Eating Healthy Is It A Crime?

[XXPANTHAXX]

Joseph and Lomay Andressohn live in Homestead, Florida just outside
Miami. The Andressohns are the proud parents of 4 beautiful children
ages 8, 6, 4 and 3. They are a God revering & loving family. Along
their life journey together, they discovered the wondrous benefits of
a living food lifestyle.

Joseph and Lamoy chose this healthy way to live more than 4 years ago,
with their two children at the time, and made it an important part of
their life. Over the next several years, the Andressohns were blessed
with three more children. As part of their home schooling, the
children were taught how and why a live food diet is so important to
their health & well being. When well-meaning neighbors offer candy to
the children, it is politely declined. When asked why, the children
say,"Candy is not good for you!" and then explain to them the great
benefits of eating only living foods.

The Day the Andressohn Family Was Torn Apart!

Life was grand until one fateful day, May 15, 2003. The Andressohns'
5½-month-old daughter, Woyah, who at birth was diagnosed with DiGeorge
Syndrome was having problems breathing. The Andressohns immediately
called 911 for help. The ambulance arrived with the local police.

Being entirely unfamiliar with a living food lifestyle the officers
questioned the Andressohns at the scene. Due to the officers ignorance
of a live food nutritional lifestyle, they jumped to conclusions and
suspected parental neglect, and held the parents for further
questioning, forbidding them to go to the hospital to be with their
ailing child.
Just two hours after the emergency call was made, the Florida
Department of Children and Families (DCF) arrived and took the other
four children into custody. Immediately following this action, police
investigators arrived at the Andressohns' residence, asking them to
sign a release paper so they could search their home. They were told
by the investigators, " A warrant would be obtained from a judge the
next day so why not let the search begin immediately? ". The
Andressohns were also told the more they cooperated, the sooner they
could see their baby girl. Completely wrought with worry for their
daughter and with nothing to hide, the Andressohns signed. Nothing was
found in the search to substantiate the suspicions of the police
investigators.
However the investigators were still not satisfied and took the
Andressohns to the police station for further questioning. The parents
were questioned by the police for hours, and after all of this time
the Andressohns were then given the terrible news their baby daughter
Woyah had died hours before. The Andressohns had been lied to and
grilled by the authorities for information. The police and DCF
investigators had clearly withheld the information of their baby's
death as a means to extract information unethically. The shocked and
grieving Andressohns were then taken home and were told they would be
contacted.
What Would You Do If This Happened To Your Family?
The Andressohns' first concern at this point was the health of their
other children. With permission from DCF, they prepared living food
and took it to the care provider's home. During this time the DCF
doctor was under pressure from the prosecutor to examine the children.
The doctor performed a cursory examination only and thus misdiagnosed
the children's state of health and reported to the court that the
children were malnourished and had signs of rickets. It was later
discovered this was a lie under oath! The state's radiologist later
re-examined the children and gave them all a clean bill of health!
However, the misdiagnosis by the DCF doctor granted the judge the
authority to force the children's DCF care providers to feed them
bread, pasta, peanut butter, soymilk and other so-called "Standard
American Diet" foods. Within the first week of this radical diet
change, all the children came down with flu-like symptoms. The two
older children complained of head and stomach pains, while the two
younger children were rushed to the emergency room. Never having been
sick a day in their life, they were diagnosed with bronchitis, asthma
and pneumonia.

Now you need to understand that these are children who have never
experienced illness in their entire lives or the symptoms of being
sick such as stomachaches and headaches so this was completely foreign
to them. As you can imagine the children were terrified!
When the Andressohns learned of this despicable action, they motioned
the courts to reverse this decision and allow the children to return
to eating whole live foods. Reversing this action took several court
appearances to accomplish. Then on June 6th the Andressohns appeared
in court on a motion to have the children placed in the custody of
Joseph Andressohn's sister.

Provide Your Family A Healthy Diet: GO TO JAIL!

The same day, the media arrived to film the police serving arrest
warrants to both Joseph and Lomay. That day they began a 99- day stay
in jail! While the Andressohns were incarcerated, DCF decided to
modify the children's diet yet another time, this time including meat
and dairy, and they were given inoculations. This caused the children
to again, become radically sick, and more visits to the emergency room
followed. The children were finally allowed to live with Joseph's
sister.

