Snakes and church vs. state

• Death of a Kentucky pastor who handled rattlesnakes renews church vs. state issue


• Danny Cevallos: Supreme Court delineated key difference between religious thought, action


• Thought is always protected by Constitution, but states can regulate action in interest of safety


• Cevallos: Kentucky law provides for only minimal punishment for snake-handling

Editor's note: Danny Cevallos, a CNN legal analyst, is a criminal defense attorney practicing in Philadelphia, New York and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

(CNN) -- The recent death of the "snake-handling" pastor of a small Pentecostal church in Kentucky has raised an age-old conflict between church and state.

Jamie Coots, the pastor of the Full Gospel Tabernacle in Jesus Name in Middlesboro, Kentucky, died after being bitten on his right hand by a rattlesnake during a weekend church service where he was handling rattlesnakes willingly, it seems.

It has been reported that the late pastor's son Cody Coots has continued the snake-handling tradition even after his father's death.

People handle snakes at church for the same reason that people do lots of things: the Bible tells them so.

"And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover."

Mark 16:17-18

This biblical passage is the genesis of serpent-handling for churches of the Holiness movement and the Pentecostal Church of God. For the faithful, those two verses are the authority for dancing with or passing around poisonous snakes during church services. Moreover, if bitten, they are likely to refuse medical treatment and rely upon God to heal them. There's just one problem with this Biblical authority. Another authority, known as the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

In Kentucky, the practice is illegal.

Well, barely.

Worshipping with deadly serpents

Funeral held for snake-handling pastor

Watch this pastor handle deadly snakes

Under the applicable section KRS §437.060, any person who displays, handles or uses a snake in connection with any religious gathering shall be fined $50 to 100. Hardly a capital offense. The Kentucky legislature has sent a message: poisonous snake-handling is marginally illegal -- but not as illegal as drugs or other crimes. The legislature's assigned penalty appears to fall somewhere between a speeding ticket and an overdue library book.

This illegal practice persists so openly that a reality TV show flouts the law by filming a crime in progress. When a network has a series based primarily on filming people breaking the law in your state, it's fair to say your law has lost some of its bite.

Belief Blog: A lethal Appalachian tradition

Ultimately, the issue is whether a state even has authority to regulate a practice that is primarily faith-based. The First Amendment to the United States Constitution declares "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." The 14th Amendment, in turn, prohibits state legislatures from doing the same.

However, equally as formidable is the state's constitutionally reserved "police power." The name itself is a misnomer; the power is much more than your local police officer's ability to make an arrest. The states' traditional police power is their exclusive authority to regulate the public health, safety and morals of their residents.

Kentucky's authority to outlaw snake-handling derives from this police power. The issue here is whether a state has the power to regulate religious activity; so the two constitutional authorities meet head-to-head.

In Jones v. City of Opelika, the Supreme Court addressed the conflict between freedom of religion and the police power of a state.

The court articulated an important but still misunderstood concept about religious freedom: the First Amendment embraces two distinct concepts -- the freedom to believe and the freedom to act.

The first is absolute, but the second cannot be absolute. This makes sense.

Your thoughts alone, without speech or any action, are never criminal, even if of the most prurient, vile nature (at least for now -- once Apple figures out an app to download your thoughts, they may someday be criminalized).

Your conduct, on the other hand, can be regulated for the protection of society. While citizens of the United States have an unlimited right to our religious beliefs, our right to act within those beliefs is tempered by a state's duty to protect its citizens.

In Lawson v. Commonwealth, Kentucky's Supreme Court considered a direct challenge to its snake-handling statute, using the guidance of the Supreme Court in the Jones case. The court held that the state could properly regulate the time, place and manner of religious exercise -- such as passing snakes around at church -- where the regulation is necessary for the safeguarding of the health, good order and comfort of the community.

Legally, Kentucky's interest in protecting its residents outweighs a Kentuckian's interest in celebrating his religion by handling rattlesnakes. According to the courts, the state can prohibit this practice.

But Kentucky still barely criminalizes the practice. Handling poisonous snakes is potentially more dangerous than other regularly prosecuted activities, such as drug use. Ask yourself: Would you rather your child be at a party where someone is passing around a water bong or a water moccasin?

Whatever the reason for not aggressively prosecuting the already-illegal practice, the fact is that it presents a known danger. Kentucky is one of the states that has seen fit to criminalize the practice, and it has the power to do so.

