38 ICSA TODAY 36
purpose of the series is to give a voice to others who’ve fled
the religion and have allegedly been harassed because of it.
...A spokesman for the church publicly responded to Remini’s
lawyer, calling the demand for compensation, ‘nothing more
than a provocative ploy to generate publicity for what will no
doubt be another failed program by a failed ‘celebrity’ seeking
to make a buck off of her former religion,’ and added that ‘the
Church will freely exercise its constitutional rights.’…Remini
says what draws people to the religion is the idea they can
better themselves. ‘They claim that they have the technology
to get you to the highest enlightenment of that spiritual side
of you and to be the best part of you,’ she says, adding, ‘what
Scientology offers is a bigger game. You’re part of an elite group
saving the planet.’ …Remini is producing the new TV series,
which comes a year after she penned an autobiography titled
Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology. Leah Remini:
Scientology and the Aftermath, an eight-episode docuseries
about the religion and its effects on her life, …[premiered] Nov.
29 at 10 p.m. ET on A&E.” (Smart Living &Entertainment Global
News, 10/23/16)
Pastor pleads guilty to manslaughter, assault after
‘counseling session’ turned fatal
“19-year-old Lucas Leonard and his 17-year-old brother
Christopher had sinned. One of Lucas’s sins was his desire to
leave the church [Word of Life] entirely, to seek a new path.
Tiffanie Irwin, the church’s pastor, along with other worshipers
there, wouldn’t accept any sort of new path and decided
the teens needed to repent. So, on Oct. 11, 2015, the pastor
gathered with her brother Joseph Irwin, mother-son pair Linda
and David Morey and several other believers at their church in
New Hartford, N.Y., and decided to hold a ‘counseling session.’
Among them were the teens’ parents, Bruce and Deborah
Leonard. ...During that time, the Associated Press reported,
the congregation told the brothers they had to repent for
sins of all stripes—such as using a voodoo doll or allegedly
molesting their half-sister’s children, a claim police say is
unsubstantiated and unsupported by any evidence—according
to Oneida County District Attorney Scott McNamara. To force
this repentance, the worshipers beat the teens for most of the
14 hours, taking a folded four-foot electrical cord to their torsos
and genitals while telling them to ‘confess to prior sins and ask
for forgiveness.’ ...Sarah Ferguson, the teens’ half-sister, was the
only one of the nine involved to decline a plea deal. She was
found guilty after a non-jury trial in July, and she was sentenced
to 25 years in prison. ...‘There’s always been weird things going
on,’ Howard told WKTV. ‘You always hear dogs, they’re breeding
dogs. The cops have been called there before, they’re not
allowed in the building, they can’t get in the building. The cult
thing over here has been going on for a while, I guess around
30 years. It’s their own religion.’ A reporter from the Syracuse
Post-Standard entered the church days after Lucas died. There,
he found the place in a state of disarray. One room contained
Styrofoam cups of cold coffee and a half-eaten pork sandwich.
In another room was a framed, stitched textile that read, in part,
‘We have been commissioned through the written word of God
to reach out to those who have not experienced the love of
Jesus Christ in their lives. … Through the systematic training up
of saints, our goal is for them to reach out confidently, sharing
the love and compassion of Jesus Christ.’ A sign still hung on
the front door, reading ‘Welcome to Word of Life.’ It is unclear
whether the house of worship is still operating, although after
the arrests, police told the Post-Standard that several children
from the church had been placed in protective custody.
Sentencing hearings for the eight people who have pleaded
guilty are scheduled for December and January.” (Washington
Post, 10/24/16)
Sarah Ferguson, first Word of Life defendant, sentenced for
manslaughter
“The first Word of Life defendant to be sentenced proclaimed
her love, through tears, for the brother she whipped to death
and the other, whom she assaulted. ‘I do truly love my brothers.
I did not intent [sic] or purposefully inflict, knowingly, serious
physical damage. I was not aware. I just, I snapped. My brain
just could not...’ sobbed Sarah Ferguson Thursday morning
in Oneida County Court… Dwyer, the same judge who found
Ferguson guilty of manslaughter, gang assault and assault with
respect to Lucas and Christopher Leonard, sentenced their
half-sister to a total of 25 years in prison. Dwyer had acquitted
Ferguson on a murder trial she had faced. Victims Lucas and
Christopher Leonard’s parents, Bruce and Deborah Leonard,
who are co-defendants in this case, have pleaded guilty. They
await sentencing, contingent upon their agreement to testify
against the others. Church Pastor Tiffanie Irwin, her mother,
Traci Irwin, brothers Daniel and Joseph Irwin, along with David
and Linda Morey—all church members—still await trial. The
tentative trial date for the remaining defendants is October 12.”
(WKTV, 09/01/16)
Two more Word of Life defendants plead guilty, face 2 years
in jail
“Mother and son defendants in the Word of Life fatal beating
case entered guilty pleas on Friday to reduced charges.
Traci and Daniel Irwin, originally charged with murder and
manslaughter, respectively, each pleaded guilty to two
counts of unlawful imprisonment one for 19-year-old Lucas
Leonard, who died in the beating inside Word of Life Church
in Chadwicks last fall, and one for his 17-year-old brother,
Christopher, who survived the assault. The agreed-upon
sentence: a total of two years in the Oneida County Jail for
each victim, with credit for time served. … Traci Irwin will be
sentenced December 5 her son, Daniel Irwin, December 9.
Still pending are the cases against church members Linda
Morey and her son, David Morey, Pastor Tiffanie Irwin and her
brother, Joseph Irwin. The judge said that if any more cases are
going to be resolved through pleas, it should happen in the
next two weeks.” (WKTV, 10/07/16) n
purpose of the series is to give a voice to others who’ve fled
the religion and have allegedly been harassed because of it.
