Faith Healing and the Law

This week we take a look at faith healing and the law, as the state senate and general assembly considers new legislation to address the conflict between religious freedom and the obligation of parents to provide for the welfare and safety of their children. The push for the legislation came in response to the so-called prayer death trials of Dale and Leilani Neumann in Marathon County last year, whose guilty verdicts are being appealed to the state supreme court. The Neumanns were both convicted of second degree reckless homicide because they prayed for their critically ill daughter Madeline Kara instead of seeking medical treatment. Guests will be: Shawn Peters, Wisconsin based author of When Prayer Fails: Faith Healing, Children, and the Law; attorney Jay Kronenwetter, who represented Dale Neumann in his criminal trial; and Marathon County Assistant District Attorney LaMont Jacobson, who successfully prosecuted the cases.