Police: Boy Starved For Not Saying "Amen"

[junior college]

Source: AP

(AP) A toddler whose remains were found inside a suitcase in Philadelphia this spring was starved to death by members of a religious cult, including his mother, in part because he refused to say "amen" after meals, police said.

Ria Ramkissoon, the mother of Javon Thompson, was charged Sunday with first-degree murder in the boy's death, and Baltimore police said Monday that three other members of a group called 1 Mind Ministries have also been charged with first-degree murder. Police and Ramkissoon's family say the group is a cult.

Members did not seek medical care for Javon when he stopped breathing, and the boy died in his mother's arms, according to court documents that described police interviews with a confidential informant and two children. He would have been about 15 months old when police say adults stopped feeding him in December 2006.


Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/08/12/national/main4343113.shtml

[TNOE]

1. Well, that will teach him

My God, people are ignorant.

[Ian David]

2. That's horrible.

Everyone knows he was supposed to be stoned to death in the center of town.


These are sick, twisted people.

[Triana]

3. God needs to protect the children from his followers. n/t

[TahitiNut]

39. I don't for a minute think these people are following anything remotely resembling "God."

No way. No how. .... and I'm nowhere near "religious."

[JVS]

42. Don't you blaspheme against Queen Antoinette!

[SIMPLYB1980]

4. Religious extremists of all types are the dumbest, and most cold hearted people on the Planet.

[BrklynLiberal]

5. and the most dangerous.......

:scared:

[goddess40]

6. Death by religion needs to be a "new" category of crime

I say "new" because it isn't new but it needs to be "new"ly recognized for its extreme cruelty and callousness.

[L0oniX]

7. Damned repukes

[LeftishBrit]

8. How horrific. Every time you think you can't be shocked any more, something new happens

That poor child!

And if they are that religious, I think there are a few relevant things in the Bible about those who mistreat 'the least of these'.

[LynnTheDem]

9. The American Talibornagain.

Such "family values".

[CrazyDude]

10. Execute the parents and the cult members too n/t

[BreweryYardRat]

22. Definitely.

Does Penn. enforce the death penalty?

[ArbustoBuster]

47. Yes.

http://www.cor.state.pa.us/deathpenalty/site/default.asp

[Speciesamused]

11. Forcing religion on children is like

making them eat broken glass. It should be a choice for them
weather or not they choose to live in a religious stupor.
This kind of crap totally pisses me off. They preach save the
children while slowly killing them. :wtf:

[kestrel91316]

12. Who would Jesus starve? I guess we know - 15 month old babies.

[Patchuli]

24. I understand where you're coming from

but I have to tell you that your post is really offensive. Jesus had nothing to do with this horror.

[kestrel91316]

30. The post is in a longstanding tradition of mocking fundie Christians

who DON'T stand for what Jesus taught. It's a takeoff on the WWJD marketing campaign.

I shouldn't need one of THESE::sarcasm:

[Patchuli]

35. I am embarassed, angered and saddened

by the stupidity and evil that comes out of extremist fundies. What is disturbing to me is how all Christians seem to get tossed in that pile of shit. I think maybe you *do* need the :sarcasm: or maybe you need to stress the fact that it's extreme whacko fundies you are discussing.

There's been a bit too much generalized Christian bashing around here and I know I'm getting pretty sensitive about it but it's getting old. It's like saying all Jews are crazy or all Buddhists or whatever.

[Fumesucker]

37. One reason so many other Christians get "tossed on the fundie pile"..

Is because so few Christians that are not fundies are really comfortable with criticizing the fundies.

I can understand that it is difficult to criticize those who share at least some elements of your faith, but if you do not then you leave it up to those of us who share no faith with the fundies. From our perspective all theists are more alike than different so we tend to go after the bad 'uns with a bit of a broad brush.

[YOY]

13. How the f*** can a 15 month old say Amen?

Mine didn't even start saying "Mama" until 18 months.

Imbeciles. Sick f***ing imbeciles.

[Cronopio]

18. Miracles can happen if you believe and pray hard enough.

If miracles don't happen, YOU aren't making enough of an effort. Don't blame God for that.

Besides, he was just one little boy, and sometimes a sacrifice must be made for the cause. Ask God and then do the math.

[knitter4democracy]

34. I wondered that, too.

My son didn't start saying anything more than uh-huh and nuh-uh and Ma and num (for milk) until a month after his second birthday when he started talking in complete sentences. Starving him wouldn't have changed that at all.

