial, is a refugee from Myanmar, a Southeast Asian nation also known as Burma, and was granted political asylum in the U.S. She cited cultural differences between the two countries as part of her defense.