Commonwealth v. Twitchell, 416 Mass. 114, 617 N.E.2d 609 (1993),[1] was the most prominent of a series of criminal cases, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, in which parents who were members of the Christian Science church were prosecuted for the deaths of children whose medical conditions had been treated only by Christian Science prayer.
| Commonwealth v. Twitchell | |
|---|---|
| Court | Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts |
| Full case name | Commonwealth v. David R. Twitchell; Commonwealth v. Ginger Twitchell |
| Decided | August 11, 1993 |
| Citations | 416 Mass. 114; 617 N.E.2d 609 |
| Court membership | |
| Judges sitting | Paul J. Liacos, Herbert P. Wilkins, Ruth Abrams, Joseph R. Nolan, Neil L. Lynch, Francis Patrick O'Connor, John M. Greaney |
| Case opinions | |
| Decision by | Wilkins |
| Dissent | Nolan |
Manslaughter charges
editIn 1988, Massachusetts prosecutors charged David and Ginger Twitchell with manslaughter in the 1986 death of their two-year-old son Robyn. Robyn Twitchell died of a peritonitis caused by a bowel obstruction that medical professionals declared would have been easily correctable.
The Twitchells' defense contended that the couple were within their First Amendment rights to treat their son's illness with prayer and that Massachusetts had recognized this right in an exemption to the statute outlawing child neglect.
Conviction and overturning
editThe Twitchells were convicted of involuntary manslaughter. They were sentenced to ten years probation and required to bring their remaining children to regular visits to a pediatrician.[2][3] The conviction was overturned in 1993 by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court on a legal technicality.[1] Robert Gittens, speaking for the prosecutors' office commented, "the law is now clear: parents cannot sacrifice the lives of their children in the name of religious freedom."[4]
References
edit- ^ a b "Commonwealth v. Twitchell, 617 N.E.2d 609, 416 Mass. 114 – CourtListener.com". CourtListener. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
- ^ Margolick, David (August 6, 1990). "In Child Deaths, a Test for Christian Science". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
- ^ Sanders, Alain L. (July 16, 1990). "Law: Convicted Of Relying on Prayer". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
- ^ "Court Overturns Conviction of Christian Science Couple". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. August 12, 1993. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
External links
edit- Text of Commonwealth v. Twitchell, 416 Mass. 114, 617 N.E.2d 609 (1993) is available from: CourtListener Google Scholar Massachusetts Trial Court Law Library