...A spokesman for the church publicly responded to Remini’s
lawyer, calling the demand for compensation, ‘nothing more
than a provocative ploy to generate publicity for what will no
doubt be another failed program by a failed ‘celebrity’ seeking
to make a buck off of her former religion,’ and added that ‘the
Church will freely exercise its constitutional rights.’…Remini
says what draws people to the religion is the idea they can
better themselves. ‘They claim that they have the technology
to get you to the highest enlightenment of that spiritual side
of you and to be the best part of you,’ she says, adding, ‘what
Scientology offers is a bigger game. You’re part of an elite group
saving the planet.’ …Remini is producing the new TV series,
which comes a year after she penned an autobiography titled
Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology. Leah Remini:
Scientology and the Aftermath, an eight-episode docuseries
about the religion and its effects on her life, …[premiered] Nov.
29 at 10 p.m. ET on A&E.” (Smart Living &Entertainment Global
News, 10/23/16)
Pastor pleads guilty to manslaughter, assault after
‘counseling session’ turned fatal
“19-year-old Lucas Leonard and his 17-year-old brother
Christopher had sinned. One of Lucas’s sins was his desire to
leave the church [Word of Life] entirely, to seek a new path.
Tiffanie Irwin, the church’s pastor, along with other worshipers
there, wouldn’t accept any sort of new path and decided
the teens needed to repent. So, on Oct. 11, 2015, the pastor
gathered with her brother Joseph Irwin, mother-son pair Linda
and David Morey and several other believers at their church in
New Hartford, N.Y., and decided to hold a ‘counseling session.’
Among them were the teens’ parents, Bruce and Deborah
Leonard. ...During that time, the Associated Press reported,
the congregation told the brothers they had to repent for
sins of all stripes—such as using a voodoo doll or allegedly
molesting their half-sister’s children, a claim police say is
unsubstantiated and unsupported by any evidence—according
to Oneida County District Attorney Scott McNamara. To force
this repentance, the worshipers beat the teens for most of the
14 hours, taking a folded four-foot electrical cord to their torsos
and genitals while telling them to ‘confess to prior sins and ask
for forgiveness.’ ...Sarah Ferguson, the teens’ half-sister, was the
only one of the nine involved to decline a plea deal. She was
found guilty after a non-jury trial in July, and she was sentenced
to 25 years in prison. ...‘There’s always been weird things going
on,’ Howard told WKTV. ‘You always hear dogs, they’re breeding
dogs. The cops have been called there before, they’re not
allowed in the building, they can’t get in the building. The cult
thing over here has been going on for a while, I guess around
30 years. It’s their own religion.’ A reporter from the Syracuse
Post-Standard entered the church days after Lucas died. There,
he found the place in a state of disarray. One room contained
Styrofoam cups of cold coffee and a half-eaten pork sandwich.
In another room was a framed, stitched textile that read, in part,
‘We have been commissioned through the written word of God
to reach out to those who have not experienced the love of
Jesus Christ in their lives. … Through the systematic training up
of saints, our goal is for them to reach out confidently, sharing
the love and compassion of Jesus Christ.’ A sign still hung on
the front door, reading ‘Welcome to Word of Life.’ It is unclear
whether the house of worship is still operating, although after
the arrests, police told the Post-Standard that several children
from the church had been placed in protective custody.
Sentencing hearings for the eight people who have pleaded
guilty are scheduled for December and January.” (Washington
Post, 10/24/16)
Sarah Ferguson, first Word of Life defendant, sentenced for
manslaughter
“The first Word of Life defendant to be sentenced proclaimed
her love, through tears, for the brother she whipped to death
and the other, whom she assaulted. ‘I do truly love my brothers.
I did not intent [sic] or purposefully inflict, knowingly, serious
physical damage. I was not aware. I just, I snapped. My brain
just could not...’ sobbed Sarah Ferguson Thursday morning
in Oneida County Court… Dwyer, the same judge who found
Ferguson guilty of manslaughter, gang assault and assault with
respect to Lucas and Christopher Leonard, sentenced their
half-sister to a total of 25 years in prison. Dwyer had acquitted
Ferguson on a murder trial she had faced. Victims Lucas and
Christopher Leonard’s parents, Bruce and Deborah Leonard,
who are co-defendants in this case, have pleaded guilty. They
await sentencing, contingent upon their agreement to testify
against the others. Church Pastor Tiffanie Irwin, her mother,
Traci Irwin, brothers Daniel and Joseph Irwin, along with David
and Linda Morey—all church members—still await trial. The
tentative trial date for the remaining defendants is October 12.”
(WKTV, 09/01/16)
Two more Word of Life defendants plead guilty, face 2 years
in jail
“Mother and son defendants in the Word of Life fatal beating
case entered guilty pleas on Friday to reduced charges.
Traci and Daniel Irwin, originally charged with murder and
manslaughter, respectively, each pleaded guilty to two
counts of unlawful imprisonment one for 19-year-old Lucas
Leonard, who died in the beating inside Word of Life Church
in Chadwicks last fall, and one for his 17-year-old brother,
Christopher, who survived the assault. The agreed-upon
sentence: a total of two years in the Oneida County Jail for
each victim, with credit for time served. … Traci Irwin will be
sentenced December 5 her son, Daniel Irwin, December 9.
Still pending are the cases against church members Linda
Morey and her son, David Morey, Pastor Tiffanie Irwin and her
brother, Joseph Irwin. The judge said that if any more cases are
going to be resolved through pleas, it should happen in the
next two weeks.” (WKTV, 10/07/16) n
