Pastor Pastor Mack Wolford (Image Credit: Washington Post)
Last weekend, Pastor Mack Wolford, a snake-handling preacher from West Virginia, died after allegedly ingesting poison (strychnine) and suffering a bite from a yellow timber rattlesnake he had owned and handled for years. The Blaze already brought you the troubling tale, but what we haven’t yet explored is the responsibility — or lack thereof — on the part of those individuals who watched the pastor suffer for hours before he finally allowed emergency services to be notified.
(Related: Snake-Handling Pastor Dies After Fatal Bite)
Washington Post photojournalist Lauren Pond was among those who observed Wolford as he lay dying (her images from the experience are here). She was spending time with the pastor and his congregants in an effort to capture his latest, snake-handling service last weekend when she very quickly and unexpectedly found herself in a bizarre and troubling situation. Her dilemma? Pond had to choose between remaining a bystander to Wolford’s suffering, or jumping in and going against the pastor’s wishes to call paramedics.