Okanogan teen's faith-healing death under review

The Okanogan County prosecutor is waiting for the sheriff to complete the investigation into the death of a 17-year-old boy who died at home of a burst appendix.

Zachery "Zakk" Swezey had no medical care during a three-day illness in March because his family, members of the Church of the First Born, believe in faith healing.

Prosecutor Karl Sloan says he'll decide if charges are warranted.

Sheriff's reports about the case were obtained Friday by The Wenatchee World in a public records request opposed by the family.

In a story published Thursday the documents say the parents, Greg and JaLea Swezey, gave their son the choice of calling an ambulance and seeing a doctor.

"We don't force our kids, our kids have a choice. At no time did Zachery ask to go to the doctor," Greg Swezey told investigators. The parents also said their oldest son once broke his leg, and they gave him a choice of going to the doctor, but his son chose not to.

Swezey put a cast on his leg, and later they saw a physical therapist who confirmed his son had broken his leg.

Swezey told deputies his children knew they had a choice to see a doctor and that last year Zakk, a Pateros High School student, had a sports physical.

Washington's child abuse law has a religious exemption for parents. It specifies that a person treated through faith healing "by a duly accredited Christian Science practitioner in lieu of medical care is not considered deprived of medically necessary health care or abandoned." Other religions are not mentioned.

Rita Swan, president of CHILD Inc., a nonprofit group formed to protect children from abusive religious and cultural practices, called Washington's law "awful" and said it would not stand up if challenged because it discriminates in favor of one religion.

Swan, in Sioux City, Iowa, was aware of Swezey's death when contacted Tuesday by The Wenatchee World and said four other children in three states other than Washington have died so far this year in what she calls faith-deaths.

"There are many small Pentecostal groups that want Jesus to be their doctor, and that consider illness a tempt of faith," she said.

Swan said what struck her most about Swezey's death is the agony he must have endured. "The pain that comes with a ruptured appendix is just excruciating. It's something the boy should not have had to suffer," she said.

Steven Green, a law professor at Willamette University in Salem, Ore., told The Wenatchee World he thinks Zakk's age will be a major factor in the prosecutor's decision. So will the fact that his parents told investigators they gave him the choice of seeking medical attention.

Green, director of the Center for Religion, Law & Democracy, said even though Zakk was legally a minor, "Once you get into those older teen years, there is more of an assumption that children can make their own decision," he said.

And prosecuting someone for raising their children with a religion that believes in faith healing raises serious religious liberty concerns, he said.

"It may end up being a factual determination of whether this child was under undue influence, pressure not to seek medical treatment, or whether he was old enough to make this decision," he said.

The recent case in Oregon City, Ore., of a faith-healing couple charged with negligent homicide in the death of their 15-month-old daughter could weigh in the prosecutor's considerations. Ava Worthington died of pneumonia in March 2008, and her parents belong to Followers of Christ Church.

Her father, Carl Worthington, was convicted by the jury last month of misdemeanor criminal mistreatment and was sentenced to two months in jail, but found innocent of the more serious charge.

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Information from: The Wenatchee World, http://www.wenatcheeworld.com