[nightrain]

14. terribly sad.... Members who were involved seemingly would benefit

from some serious psychological help.

[keroro gunsou]

15. i'll assume

for the sake of arguement, that when jesus said, "suffer the little children," this is not what he had in mind....

man stupid people really shouldn't breed.

[Cronopio]

16. They weren't asking for much. Just one little code word.

I'm sure the sense of togetherness and purpose starving him temporarily gave to their lives made it all more than worth it to them.

[guitar man]

17. disgusting

$100 says this band of sickos is vehemently opposed to abortion. :grr:

[knixphan]

19. I'll add 100 to that bet.

they need to neuter the whole bunch.

[mitchum]

20. Religion kills

[Arugula Latte]

21. So, what can be done about all the religious lunacy in this country?

Probably nothing, huh. You can't say boo about religion without getting slapped down, even on DU.

[Patchuli]

23. I'm not singling you out

because there are a few other posters on this thread that have done the same thing, but without knowing what this "1 Mind" religion is, how can you possibly just lump all people of faith together with insane psychotics like those who would starve children?! Jesus had nothing to do with what they did!

I am a born-again Christian. I am also a progressive liberal. I can unequivocally tell you that those child murderers were *not* following any teaching of Christ. Please understand that people like that are not like people of faith, like me.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

32. For sure, Jesus reserves some of his harshest condemnation for those

who harm children.

[Patchuli]

36. And they will pay for their crime...

Jesus said a person would be better off weighting their self down with a stone and jumping in the ocean than to receive punishment for harming a child on Judgment Day.

[SidneyCarton]

41. Precisely.

Cue the Millstones.

(Matthew 18:6)

[Bragi]

29. Oregonian asks...

"what can be done about all the religious lunacy in this country?"

Good question. America has been poisoned by toxic religion since the Pilgrims arrived seeking a place in the world where they could practice intolerance towards others.

As a non-American, I really don't know what America can do about its religion problem. It's like America's collective social idiocy in the area of crime and punishment. I don't see solutions.

My guess is that these things will be part of America's eventual undoing.

- B

[Arugula Latte]

44. Sadly, I think you're right, Bragi.

While people in many other countries have been moving away from superstitions and irrational thought, more and more Americans embrace it. For example, it's mainstream to believe that there has been one magical human(Jesus)in the six billion year history of this planet, oh, and, by the way, he came into being because the mighty and omnipotent sky god knocked up his mother without her knowledge, and then he died for our "sins" and then came back to life and, oh, by the way, he's going to come back any day now and suck the believers up into this cloudy paradise while the non-believers burn and are eaten by demons. That's mainstream. That's considered a rational belief here. In the year 2008. Go figure.

[Occulus]

48. Tax the churches.

I cannot think of a good reason for religions to be tax-free.

[sofa king]

25. Flying Spaghetti Monsterists would starve him, too.

For leaving off the "R".

[Cronus Protagonist]

40. lol

Sick humor has its place, and that place is right here.

[rinsd]

26. 15 months old. Table manner violation results in death.

God help us all.

[Bragi]

27. Freedom of religion at work

If a group sincerely and truly believes that children should be starved for not saying "Amen", then really, how can a person of "faith" object? Surely they aren't wanting to claim that their personal grab-bag of superstitions ought to trump those of another person?

And what are a few children's lives compared to preserving the important principle of freedom of religion?

- B

[Odin2005]

46. I agree. IMO the religiously insane should not be allowed to use religion to...

abuse thier children or to keep thier kids from getting life-saving medical treatment. As far as I'm concerned eligious loonies that refuse to bring their kid dying from leukemia to a doctor for treatment because they think JEEBUS will cure the kid are child abusers and the kid should be removed from the home.

[Love Bug]

28. I don't believe in the death penalty but

when I read about stuff like this, GODDAMMIT I want to hurt someone!

[Sentath]

33. I don't think I want to hurt them

I don't want them to be in pain. But I'd like to ensure that no one involved is ever a parent or in charge of a child or other helpless being ever again.

[question everything]

31. Our Taliban

When will we learn that religious exteme - any religion - is bad?

[TexasObserver]

38. I heard Bill Paxton yelled "you're not a demon are you?!"

and locked him in a cellar


(look up Frailty, imdb.com)

[TexasObserver]

43. delete

[Odin2005]

45. There are no words...

And people wonder why I call religion a mental illness? :eyes:

"Without religion good people will do good things and evil people will do evil things, for for good people to do evil things, THAT takes religion."
--Steven Weinberg