Unfortunately, if Kentucky doesn't exercise its police power and impose stricter penalties, then the snakes will continue to impose their own punishment, which is often the death penalty.

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The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Danny Cevallos

Why to watch 'The Americans'

Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys star as KGB spies in FX's "The Americans."

• FX's Cold War drama "The Americans" returns February 26


• Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys star as undercover Russian spies


• Now in its second season, it will focus more on love and family

Editor's note: This article contains some spoilers about FX's "The Americans."

(CNN) -- FX's Cold War drama "The Americans" is about to blow its cover.

After quietly spending its first season in 2013 flying under the radar, this spy series is poised to be exposed as the discriminating TV fan's favorite addiction.

On the surface, the '80s-set series from Joe Weisberg is pretty straightforward: two KGB agents, played by Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys, pose as a mild-mannered married couple with two kids in the suburbs of Washington during the Reagan administration.

No one knows what these two are actually doing when they're working at their "travel agency," and that includes their two children, teenager Paige (Holly Taylor) and her younger brother, Henry (Keidrich Sellati).

The potential for plot twists alone would seem reason enough to watch, but what's kept viewers glued to their sets is the series' complexity. "The Americans" has heart-racing suspense, but also high-minded reflections on the politics of love, marriage and loyalty.

So, after a nine-month hiatus, we're more than ready to welcome back FX's weekly dose of espionage, '80s pop culture and Cold War killing. And with its second season, "The Americans" is going to have a tender twist: a focus on love and family amid the thrills and intrigue.

When last we saw our Russian spies-next-door, Russell and Rhys' Elizabeth and Philip Jennings, they'd narrowly escaped a trap set by their neighbor, FBI agent Stan Beeman (Noah Emmerich). The new season picks up with Elizabeth and Philip, who've had a rocky relationship to say the least, reuniting at their home with heightened sensitivity for keeping their children safe from their deadly lifestyle.

There are so many questions to answer: Will the Jennings kids learn the awful truth about their parents? Can Philip and Elizabeth make their bizarre marriage -- created under the guise of accomplishing a mission and now something more -- work out? And what about Beeman, who's still clueless that his neighbors are the spies he's been chasing with a passion?

In honor of the return of "The Americans," we give you five reasons to put it on your TV surveillance list:

Best excuse to "do laundry in the middle of the night"

In season one, the laundry room was the perfect cover for Elizabeth and Philip's KGB operation. But the Jennings' daughter Paige is getting older — and savvier. She's starting to notice her mom and dad are spending a little too much time "doing laundry" in the basement. If she snoops too much, she might uncover her parents' secret stash of spy gear. Oops! (How do you think they'll be able to explain THAT? "Honey, do you know what a 'license to kill' is?")

More wigs than a Dolly Parton concert

Let's put aside the show's reputation as a critical standout and focus on its notoriously bad wig collection. With this being a show about spies, the ridiculous disguises come in spades. It seems like every episode offers a fantastic excuse to trot out a spectacular set of fake teeth, false mustaches and dyed hair.

There are so many different combinations, Rhys has even picked a favorite. "I've named him; he's called Fernando. He has longish hair. We actually saw him in the first episode of the first season when he beat up someone who was being rather lascivious with his daughter at a department store," he told reporters during a recent conference call. "He has, like, a mustache and long hair and a little goatee, and he feels very Latin to me."

Dear show runners: Please keep 'em coming!

Best show with spouses who have an understanding about on-the-job sex

It must be hard for Philip and Elizabeth to fix their marriage while they're both having sex with their sources. Or, for that matter, when they're tying the knot with them. (Hey, whatever it takes to defend the Motherland!)

In season 2, Philip's "marriage" to FBI administrative assistant Martha Hanson (Alison Wright) is making his life even more complicated.

"They plant such a beautiful seed of conflict within Elizabeth," Rhys said. "She's been this stalwart, this hardline, hard-nosed agent for so long, who's still incredibly loyal to the cause, (and now) she has this great enormous struggle within her where she realizes that she has these feelings for Philip. ... (As) a device it's rather fantastic, but it certainly takes its toll on the relationship."

Best show with multiple 1980s pop culture references

Is it wrong if we secretly hope that "The Americans" does for the '80s what "Mad Men" has done for the '60s? From leg-warmers to high-waisted jeans to an '80s soundtrack, we love this show's playpen of anachronisms. This season, look for references to a real-life relationship guru, excellent movies on VHS and a new Soviet spy who loves rockers like Rod Stewart and Blondie.

