Jury Selection Starts in Faith-Healing Trial Expected to Start Next Week

(Although General Assembly Church of the First Born is not directly affiliated with the Followers of Christ sect, the COFB, as it is generally referred to, has very similar views and doctrines regarding "faith-healing")



Jury selection starts in faith-healing trial
Trial expected to start next week
By Matthew Graham

The Clackamas Review, Jan 13, 2010

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Jury selection in the faith-healing trial in the death of 16-year-old Neil Beagley took place this week, with the trial likely to begin on Tuesday, Jan. 19.

Neil's parents, Jeffrey and Marci Beagley of Oregon City, face criminally negligent homicide charges because of their son's death.

The Beagleys are members of the Followers of Christ Church, which rejects doctors and medical treatment in favor of faith healing.

In jury selection on Tuesday, defense attorney Wayne Mackeson questioned potential jurors on their values, views on parenting and views on lifestyles that differ from what some might consider the norm.

“This case really boils down to the duty of a parent,” he said to 14 potential jurors. Quoting a trinket of his mother’s, he said, “there’s no way to be a perfect parent; there are a million ways to be a good one,” before asking the jurors what qualities they think a parent should have.

Questions then drifted from that point – do a parent’s responsibilities change over time?

Neil was 16 when he died, and allegedly told family members he didn’t want traditional medical treatment. His competency and ability to make such a decision is likely to come up in the trial.

Mackeson also asked about potential jurors’ views on home schooling and how religion figured into their values and decision-making. Finally he asked about health care, whether potential jurors had regular doctors, whether they’d ever sought alternative treatment such as homeopathy or acupuncture and whether any of them had had flu-like symptoms and not immediately sought medical attention.

Questions from the defense attorney for just one pool of candidates took the entire morning, leading Judge Steven Maurer to speculate that jury selection would take the rest of this week. The trial itself then would start on Tuesday because courts are closed for the Monday holiday. Maurer said he expects the trial to take about two to two-and-a-half weeks.