Church beats 19 yr old to death over unconfessed sins - US

More love from the christians.....

A longstanding church in the US now has a murder to it's credit. The 19 year old son of two of the church members has been beaten to death in an effort to get him to confess to past sins (whatever that means). His younger 17 year old brother was also beaten and is now in a serious condition in hospital. Both of them suffered injuries to the abdomen, back, thighs and genitals.

Two teenage brothers were brutally beaten in church — one fatally — in an effort by their parents, sister and other members to get them to confess their sins, police said Wednesday in a case involving an insular congregation that had sparked gossip and suspicion among neighbors. 

Police said spiritual "counseling" at the Word of Life church in upstate New York turned into an hours-long attack Sunday night in which Lucas Leonard, 19, and his 17-year-old brother, Christopher, were pummeled with fists and kicked. They suffered injuries to the abdomen, genitals, back and thighs. 

Eventually, Lucas stopped breathing and relatives took him early Monday to a hospital, where he died, police said. Authorities went to the church and found his younger brother, who was hospitalized in serious condition. 

"Both brothers were subjected to physical punishment over the course of several hours, in hopes that each would confess to prior sins and ask for forgiveness," Police Chief Michael Inserra said. He said investigators have not determined what the supposed sins were. more

All church members have pleaded not guilty. I guess they don't consider they are guilty if they were simply carrying out the "word of god"?