Making the Best of A Miserable Situation

While incarcerated, Joseph and Lamoy attempted to continue eating a
living food diet. Lamoy received support from her fellow inmates and
some of the staff, but the facility authorities became concerned and
ordered her to visit the detention hospital for a thorough check-up.
This went on for 1½ months until they were convinced that she was
fine. She was able to continue to eat living food the entire 99 days.
Three inmates actually became vegetarians while in jail with her, and
Lamoy was also able to help people with headaches and other minor
pains by providing reflexology. Joseph unfortunately, did not have all
the support he needed, and thus succumbed to small amounts of cooked
food. As a result Joseph himself became very ill, suffering a
multitude of ailments.
During the Andressohn's 99 days in jail, friends and loved ones
diligently made great efforts to arrange their release. In the end, a
friend who hardly knew the Andressohns came forward and paid
$12,500.00 to release the Andressohns on a combined $125,000 bond.
Their release came with the unusual condition that the Andressohns
agree to be placed under "house arrest". This condition requires both
parents to be shackled to electronic ankle monitors. But as the
Anderssohns soon learned this was just the beginning of their horrific
ordeal...
Imagine receiving a 50-year prison sentence for feeding your children
a healthy live food diet!
Unbelievably, the prosecutor actually attempted to negotiate a plea
bargain. The prosecutor offered 50 years for 1 count of aggravated
manslaughter and 4 counts of child neglect. When this was refused, the
prosecutor came back with a 10-year offer. Once again, the Andressohns
refused and he dropped it to 2 - 3 years. When the Andressohns refused
this offer the prosecutor then dropped it once again to 364 days. The
prosecutor was adamant and said that this would be the last offer.
Having done nothing wrong, the Andressohns said they would not admit
guilt and headed for the courtroom doors. The prosecutor literally
chased them out of the room asking if they would accept probation.
Even though probation may sound good. the Andressohns said they would
not compromise their position or their children's health knowing that
probation most likely meant feeding their children a diet that the
state would force upon them.

What the Andressohns Now Face

The Andressohns are facing two critical court trials and they MUST win
both cases in order to reunite their family.
The first trial is for criminal charges:
1 count of aggravated manslaughter and 4 counts of child neglect. This
trial is set for January 25th, 2005.

The second trial is in the family court:
To prove they are parents fit to raise their children. This trial date
for the family court is under continuance until the criminal trial is
concluded.
Please keep in mind the Andressohns are people of very modest means.
The financial strain of this nightmare is beyond belief!


The Big Picture

Now, please take a moment to ponder the big picture and what this case
means to you & everyone who believes it is our right to live a healthy
& happy life. As advocates and emissaries of this lifestyle, we know
full well that it's our lifestyle that is being persecuted!
What Is Our Responsibility?
Embracing living foods isn't only about how to juice vegetables and
make raw wedding cakes; it can mean facing adversity & standing up for
our right to live a life of wellness. Right now, each and every one of
us who embrace a living food lifestyle is on trial right along with
the Andressohn family.

[IfasehunReincarnated]

this is terrible. they must be in some hick town.

[Tehuti-4]

Infant starved on 'raw foods' diet, authorities say
BY SUSANNAH NESMITH
snesmith@herald.com
AND DAVID KIDWELL

The parents of a baby who police say starved to death on a diet of wheat grass, coconut water and almond milk were arrested on aggravated manslaughter charges Friday as they left a court hearing over the custody of their other four children.

Joseph Andressohn, 34, and Lamoy Andressohn, 27, of Homestead, also were charged with neglecting the four surviving children, ages 1 ½ to 6. Like their 5-month-old sister, Woyah, they lived on their parents' ''raw foods'' diet of uncooked organic fruits, vegetables and nuts. The state is trying to take permanent custody of the children.

Police said the children all were small and underweight and the two oldest showed signs of rickets.

''This particular crime, having an underfed small infant as its victim, is particularly heart-wrenching and painful,'' State Attorney Katherine Fernández Rundle said in a statement.

The Andressohns said nothing as they were led from the courtroom Friday morning. They remained in jail Friday night. Prosecutors said they would ask today for $100,000 bond for each of them.

A Miami-Dade medical examiner's office autopsy concluded Woyah died of ''severe malnutrition,'' according to an arrest report.

But Dexter George, a family friend and lawyer who is representing them for free, said the Andressohns will request an independent autopsy.

''The parents raised four kids, all on the same diet,'' he said. "They are convinced, as many of their friends are, that the death of this child was not due to malnutrition. They believe there must have been some other factor.''

