Worthingtons were two votes from guilty
PORTLAND, Ore. - Jurors in the Oregon City faith healing trial were initially just two votes away from convicting Carl and Raylene Worthington of criminal mistreatment and manslaughter for the death of their 15-month-old daughter Ava.
By a vote of eight to four, jurors were initially in favor of convicting the parents on both charges, which could have sent them to prison for six years.
A juror who does not want to be identified said the group of eight tried to convince the others that the parents needed to be held accountable. The majority only needed two of the four to change their minds to reach the required 10 to 2 vote. The juror also said the four jurors refused to budge from their position because they believed the government was overstepping its authority or because they were strongly religious.
Presiding juror Ashlee Santos hinted at the internal wrangling right after the verdict last Thursday.
“This wasn’t easy for any of us,” she said. “[The Worthingtons] are people, not monsters. They’re not bad people. They’re just like everybody else.”
Eventually, six jurors who initially wanted full guilty verdicts reversed their positions and convicted only Carl Worthington of criminal mistreatment and found his wife Raylene not guilty on both charges.
“We heard each other out and we spend a lot of time listening to each other’s perspective,” said Ken Byers, a juror. “And that’s what swayed a lot of our votes.”
Another juror said they felt a sense of duty to continue deliberating towards a verdict to send a message to the Followers of Christ Church that ignoring medical treatment for children is not acceptable.
Byers said last Friday said the jury did not know about the deaths of the other children in the Followers of Christ Church. If they had known, Byers said the jury may have pushed for a tougher verdict.