More horrifying is the forensic analysis that reveals that these young children died needlessly as the result of neglect and abuse at the hands of a religious fundamentalist cult that disavows medical care.
The sheriff, an investigative reporter, the local coroner and two forensic experts from Albany develop the case. When the county DA, a fundamentalist himself, resists vigorous prosecution, the Governor of New York intervenes and appoints Rosemary and Calvin Brandt to represent the State and speak for the dead children. These controversial attorneys and former fundamentalists have devoted their lives to the protection of children.
Some fundamentalists and their political action groups come to the defense of the cult and the parents of the dead children setting the stage for the final courtroom clash between freedom of religion and the State's responsibility to protect innocent children.
If you believe that prayer for the sick to the exclusion of medical care is a thing of the past, think again. Each year children in the United States suffer horribly and die from injuries or medical conditions readily treated by physicians and hospitals. Do a literature search on faith healing or go to the website of "Children's Healthcare Is a Legal Duty, Inc." (www.childrenshealthcare.org) and you'll see a litany of horrors as a small segment of mostly fundamentalists allow their minor children to die from diabetes, pneumonia, asthma, and many other conditions all readily responsive to standard medical care.