Father says God instructed him to discipline boys
ASSOCIATED PRESS
------------------------------------------------- RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. — The father accused of torturing his two sons, including chaining them to their bed posts, said he was following biblical teachings to be strict so the children wouldn't grow up to kill him.

John Davis also acknowledged cremating the body of another son in 1991 after the boy became ill and died from eating dry wall, The Press-Enterprise of Riverside County reported Monday. He told the newspaper there was no time to get the boy to a doctor.

Davis, 53; his wife, Carrie Lee Davis, 41; and Faye Potts, 46, have pleaded innocent to charges of torture, child abuse and false imprisonment. They could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted.

No charges have been filed in connection with the other son's case, which is being investigated as a possible case of neglect. Bones recovered from near the family's home last week are being tested to determine if they are the boy's.

"Proverbs tells you to discipline your children, or else they will grow up and kill their parents," John Davis told The Press-Enterprise in a jailhouse interview on Sunday.

"All I did was discipline them," the added.

Davis, who calls himself Rajohn Lord and claims to be an ordained minister, said it was his eldest son, 17-year-old Yahweh, who he feared most. He had become unruly and tried to hurt himself and his 12-year-old brother, Angel, Davis said.

Deputies found the boys in the family's isolated desert home after Yahweh called 911 on Oct. 14 and reported he and his brother were chained in their bedroom.

Authorities said the boys were severely underdeveloped, malnourished and had scars on their backs indicating they had been beaten. They also had marks on their wrists consistent with being restrained, according to authorities, who say that interviews with the pair indicate they have been isolated from the outside world since birth.

They are now in the custody of San Bernardino County child welfare authorities.

Davis said from jail he expects to be exonerated.

"We are all brothers and sisters in God's eyes," he said. "I think something is going to happen with the case, and they're going to let us out."