I know there are those of you out there that are still checking this site for new information about sherman.
1. He's not dead yet.
2. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case involving Jessica.
Church leader can be tried for contributing to girl's death
State court rules prosecution can go forward in girl's death
By Matt Lakin
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Related link
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www.knoxnews.com]
Tennessee Supreme Court ruling reinstating indictment against Ariel Ben Sherman.
Earthly father or not, a Loudon County religious leader can be prosecuted on charges of contributing to a 15-year-old girl's death from cancer, the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled Friday.
The court's ruling reinstated the 2003 indictment against Ariel Ben Sherman, the 79-year-old leader of the Universal Life Church, and gave prosecutors the green light to move ahead with the case against him.
The ruling doesn't deal with Sherman's guilt or innocence in the girl's death.
His lawyer, Don Bosch, said he's ready for whatever comes next.
"We're still in the same position that we always have been," Bosch said. "We have always been prepared to show, and still believe, that in no way should the minister of a congregation be held liable for the medical care of his parishioners."
Jessica Crank, 15, died in September 2002 of a rare form of bone cancer - a condition her mother, Jacqueline Crank, tried to treat with prayer rather than modern medicine. The state Department of Children's Services intervened too late to save the girl.
Mother and daughter belonged to Sherman's church, which authorities called a cult, and Jessica referred to Sherman as her "spiritual father." Her biological father had died years earlier.
The court's decision turned on whether prosecutors can argue Sherman played a criminal role in the girl's death by not seeking treatment for her. Jessica, her mother, her brother Israel and five of Sherman's followers lived in a communal setting in his six-bedroom home in Lenoir City when she developed the basketball-sized tumor on her shoulder that ultimately led to her death.
Loudon County prosecutors charged Sherman and Crank with neglect. Criminal Court Judge Eugene Eblen threw out the charges against Sherman on the grounds that he didn't father Jessica, didn't marry her mother and couldn't be held responsible for her death. The state Court of Criminal Appeals reversed Eblen's decision, and the state Supreme Court took on the job of deciding who can be held accountable for a child's well-being.
Bosch, the defense lawyer, argued Sherman acted only as Jessica's pastor and had no duty or authority to make sure she received treatment. Prosecutors said Sherman held himself out as the girl's father and should have taken responsibility for her care.
The court ruled that not being Jessica's biological parent or legal guardian wasn't enough to absolve Sherman of that responsibility.
"The state may present other circumstances that might establish a duty on the part of the defendant," Justice Gary Wade wrote in an opinion. "The defendant's relationship with the mother may be circumstantial evidence of duty, but the ultimate question is the nature and degree of the defendant's relationship with Jessica. In theory, the state might be able to establish that the defendant failed to perform a statutory duty to provide adequate medical care for the child."
No hearing for Sherman had been set Friday.
The ruling doesn't affect the case against Jessica's mother. Her lawyer, Gregory P. Isaacs, has cited her constitutional right to freedom of religion as a defense.
[Moderator note: Don't post contact information]Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/30/2008 05:10AM by rrmoderator.