The Toothache

In the summer of 1968 in Seattle, Washington, the father and the mother — a young married couple living in poverty — noticed that the mother's 17-month-old son, William, appeared ill. The father was a 24-year-old full-blooded Shoshoni Indian with a sixth-grade education; the mother was also young and had limited education. Both loved the child deeply. William had developed what they believed was a toothache, and they gave him aspirin. Over approximately two weeks — from September 1 to September 12, 1968 — the child's condition worsened dramatically. An abscessed tooth had become severely infected, spread to his cheeks, and turned gangrenous. The infection produced a distinctive foul odor. Unable to eat because of the pain, William became malnourished, which lowered his immunity, and he developed pneumonia. The child died on September 12, 1968. Medical testimony established that if the child had received medical treatment during the week before his death — while the condition was still treatable — his life could have been saved. Both the father and the mother were charged with manslaughter.