Law & Court
Update: Pope won’t face charges for not buckling up
By Tracy Gordon — December 1, 2011
BERLIN (RNS) Pope Benedict XVI can cross an outstanding charge of failing to use a seatbelt from his list of worries. The southern German city of Freiburg on Wednesday (Nov. 30) threw out charges against the pontiff for riding in his popemobile without a seatbelt during a September visit. “There will be no fine for […]
Pope Benedict XVI slapped with charges for not wearing seat belt
By Tiffany McCallen — November 28, 2011
BERLIN (RNS) Just because the pope gets to ride in the popemobile doesn’t give him license not to wear a seat belt. So says an unnamed German man who filed charges against Pope Benedict XVI for allegedly failing to use a seat belt while touring Germany on an official visit in September. Attorney Christian Sundermann […]
Too often, abusive predators hiding in plain sight
By Tracy Gordon — November 15, 2011
(RNS) The abuse allegations at Penn State seem unthinkable: revered assistant coach and prominent community activist Jerry Sandusky preying on eight children. But such abuses of trust play out across the country over and over again. Experts say respected people who set up charitable or social groups for children, only to be implicated in some […]
Faith-healing parents sentenced to six years
By Tracy Gordon — November 1, 2011
OREGON CITY, Ore. (RNS) An Oregon judge on Monday (Oct. 31) sentenced two members of a faith-healing church to more than six years in prison, saying the death of their newborn son was easily avoidable. A jury in September unanimously found Dale and Shannon Hickman guilty of second-degree manslaughter after their son, David Hickman, died […]
Lawyer charges Catholic University with civil rights violations
By Tracy Gordon — October 28, 2011
WASHINGTON (RNS) A famously litigious lawyer has filed charges against the Catholic University of America (CUA) for not providing Muslim students with prayer rooms that are free of Catholic iconography. John F. Banzhaf III, a law professor at George Washington University who had earlier filed charges over CUA’s switch to same-sex dorms this summer, filed […]
`Amish Bernie Madoff’ won’t fight fraud charges
By Tracy Gordon — October 26, 2011
SUGARCREEK, Ohio (RNS) An investment broker dubbed the “Amish Bernie Madoff” has decided not to fight federal charges that he defrauded thousands of investors out of nearly $17 million. Monroe Beachy, 77, intends to reject his lawyer’s legal advice and plead no contest at an arraignment in Youngstown on Thursday (Oct. 27), defense attorney Gerald […]
Gallup Poll: 35 percent oppose death penalty
By Tracy Gordon — October 14, 2011
(RNS) More than one-third of Americans now oppose the death penalty — the highest level in nearly 40 years — according to a new Gallup Poll. Moreover, those who believe the death penalty is being applied fairly, and those who say it isn’t used often enough, are at the lowest levels in a decade, underscoring […]
Jury convicts Dale, Shannon Hickman of manslaughter in faith-healing trial
By Tracy Gordon — September 30, 2011
OREGON CITY, Ore. (RNS) A jury on Thursday (Sept. 29) unanimously convicted an Oregon couple, Dale and Shannon Hickman, in the faith-healing death of their infant son. Both parents were found guilty of second-degree manslaughter, a Class B felony that requires a sentence of at least six years and three months in prison under Oregon’s […]
Parents of dead baby defend use of faith-healing
By Tiffany McCallen — September 28, 2011
OREGON CITY, Ore. (RNS) Two years to the day after their newborn son died, two parents accused of choosing faith healing over medical care said Tuesday (Sept. 27) that given the chance, they would do nothing differently. Dale and Shannon Hickman are charged with second-degree manslaughter for failing to provide medical care for their son […]
Muslim students vow appeal in free speech conviction
By Tracy Gordon — September 26, 2011
LOS ANGELES (RNS) A group of Muslim students who were convicted Friday (Sept. 23) of disrupting a speech by the Israeli ambassador plan to appeal as Muslim community leaders call the high-profile free speech case a civil rights moment. The “Irvine 11” were charged with systematically heckling Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren during a speech to […]
Swell of clergy rallies around Ga. death row inmate
By Tracy Gordon — September 13, 2011
(RNS) In a last-minute bid to stop a Sept. 21 execution in Georgia, religious leaders have rallied in previously unseen numbers to call for clemency for death row inmate Troy Davis. As of Tuesday (Sept. 13), more than 3,000 religious leaders from all 50 states had signed a letter urging the Georgia Board of Pardons […]
Fourth faith-healing trial in two years starts this week
By Tracy Gordon — September 12, 2011
OREGON CITY, Ore. (RNS) When the trial of Dale and Shannon Hickman begins this week, the curtain again rises on a familiar tragedy: the death of a child and the parents whose unwavering faith in divine healing may lead them to prison. The Hickmans are members of the Followers of Christ, an Oregon City faith-healing […]
Work makes Ramadan hard, but not impossible, for Muslims
By Tracy Gordon — August 26, 2011
(RNS) Fasting during Ramadan may be harder for Muslims in countries where they are a minority, but a new survey said Muslims in America and other countries tried to give it their best effort. The study, by the New Jersey-based DinarStandard website that tracks business trends among Muslims, and British-based Productive Muslim Ltd., found similar […]
Thursday’s Religion News Roundup
By Daniel Burke — August 4, 2011
The White House released a plan to prevent violent extremism (aka terrorism) in the United States. White House officials pledged to provide accurate information to local law enforcement officials about Islam, and said that Muslim-American communities themselves are best positioned to take the lead in countering radicalization. Scholars and activists are launching a Mormon Defense […]
Judge bars `witch hunt’ comment from faith-healing trial
By Tracy Gordon — August 3, 2011
CLACKAMAS COUNTY, Ore. (RNS) A state medical examiner who concluded that two members of an Oregon City faith-healing church were victims of a prosecutorial “witch hunt” will not be allowed to offer that opinion when the defendants go to trial next month. Clackamas County Presiding Judge Robert D. Herndon ruled in a pretrial hearing Tuesday […]
