Woman pleads guilty for death of 2-year-old toddler in exorcism ritual

[cleanhippie]

On Monday, a woman from Fort Wayne Indiana, Natasha Hawkins, 31, pleaded guilty to a Class A felony battery charge in the death of a 2-year-old boy Jeziah King during an exorcism session. The boy's mother 31-year-old Latisha Lawson had, in June, been sentenced to 62 years in prison for the crime of murder.

Natasha Hawkins, roommate of Latisha Lawson, was found guilty of aiding in battery leading to the death of the 2-year-old-boy after a mixture of olive oil and vinegar was forced down his throat. According to reports, the exorcism was in reaction to the persistent pattern of night crying of the toddler which kept everyone awake and prevented them from sleeping. The boy's mother Latisha Lawson with her three other children, Natasha Hawkins and her daughter were present when Jeziah King died. The boy's body was stored in a plastic tote for almost a year till it was discovered by the police in December 2010. Autopsy determined that Jeziah King died of asphyxiation due to compression of his neck and Hawkins admitted that she burned incense candles in the house to mask the smell of the boy's decomposing body.

One of the children, a 7-year-old, who witnessed the death of Jeziah King testified that he along with the children present at the exorcism were forced to drink olive oil and vinegar which the women exorcists dispensed so they could obtain salvation. According to the boy, they threw up after drinking the mixture. The two women held J-man (as Jeziah was known) down forcefully and gave him repeated dozes of the exorcism mixture. According to the 7-year-old witness, "He (Jeziah) was going crazy they held him tight." The boy apparently died of asphyxiation after his mouth was held tightly shut for several minutes to prevent him throwing up.

--snip--

Defense attorneys argued in court that the two women were religion obsessed and that their actions stemmed from their religious belief that the toddler was demon-possessed.

http://www.goddiscussion.com/74514/woman-pleads-guilty-for-death-of-2-year-old-toddler-in-exorcism-ritual/

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I suppose this will just be ANOTHER thread where we will be told this is all about Mental Illness (which it is) and has nothing to do with religion at all (which is does).

[get the red out]

1. So salad dressing relieves one of demons?

I guess that's why I wasn't possessed as a child, oil and vinegar was all I would use on my salads.

This kind of murderous nonsense needs to be stamped out. A toddler cries at night so they are possessed. We really need to improve education in this country, but I see things going the opposite direction.

[laconicsax]

2. Don't you know that only sane, nice people base their actions on religion?

:hide:

[struggle4progress]

3. We discussed this case in your thread last May. As you know, the jury decided

not to buy into an insanity defense based on the mother's alleged belief in a demonic possession but chose instead the prosecution's theory that the mother deliberately killed the toddler out of frustration with his tantrums and sleepless nights

So, as you know, twelve true and sworn concluded the exorcism story was simply hogwash

[cleanhippie]

4. But this is a one-day old news report about her pleading guilty yesterday.

:shrug:

[struggle4progress]

6. Hawkins had a competency hearing back in May. Presumably the outcome of that,

together with Lawson's failure to prevail on an insanity defense and the state's offer to drop most charges if Hawkins would plead to battery-death, dissuaded roommate Hawkins from attempting her own exorcism-based insanity defense

Judge orders mental evaluation of woman charged in exorcism death
Updated: Monday, 09 May 2011, 5:27 PM EDT
Published : Monday, 09 May 2011, 12:38 PM EDT
http://www.wane.com/dpp/news/crime/judge-orders-mental-evaluation-of-woman-charged-in-exorcism-death

Roommate pleads guilty in 'exorcism' death
By Ellie Bogue
of The News-Sentinel
... Hawkins told police the boy “was kicking, clawing and scratching during this time.” She said she held his legs down while he kicked ... Hawkins admitted to police that she helped Lawson cover up the incident ... Hawkins took a plea agreement Monday morning in Allen County Superior Court that charged her with battery – death of a victim less than 14 years and defendant at least 18 (aiding, inducing, or causing an offense), a class A felony, dropping seven charges. She originally was charged with assisting a criminal, neglect and five counts of battery. The plea agreement could give Hawkins 30 years in jail; she will be sentenced Sept. 17 ... http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110816/NEWS/108160321

An overwhelming majority of Indianans consider themselves religious, but that didn't protect the offenders in this case: in fact, a local pastor helped police locate Lawson. When Lawson came to trial, the jury didn't believe she had delusions about exorcism: they concluded she was an abusive woman who couldn't deal properly with her toddler. Now her roommate Hawkins has also dropped the silly exorcism story to plead guilty to battery: presumably she realized it wouldn't fly. It's a sad story: all the kids there exhibited evident marks of physical abuse

[cleanhippie]

7. It is a sad story.

The only good outcome is that her beliefs did not protect her, as they do so many other people when they do bizarre things in the name of religion.

[laconicsax]

5. She doesn't need to be insane to believe in demonic possession.

It probably helps, but sane and lucid people used to believe in demonic possession all the time.

[cleanhippie]

8. What is a more insane belief, demonic possession or reanimation of a dead body?

:shrug:

[ATLdemocrat]

9. Exorcism rituals... In 2011, in America

And to think there's people that think education is the enemy