Tuesday afternoon an Oregon jury found Timothy and Rebecca Wyland guilty of criminal mistreatment for denying medical care to their baby daughter, Alayna. The couple now faces up to five years in prison.
The jury deliberated a little over an hour, and was unanimous in their verdict.
Authorities filed charges against the Wylands after an abnormal and deforming buildup of blood vessels in the child's left eye was left untreated. The buildup, known as a hemangioma, would have left Alayna blind in the left eye if not treated.
While the Wylands prayed over Alayna, anointed her with oil and used other spiritual rituals endorsed by their church, they failed to seek medical attention for their daughter's obvious ailment. From January to June of 2010 the couple did nothing while their daughter's condition deteriorated.
The Wyland's are members of the Followers of Christ Church located in Oregon City. The church is notorious for prohibiting members from seeking medical attention, favoring prayer over medical treatment. The consequences of church doctrine have been tragic: the preventable deaths of numerous children.
Defense attorneys for the parents tried to argue the couple was the victim of religious persecution - an argument the jury was definitely not buying.
The Wylands are the third Followers of Christ Church couple to be prosecuted over the past two years for failing to provide medical treatment to their children. In two previous cases, the children died.
The Wylands lost custody of their daughter last summer. She has since improved under court-ordered medical care.
Last month the Oregon state Senate voted to end legal protection granted to parents practicing religious faith healing. The legislation ends legal protection for parents who choose faith healing to the exclusion of modern medicine in treating their children's health.
The new legislation is in large part a response to the deaths of numerous children belonging to members of the Followers of Christ Church located in Oregon city, the same church the Wylands attend.
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