Thursday, September 15, 2011

Parental Frights: Can Parents Practice Rites that Scare Children?


Mom gets 18 months probation for showing her daughter a ritual chicken death.

A Pennsylvania woman who insisted her 7-year-old daughter watch the killing of a chicken and eat its heart was sentenced to 18 months probation in June. The child told a teacher that the ceremony gave her nightmares.

Prosecutors charged 33-year-old Yenitza Colichon with child abuse and neglect. Colichon said she was seeking to protect her daughter while away at U.S. Army basic training by using a rite of the Central African religion Palo Mayombe.

Defense attorneys argued unsuccessfully that Colichon's right to religious freedom protects her from prosecution. To read more, click here.

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