Http://www.marmel.com

Grr.

Sorry.  Not going for jokes on this one.

WAUSAU, Wis. – A mother accused of homicide for only praying while her 11-year-old daughter died of untreated diabetes knew the girl was gravely ill at least a day before she died, a sister-in-law testified Monday.

Susan Neumann of rural Merrill was the first witness to testify in the trial of Leilani Neumann, who is charged with second-degree reckless homicide in her daughter Madeline’s March 23, 2008, death.

Susan Neumann said Leilani Neumann told her that she came home from work at the family’s coffee shop on March 22 and “felt the spirit of death” when she reached for the knob to open the door to the house.

“She was afraid,” the sister-in-law said. “She ran upstairs to Kara (Madeline’s nickname) and felt her and was relieved to feel warmth in her arm. Then she said they started praying and praying and praying and didn’t stop praying until supper time.”

Prosecutors contend any reasonable parent would have known something was wrong and Neumann, who believes healing comes from God, recklessly killed her daughter by praying instead of rushing her to a doctor as the girl became so weak she couldn’t walk or talk.

So, this should be the most loved column on the internet.  There shouldn’t be a single person reading this that should agree with the boneheaded move that the above parent did.

I get it.  People want to raise their kids the way they want to raise their kids.   You can’t control whether a parent will turn their child into a scientist or a bully, a singer or an accountant, a republican or a democrat, a Jon Stewart fan or someone who likes Larry the Cable Guy.

But what should be controlled – what should be PUNISHED – is when a parent doesn’t do everything in their power to protect a child’s life.

And if you’re reading this – if you’re on the internet, using 21st century technology to communicate and survive, there’s no excuse for you not to believe the same.  

Man, I don’t wish anybody ill will.  I hope this parent lives healthy to the end of her days.  But wow, do I hope it’s in jail.