Kathy, a two-year-old, became ill with meningitis. Jim and Joan, her parents, were members of a group who believed fervently that if they prayed enough, God would not permit their child to die. Accordingly, they did not seek medical aid for Kathy and refused all offers of such aid. They prayed continuously. Kathy died of the illness within a week. Jim and Joan are charged with murder in a common law jurisdiction. Their best defense to the charge is that
they did not intend to kill or to harm Kathy. they were pursuing a constitutionally protected religious belief. Kathy's death was not proximately caused by their conduct. they neither premeditated nor deliberated