• http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/life/health/judge-to-sentence-parents-whose-little-boy-died-of-bacterial-meningitis-384237241.html (opens new window)

A couple in Canada who treated their child's meningitis with hot peppers, garlic, onions and horseradish have been sentenced. The child, Ezekiel, died because he was not given proper medical attention. The father has been given 4 months in jail, and the mother has 3 months home detention.

The judge said:

"You have affected many people ... your conduct has left an unerasable and chilling impact on all of us. This case was about whether parents, who failed to take a sick boy to a doctor, should be held criminally responsible. The trial was not about vaccination. This is far beyond a child who simply has the sniffles."

This case is interesting as the wider family own a company which has been in serious trouble with the Canadian government in the past for claiming that a multivitamin product they sell can treat many different mental illnesses, such as ADHD, Autism, Bipolar and Depression.