Keep it in your pocket,with more time for praying to your false gods.

by Viktor. Fri Jun 14, 2002 13:50

Moorhead family vow to care for jailed mother's new baby

14.06.2002
By BRIDGET CARTER
Relatives of jailed parents Jan and Deborah Moorhead say they will fight to gain custody of the couple's unborn baby until the pair are freed.

The Moorheads are serving five years in prison for the manslaughter of their 6-month-old son, Caleb.

It was revealed in court only yesterday that Deborah Moorhead was nearly 6 months pregnant.

Jan Moorhead's sister Neryl said the news of the pregnancy was a bombshell and she would fight for the baby to stay in family care.

"I will stand by them, come what may. This is my brother ... He has been just such a wonderful person."

The Moorheads were convicted of manslaughter last week after refusing to provide Caleb with the necessaries of life. The infant had a B12 deficiency brought on by his mother's strict vegan diet that excluded meat, fish and dairy products.

The couple took Caleb out of Auckland's Starship hospital in March last year. Two weeks later he was dead.

In the High Court at Auckland yesterday, Justice Rhys Harrison said he was satisfied the authorities would know about Deborah Moorhead's uncompromising attitude and that her new baby would not suffer Caleb's fate.

Neryl, who wanted to be known by her maiden name of Moorhead, spoke to the Herald yesterday after feeling pressure from the publicity surrounding Caleb's death.

She said her family found out about Deborah Moorhead's pregnancy through the media. It came as a shock, but she was excited for them.

"They have carried on their normal lives. Why shouldn't they?" Neryl Moorhead, who has six children, talks daily to Deborah Moorhead's sister, Donna Murray.

She hoped she or Ms Murray could have custody of the child until the Moorheads had served their prison term.

Child, Youth and Family Services would not talk about the Moorhead case, but said that generally the agency would try to put a child at risk with its parents with a relative. If that was not possible, a network of caregivers was available.

Neryl Moorhead said she had visited her brother six times since he was locked up last week.

She had seen Deborah Moorhead once.

Both were in good spirits and were well cared for. Special food was being delivered to them and water was being boiled as part of their diet.

Although no one would say last night how Deborah Moorhead's pregnancy would be handled, some of the rules for pregnant inmates include:

* Access to 24-hour medical care before, during and after pregnancy.

* Access to female escorts for trips to hospital. * A staff member did not need to be there when they were examined or gave birth.

* An inmate can keep her baby up to the age of 6 months until proper provision is made for its care.

* The prison provides maternity clothes, a nightgown for the mother, a singlet, booties, bonnet, nappies, safety pins and a shawl or blanket.

Detective Sergeant Chris Scahill, who was in charge of the case, thought a prison term was appropriate for the couple.

But Jan Moorhead's father, Trevor, was upset at his son's sentence.

The Seventh Day Adventist Church continues to distance itself from the case, describing Caleb's death as an "avoidable tragedy".

Spokeswoman Bronwyn Mison said the church would work harder at highlighting a reasonable diet and encouraging use of medical services.

Vegan Society co-ordinator Sandra Murray was worried vegans would be marginalised after Caleb's death and wanted more nutritional information available for vegetarians and vegans.

What the judge said

Justice Rhys Harrison was scathing of Jan and Deborah Moorhead in sentencing the couple to five years' jail for the manslaughter of their infant son, Caleb.

* The Moorheads' failure to get medical treatment for the six-month-old was "inexcusable".

* "In other words he was starving to death."

* "He must have been suffering great and needless pain."

* "You condemned Caleb to prolonged misery."

* "If Caleb could have spoken for himself I have no doubt he would have asked for an end to the pain, and access to medical treatment."

* "The consequences of refusing to allow effective medical treatment were no different than if he had been subjected to prolonged physical abuse."

by Jules. Sat Jun 15, 2002 23:49

By Frank Walker
June 16 2002
The Sun-Herald

The woman who exposed the Catholic Church last week for continuing to insist on secrecy in compensation settlements has been assured the Church will not take action against her.

The Sun-Herald reported the woman, who had a baby to a Catholic priest, had to sign a hush clause last month to get $15,000 compensation.

She feared the Church would take legal action against her if it could identify her.

But she felt she had to speak out after Church leaders, including Sydney Archbishop George Pell, said publicly that secrecy clauses did not exist.

The Sun-Herald's front page story had immediate impact. Dr Pell and other Church leaders held a crisis meeting behind closed doors on Sunday afternoon.

In an extraordinary about-face, the Church admitted it had indeed been using secrecy clauses in some cases despite the official Church policy, Towards Healing, not to do so.

Dr Pell promised the agreements with abuse victims made in his Sydney diocese would be reviewed and, if any such clauses were found, they would be removed.

As the crisis grew, Dr Pell put off a planned trip to Rome to stay in Sydney.

By Tuesday it emerged a senior bishop had warned the Church two years ago that the secrecy clauses were continuing.

On Wednesday, 140 priests were called to an urgent meeting at St Mary's Cathedral House.

In Melbourne, news broke of a $3.6 million payout to 24 victims of sexual abuse at three boys' homes between 1968 and 1994.

Meanwhile, the woman who brought the hush money into the open was relieved the Church would not take away her $15,000 compensation.

"I am stunned that it had such a big impact and the Church finally admitted what it was doing," she said.

"I feel better that I now feel free to speak to my close friends about what happened to me. I never wanted to write a book or anything, but dealing with this on my own and not being able to talk to anyone was a terrible burden."

Bishop Geoffrey Jarrett of Lismore said through his diocese lawyer that he would remove the silence clause in the woman's compensation agreement.

He said it had mistakenly been left in a pro forma legal document