Oh, gimme a break... http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/2947100 McKINNEY -- A mother who admitted killing her baby girl by severing the child's arms was guided by a Bible passage in which Jesus refers to cutting off body parts to cast away sin, the woman's attorney said today. Dena Schlosser, a 35-year-old housewife with a history of mental illness, has referred to the New Testament passage since the killings, said attorney David Haynes. He told The Associated Press that he believes the passage influenced her method in killing 10-month-old Margaret. In the Book of Matthew, Jesus says, "If thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell." Schlosser was charged with capital murder Nov. 22, after she told a 911 operator she had severed her baby's arms. Police found her in the living room, covered in blood, still holding a knife and listening to a church hymn. Haynes, a Christian who teaches Bible classes at his church, said Schlosser was severely mentally ill at the time of the killing and misinterpreted Christ's words. Haynes believes Christ was simply encouraging followers to cast out anything that came between them and God. "Many things can be justified if you chop a couple of verses out of the Bible and say 'OK, these words mean what they say and say what they mean," Haynes said. Haynes said Schlosser is still disoriented but is improving under medication she is receiving at the Collin County Jail. "She knows the baby is dead," he said. "I think she understands generally the physical facts of how that came to be, but she is now conscious that her mind has not been clear for years and she's still coming to grips with that." Schlosser had been hospitalized for postpartum depression in January as part of a Child Protective Services neglect investigation. CPS officials have said Schlosser exhibited symptoms of psychosis but said she improved with medication and psychiatric help. CPS closed the investigation in August after determining she was stable. Schlosser's parents believe mental illness led to the killing, but they also believe the religious teachings of self-proclaimed preacher Doyle Davidson helped push her to a psychotic break. Davidson teaches that women possess a rebellious jezebel spirit and that the Ten Commandments don't apply to the righteous. Davidson, minister of the non-denominational Water of Life Church in Plano, has denied any impropriety and said he had few dealings with Schlosser. Haynes, Schlosser's attorney, said he doesn't believe the church is to blame, though it may provide some insight in the case. "Some of the doctrines of Water of Life Church are pretty strange," Haynes said. "I think the fact that she was attracted to these doctrines is a symptom of her mental illness." Also today, a judge set a deadline of Jan. 21 for a mental health expert to conduct a psychological evaluation of Schlosser and submit a report on her competency.
I know most people see red in these cases and want these women to die but I can't see them as anything other than seriously mentally ill When you're just a sawin through your kids arm and singing along you've got to be on another planet imo
I don't disagree...I just don't see how it is any different if she is crazy / mentally ill. Death penalty issues aside, to me, it's the same crime.
Our legal system not only judges people by their actions but also their intent - hence we differentiate (for example) between "murder" and "manslaughter." And intent is something that is certainly influenced by a person's mental state. So if a person is too mentally unhinged to know that their actions are legally wrong, then we don't treat them the same as someone who knowingly violates the law. It's not even close to the same crime.
If she had taken the Bible literally, she'd have cut off her own hand, not her baby's. I can't think of any passages that suggest literally or figuratively that you should disfigure other people to help them in their sanctification.
THE BIBLE DOES NOT TELL PEOPLE TO CUT THEIR HAND OFF!!! Jesus was speaking quite metaphorically. We don't see him or any of his disciples cutting their hands off to avoid sin. He's quite emphatic that sin is a heart problem...that comes from the inside out...rather than the outside being the problem.
The literal/metaphorical divide in Biblical interpretation is often taken too simplistically. If one understands a character in the Bible to be speaking metaphorically, does that mean tha reader doesn't understand the Bible literally? Not at all.
Apparently this case shows that there are those who take even the metaphors in the Bible literally. I'll put the question back at you and MadMax. While Jesus and many others speak metaphorically in the Bible there is much in the Bible that isn't presented as metaphor. Would you then advocate that people should take those things literrally since they aren't delivered in the form of a parable?