'LIVING FOODS' DIET

The Andressohns follow a raw or ''living'' foods diet, an extreme form of vegetarianism whose adherents believe cooking food destroys vital enzymes.

Experts say parents should be careful when raising children on such a diet because the children need fat and protein. And infants should be breast-fed or given infant formula for the first year.

Woyah Andressohn weighed only 6.99 pounds and was 22 inches long when she died May 15, the arrest warrant said. The median weight for a girl her age is 15 pounds; the median length is 25 inches, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.

Prosecutors do not claim the Andressohns actively abused their children but rather that their unorthodox diet and shunning of doctors amounted to criminal neglect.

Neighbors and friends say the Andressohns were devoted, if unusual, parents. They home-schooled the children and were often seen playing with them in the courtyard of their apartment building at 1521 NE Eighth St.

COMPLAINTS RECEIVED

But there were concerns. The state Department of Children & Families received three complaints that the children were not eating enough.

Three days before Woyah died, a DCF investigator told Lamoy Andressohn to take her four oldest children to a doctor. The investigator did not see Woyah, who was out of the home with her father.

The agency, which has had four Miami-Dade County children die under its watch since February, has been criticized for its handling of the case. During a March 10 visit, Lamoy Andressohn showed an investigator a bottle with wheat grass juice when asked what she fed Woyah. Nevertheless, the investigator said there were ''no indications'' of child neglect in the home.

Although the arrest warrant says the Andressohns would take their children to a doctor only if it was ''absolutely necessary,'' it did not say whether Woyah ever saw a doctor before she stopped breathing at 11:41 p.m. May 14. She was rushed to the hospital and pronounced dead an hour later.

NEVER VACCINATED

The children had never been vaccinated. All five were born at home, the first three with the help of a midwife. Joseph delivered Woyah and her older sister.

Woyah's 4-year-old brother told an investigator that his little sister was fed coconut milk, almond juice and avocado juice, according to the arrest warrant.

Her 6-year-old brother said the Andressohns gave Woyah an enema because she was "toxic.''

All of the children were occasionally given enemas. Dr. Tom Johnson, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Miami School of Medicine, said enemas can deplete vital fluids in a child's body.

''It's not going to cause malnutrition per se, but it can cause significant life-threatening abnormalities,'' he said.

The day that Woyah died, investigators examined the other children. The two older children showed signs of rickets, a condition that leaves the bones weak and easy to break. Rickets can be caused by a lack of vitamin D, the vitamin added to most milk, said Dr. Gary Berkavitz, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Miami. RARE IN FLORIDA Children also get vitamin D if they get enough sun. Rickets is almost unheard of in Florida because children get so much sun normally, Berkavitz said. A strictly vegetarian diet that excludes milk products and cooked food is not inherently unhealthy, Berkavitz said.

''It requires a fair amount of planning to make sure that an adequate amount of fat and carbohydrate calories are supplied,'' he said. "Fat turns out to be very important for babies and children up to 5 years when the brain is developing very rapidly.'' The Andressohn's attorneys have said they followed the raw diet as part of their Hebrew Israelite faith, which believes that blacks are God's chosen people. Many Hebrew Israelites follow a vegetarian diet. The Andressohns each are charged with four counts of neglect and one count of aggravated manslaughter of a child, defined as child neglect that results in death. That charge carries a maximum prison sentence of 30 years.

LEGAL PROHIBITION

Parents are not legally allowed to impose their religious views on their children if those views endanger the children, said Bruce Winick, a law professor at the University of Miami. ''I think the prosecution's theory will be they should have known that something was wrong,'' Winick said. "They should have supplemented the kid's diet. Somehow that baby wasn't getting enough nutrients.'' But the case may not be easy for prosecutors.

''Will the jury see them as loving parents who have suffered enough, they've lost their kid? Then the jury will acquit,'' Winick said. "Or will they be seen as callous, that they should have known better?'' Although the case is unusual, it's not unheard of.

In March, a Marin County, Calif., man was sent to prison for 16 years for letting his 19-month-old son starve to death on a strict diet that included herbal supplements. In Florida, a Pasco County man was convicted of third-degree murder, a more serious charge than manslaughter, after his infant son died of malnutrition and chronic illness in 1985. Joseph Andressohn's sister is asking for custody of the four surviving children. The DCF has said it has problems with her request.

