Faith healing couple acquitted of manslaughter charges! How can this happen?

[Beholden]

In the United States, especially in more rural areas, or nearly anywhere in the Southern half of the country, religious beliefs still hold sway as a defense, and any attempt to rebut religion as a defense brings out merciless ad hominem attacks from large and powerful religious groups. It also brings up the Free Exercise clause of the Constitution, which many take to imply that they can do whatever they want to, so long as they can justify it religiously. It has been established through precedent, however, that freedom of religion falls lower in importance than, and is trumped by, adherance to national and state law.