You may recall Herbert and Catherine Schaible, faith-healing-practicing parents who let both of their children die, separately, from preventable causes because they believed prayer would help them instead of doctors.

If you need a (sad) reminder of their crimes, read this post.





They have seven other children — thankfully in foster care right now.

On Wednesday, there was finally a bit of justice in this case:

A judge upheld murder charges Wednesday against a fundamentalist Christian couple in their infant’s faith-healing death, saying things might be different if their toddler hadn’t died four years ago “under strikingly similar circumstances.” … “They learned in the worst possible way … exactly what these symptoms could lead to in a child, especially a young child, if not medically cared for,” Common Pleas Judge Benjamin Lerner said, referring to the 2009 death of 2-year-old Kent Schaible. “We’ve been here before … under strikingly similar circumstances.” … The Schaibles’ pastor, Nelson Clark, has said the couple lost their sons because of a “spiritual lack” in their lives. He has also faulted officials for trying to force his members into “the flawed medical system.”

Can Clark be held responsible in any way, too…?

Either way, this is good news; instead of letting the couple off the hook on some loophole of a religious exemption, the judge is keeping the most severe charge still on the table.

The Schaibles’ trial may begin next year. If the murder charge holds up, they could face up to 40 years in prison.



