Author Topic: Therapist sentenced to 16 years in rebirthing death (Read 838 times)

NATEDOG · « **on:** June 18, 2001, 04:32:00 PM »

Therapist sentenced to 16 years in rebirthing death
06/18/2001

Associated Press

GOLDEN, Colo. - A therapist was sentenced to 16 years in prison today in the death of a 10-year-old girl who suffocated while wrapped in blankets during a "rebirthing" session.

Connell Watkins, 54, received the minimum sentence for the death of Candace Newmaker. The therapist could have gotten 48 years behind bars.

The girl was covered in blankets and pillows meant to simulate the womb and was encouraged to push her way out during the April 2000 session. Therapists hoped she would emerge "reborn" to bond with her adoptive mother.

A jury convicted Watkins of reckless child abuse in April. A second therapist, Julie Ponder, who led the session in Watkins' home, was convicted of the same charge and awaited sentencing later Monday.

A videotape of the 70-minute therapy session was shown to the jury. Four adults leaned on Candace with pillows, applying several hundred pounds of pressure.

The girl had been diagnosed with attachment disorder, in which children resist forming loving relationships and are violent and unmanageable.

Colorado has since outlawed the New Age form of therapy.

Candace's adoptive mother, Jeane Newmaker, is scheduled to go on trial in November on charges of criminally negligent child abuse.

Watkins' office manager and an intern await trial in September.

AKDejaVu · « **Reply #1 on:** June 18, 2001, 04:36:00 PM »

I think the sentance was fair.

I'm still appalled at the event and don't think I'll ever forget that transcript. What a sad situation.

AKDejaVu

Thrawn · « **Reply #2 on:** June 18, 2001, 04:41:00 PM »

My wife told me about this incident about a month ago. The levels of stupidity people can go to still surprises me.

mrfish · « **Reply #3 on:** June 18, 2001, 04:57:00 PM »

the therapists life is valuable. lets be sure he is comfortable and gets the support he needs.

Dowding · « **Reply #4 on:** June 18, 2001, 05:15:00 PM »

Sounds like a well-deserved sentence.

There are some weird people in this world, eh mrfish?

jihad · « **Reply #5 on:** June 18, 2001, 06:14:00 PM »

Hopefully the inmates will give the rat bastard a "blanket party" of his own.

As described by an ex-con I worked with many years ago:

Knock em down, roll em up in a blanket, cut hole in buttocks area and line up to give them some *man love*.

When he pushes his way out of the blanket he will feel like a brand new woman!

ispar · « **Reply #6 on:** June 18, 2001, 08:15:00 PM »

Well, dunno about the blanket treatment, but...

ONLY 16 YEARS!? WTF!?

Maybe not life... but c'mon, he was party to and responsible for the death of a little girl!

Sheesh.

AKDejaVu · « **Reply #7 on:** June 18, 2001, 08:46:00 PM »

Ispar,

The death was not planned and it was not intentional. Negligent homocide was definately the right sentance... and I feel the punishment was apropriate.

Perhaps the best thing to come of all this is that the therapy used on the little girl has been outlawed in Colorado and exposed for the fraud it was.

AKDejaVu

Toad · « **Reply #8 on:** June 18, 2001, 08:52:00 PM »

But...but... Ispar, he only had GOOD intentions!

Surely you would not punish a man that simply made an accidental mistake while acting soley to help his fellow man?

How inhumane! How unfeeling! I bet the poor wretch man is already torturing himself over the accident.

Why we can all be certain he never meant to KILL her, merely to CURE her.

He should go free! No more reason to punish him than a doctor that has one die on the operating table, I should think.

Or should we toss him in with the Garza and McVeigh types for 16 years and see how it works out for him?

ispar · « **Reply #9 on:** June 18, 2001, 10:25:00 PM »

DejaVu, thanks for the clarification. I have not followed the case, but I read the transcript and was disgusted. I don't know which voice was which though.

Toad... I was initially very angry when I read your post, but I'm not sure now if you are being sarcastic for its own sake, or if you are targeting me because of my statements in another thread. If the latter is the case, than drop me a personal message instead of mentioning it here. If that is indeed the case, I seem to have been misunderstood.

Time to get some sleep...

Toad · « **Reply #10 on:** June 18, 2001, 10:37:00 PM »

Life just isn't simple, is it?

Hard to tell the black from the white and gray.

[ 06-19-2001: Message edited by: Toad ]

Eagler · « **Reply #11 on:** June 19, 2001, 07:42:00 AM »

16 years be out in 5....

not long enough, yep I think they both will get a "rebirth" of their own during their stay. With a screwed up mother, maybe the child is better off.

Eagler

Maverick · « **Reply #12 on:** June 19, 2001, 02:54:00 PM »

Eagler,

There was no information that the mother was "scredwed up". BTW the girl had been adopted. This so called birth therapy was supposed to help the girl "bond" with her adoptive mother.

Frankly I bet the girl, if given a choice, would have preferred to be alive so she could get out on her own at 18 instead of being permanently dead.

Mav

blur · « **Reply #13 on:** June 20, 2001, 07:09:00 AM »

Quote

Originally posted by Toad:
But...but... Ispar, he only had GOOD intentions!

Surely you would not punish a man that simply made an accidental mistake while acting soley to help his fellow man?

How inhumane! How unfeeling! I bet the poor wretch man is already torturing himself over the accident.

Why we can all be certain he never meant to KILL her, merely to CURE her.

He should go free! No more reason to punish him than a doctor that has one die on the operating table, I should think.

Or should we toss him in with the Garza and McVeigh types for 16 years and see how it works out for him?

Toad, I'm well……I'm flabbergasted!

Maybe there is hope for humanity after all.

Praize Jaysusah

Toad · « **Reply #14 on:** June 20, 2001, 09:12:00 AM »

Quote

Originally posted by blur:
Maybe there is hope for humanity after all.

Well it depends. If more people start thinking like you do ... I doubt it.

If more traditional values manage to remain... maybe.