Fwd: [SoFlaVegans] Couple plead for mercy in child malnutrition case

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Are there any supporters there to at least protest and show some community involvement?? I hope they have their raw community there in the faces of the lawyers to show some support. I cannot believe their own lawyer called them stupid....God help us all!!! Is there anything that can be done?? I sent an email to the editor of the Miami Paper. But there seems to be more that can be done.R Fells <n3vpu wrote: Greetings members:Note: forwarded message attached. Ronald A. Fells N3VPU Amateur Radio Operator SoFlaVegans <soflavegans >Fidyl <fidylSat, 17 Dec 2005 04:59:08 -0800 (PST)[soFlaVegans] Couple plead for mercy in child malnutrition caseCouple plead for mercy in child malnutrition caseThe parents of a 5-month-old baby who died after being on a diet ofraw foods plead with a judge for mercy over the neglect andmalnutrition of their four other children.BY SUSANNAH A. NESMITHsnesmithFri, Dec. 16, 2005http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/13418990.htm[Feedback:http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/contact_us/feedback/ ]The Homestead parents who fed their children only raw foodsapologized in court Thursday,

but maintained that the strict diet washealthy despite the death of their 5-month-old baby.''I love my children very much,'' Lamoy Andressohn said, choking backtears. ``Everything I have done was for the best interest of mychildren. I felt sure of what I was doing.''Andressohn and her husband, Joseph Andressohn, were acquitted ofmanslaughter charges in the malnutrition death of baby Woyah, butconvicted of neglecting their four older children. The couple were incourt Thursday to present evidence for Circuit Judge Stanford Blaketo consider before sentencing them.Joseph Andressohn also apologized, saying: 'I never thought we'd behere today because I was giving my kids a living foods' diet.''He went on to defend the diet, which state experts said left all fivechildren severely malnourished.''A vegan diet is very healthy, but it's not as healthy as a 100percent raw foods diet, according to what I've read and

according tothe way I feel,'' he said.He said his goal is to be reunited with his children, now cared forby an aunt.One of the attorneys representing the surviving children urged thejudge to order the Andressohns to feed their kids a more substantialdiet, if and when the family is reunited.''We believe that some type of nutritional monitoring is required,''attorney Richard Hersch said, noting that the older children began togain weight after their diet was supplemented with soy milk.Circuit Judge William Thomas, who is hearing the family court case,has said he wants to reunite the family at some point in the future.He denied a state petition to terminate the Andressohns' parentalrights.The Andressohns' attorneys and the prosecutor spent much of thedaylong hearing bickering over points of law, even drawing JudgeBlake into a lengthy argument over the merits of TV news interviews.Assistant State

Attorney Herbert E. Walker III said he would askBlake to send the Andressohns to prison. According to statesentencing guidelines, the couple could get between five and 20 yearsin prison. Defense attorneys Ellis Rubin and Robert Barrar urgedBlake to give them a lighter sentence because they are remorseful.Barrar also argued that his clients didn't know any better when theyfailed to feed their children enough.''Look, they may be stupid, judge, they may not be the smartestpeople in the world, but they're not criminals,'' Barrar said.Blake said he would sentence the Andressohns on Dec. 22.FidylLive Simply So ThatOthers May Simply LiveYoga-With-Nancy/SignSoFla/SoFlaVegans/SoFlaSchools/

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I don't think it's fair to say that the children were malnourished because they were on a raw vegan diet. Perhaps the children were not fed enough fats, like nuts and seeds. Perhaps the diet consisted of only vegetables and few fruits. Their diets may very well have been inadequate, but I don't think it's fair to say that their diets were inadequate because the food they ate was raw. I'm raw and I'm not malnourished, and probably most, if not all, of us on are not malnourished. But if we were just eating sprouts or just eating veggies or just eating fruits, I'm sure we would become malnourished. I think the question needs to be asked "What EXACTLY did these children's diets consist of?" We only know that the diets were raw. I just had to get that out there and I certainly hope for the defense of the raw foods community, including this family, that this same point has been/will be brought up in this case. Tina Davis Certified

ReflexologistDana Pettaway <danapettaway wrote: Are there any supporters there to at least protest and show some community involvement?? I hope they have their raw community there in the faces of the lawyers to show some support. I cannot believe their own lawyer called them stupid....God help us all!!! Is there anything that can be done?? I sent an email to the editor of the Miami Paper. But there seems to be more that can be done