The four have gained weight since being taken into custody.

They are following a vegetarian diet now but are not limited to raw foods.

[Nesayem]

What ever happened with this family?

[WombanAuset]

They were too young to endure that lifestyle...aren't there books on feeding your child a vegan diet?

[Nesayem]

Vegan couple cleared of starving baby, guilty of child neglect
By Emanuella Grinberg

Court TV

Tuesday, November 8, 2005; Posted: 8:57 a.m. EST (13:57 GMT)

Lamoy and Joseph Andressohn were cleared of manslaughter but convicted of child neglect.

MIAMI, Florida -- A couple who kept their five children on a strict raw foods diet was cleared of aggravated manslaughter Monday for the death of their 6-month-old baby, but convicted of four counts of child neglect.

A Miami jury returned the verdict after less than 90 minutes of deliberation in the trial of Joseph and Lamoy Andressohn, who were accused of feeding their children an inadequate diet of raw fruits and vegetables in spite of signs that they appeared malnourished and underweight.

The four counts of neglect relate to the Andressohns' oldest surviving children, ages 4 to 9. They weighed less than 97 percent of other children their ages, according to prosecution testimony, when baby Woyah died on May 15, 2003.

The infant weighed less than 7 pounds and was 22 inches long when she died, less than half the average for children her age, according to prosecution medical experts.

During his closing argument Monday, Assistant State Attorney Herbert Walker told jurors the baby and her siblings became "sacrificial lambs" for their parents' zealous beliefs.

"This person did not grow and did not thrive, and it was these two people who didn't feed her," Walker said, pointing at the defendants with one hand and holding in the other a now-familiar picture of the emaciated infant.

With the split verdict, the panel seemed to accept in part the defense theory that baby Woyah died from an infection caused by a congenital defect which weakened her immune system.

Defense attorney Ellis Rubin pointed out that the other four children were raised on the same diet, and that Lamoy Andressohn stopped breast-feeding Woyah's 18-month-old sister, Rayah, at three months, just as she had Woyah, replacing the milk with a formula of wheat grass, almond and coconut juice.

Rubin also argued that the Andressohns were scapegoats of Florida's beleaguered Child Protective Services, whose case workers had visited the family's Homestead home less than a week before Woyah's death.

The agency had come under fire in an unrelated case when it as discovered a foster child had been missing for eight months. The child, Rilyah Wilson, was never found.

"This case didn't start with the death of Woyah Andressohn," Rubin said in his closing. "It started when complaints about Mrs. Andressohn's lifestyle and how she was handling her children were made to the Florida Department of Children and Families."

After the verdict, Lamoy Andressohn, 30, said she looked forward to being reunited with her surviving children, including a new baby girl, Joyah, who was born after the couple's arrest in June 2003.

Joyah Andressohn lives with an unidentified foster family, although she was spotted outside the courtroom Monday being breast-fed by Lamoy Andressohn.

Joseph Andressohn, 36, echoed his wife's sentiments.

"I do consider it a victory, although our daughter is still not with us," he said, referring to Woyah.

The pair still face up to 20 years in prison on the four counts of child neglect when they are sentenced on December 15, but could receive probation. A hearing to determine if they will remain free on bond was scheduled Thursday.

Since the Andressohns lost custody in August 2003 pending the outcome of their trial, the other four children have lived with Joseph Andressohn's sister.

Mary Andressohn, an agent with the Department of Homeland Security testified at trial that the children had each gained at least 10 pounds since moving in with her.

The Andressohns caught their first glimpse of their two oldest sons in two years when the boys testified via video that their parents often locked the refrigerator and taught them that cooked foods were "evil."

It is unclear how the verdict will affect the couple's current custody arrangement, since the decision ultimately lies with the dependency court, but defense attorney Rubin said he was confident that there would be a "family reunion" within the year.

"They're not a danger to anybody. They were only doing what they thought was right for the lifestyle of the children," Rubin said.

Prosecutor Walker admitted he was surprised by the verdict but said he accepted the jury's decision.

"It was a devastating feeling hearing the words 'not guilty' on first count. Then the feeling of devastation was followed by confusion when I heard 'guilty' on the second," Walker said, adding he felt there was more evidence to prove manslaughter than neglect.

"Baby Woyah's death was something I didn't take lightly, given the circumstances of her death," Walker said. "She was a defenseless child, so the state attempted to speak on her behalf."