Prosecutors agree to unorthodox resurrection plea deal

(RNS) A Baltimore mother accused of starving her son to death and whose attorney says belonged to a cult has agreed to plead guilty after prosecutors promised to drop the charges if her son is resurrected. “This is something that she absolutely insisted upon, and this is indicative of the fact that she is still […]

(RNS) A Baltimore mother accused of starving her son to death and whose attorney says belonged to a cult has agreed to plead guilty after prosecutors promised to drop the charges if her son is resurrected.

“This is something that she absolutely insisted upon, and this is indicative of the fact that she is still brainwashed, still a victim of this cult,” the woman’s attorney, Steven Silverman, told the Associated Press.

“Until she’s deprogrammed, she’s not going to think any differently.”


The woman, Ria Ramkissoon, pleaded guilty to one case of child abuse resulting in death when Baltimore Circuit Judge Timothy Doory assured her the plea would be withdrawn if her son was resurrected, according to the AP.

Ramkissoon also agreed to testify against four members of the now disbanded Baltimore-based religious group 1 Mind Ministries once the plea bargain was in place. All four are charged with first-degree murder.

The members of the group stopped feeding 1-year-old Javon Thompson in early 2007 after he refused to say “Amen” before a meal. After he died, they stuffed his decomposing body in a suitcase, according to The Washington Post. Members thought if the body could travel along with them, it could be resurrected sometime in the future, said Silverman, according to The Post.

Ramkissoon will remain in custody until she testifies against the four other defendants and will receive a suspended 20-year sentence and serve five years of probation, according to the AP. She will also receive psychological treatment, including sessions with an expert on cult behavior.

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