Best timing EVER for the season premiere of a Cold War drama

We don't think FX's marketing team could have possibly thought up a better coincidence. The new season just so happens to kick off while U.S-Russian tensions have been on the rise. CNN's own Political Ticker had to double-check its calendar the other day while asking, "The Cold War is over. Right?"

If that's not enough, here's a secret sixth reason: The writers have set up a carefully layered examination of human behavior that is teetering on the edge of disaster, not unlike a table of human dominoes. When the first one falls, it should be deliciously fun to watch.

Celebrated Andalucian flamenco guitarist, Paco de Lucia, dies age 66

One of the most celebrated flamenco guitarists, Paco de Lucia, has died of a heart attack while playing with his children on a beach in Cancun, Mexico. He was 66.

The news was announced by the mayor's office in Algeciras, southern Spain, where he was born.

Famous for a series of flamenco albums in the 1970s, he also crossed over into classical and jazz guitar.

He also worked on films by Spanish director Carlos Saura, notably appearing in his 1983 version of Carmen, which won a UK Bafta award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1985.

Algeciras is to hold two days of official mourning. Its mayor, Jose Ignacio Landaluce, called the musician's death an "irreparable loss for the world of culture and for Andalusia".

He was born Francisco Sanchez Gomez on 21 December 1947, the son of flamenco guitarist Antonio Sanchez, who was of Gypsy origin. He took his stage name in honour of his mother, Lucia Gomes.

It is believed he had played the guitar from the age of five.

At the age of 18 he recorded his first album in Madrid.

One of the great musical partnerships of his life was with the singer Camaron de la Isla, who died in 1992. The two men recorded albums in the 1970s, which inspired a New Flamenco movement.

In 2004, Paco de Lucia was awarded Spain's prestigious Asturias Prize for Art as the "most universal of flamenco artists".

He performed at the Starlite Festival 2013 in Marbella.

H10 Andalucia Plaza celebrating first Oscar nights

To celebrate the 2014 edition of Oscar nights, the film “Captain Phillips” based on a true story and starring Tom Hanks will be the first film showing.

Come along to the H10 Andalucia Plaza Hotel in Puerto Banus and to enjoy a delicious buffet and then see the film.

Organised by the Marbella International Fim Festival, for reservations contact Jo-Anne at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 952 811047

Dog lost in Mijas returned to owner thanks to micro chip

A dog that disappeared two years ago in Mijas has been reunited with its owners.

The dog, called Zizou, was found on February 13 and taken to the municipal Zoosanitario Centre where it was checked to see if it had been micro chipped. Thanks to the information recorded on the chip the centre could locate the owners.

This highlights the importance to all pet owners of micro chipping, which is carried out quickly and painlessly by vets for a small fee. It is a small price to pay should a pet get lost, or stolen, to be able to have it returned to its rightful owners.

In pictures: African treehouse stays

A boon for photographers, this treehouse -- fully open to the elements -- is built around an ancient leadwood tree.

Just you, the bed and the heavens above.

At night, you can hear the throaty chuckling of hippos.

The restroom in this two-story riverside tower is open air too -- though discreetly tucked away.

King-size bed, claw-footed bath and the Victoria Falls a few bends down the river.

Among the fig trees on this islet are half a dozen treehouses making up an off-grid eco-lodge.

• Can't sleep? A night on a "star bed" might help


• At Baines' Camp in Botswana you can hear the chuckle of hippos at night


• A Zambian riverside treehouse has a king-size bed and claw-footed bath


• One Tanzanian hideaway is tucked among fig trees on a tiny island

(CNN) -- It's one of the best insomnia cures around.

A private platform in the African bush, soft bedding, starlight and nature's night-time noises.

Whether it's a raised star-bed or a treehouse kitted out for sleeping, each of these six retreats spread across Africa has the elevated experience just right.

Kiboko and Koija Star Beds, Loisaba Wilderness, Kenya

These "star beds" comprise wooden platforms with thatched roofs, open decks and big beds.

They're rolled out under the night sky when it's time to sleep, giving guests great views of the thick star clusters, unclouded by light pollution.

The mosquito net draping over the four-poster becomes invisible once you've climbed inside.

MORE: Africa's Stonehenge? The ruins of Great Zimbabwe

You can end up at your star bed after a game drive or other wildlife outing, when staff will be lighting the campfire and preparing pre-dinner sundowners.

Antelope and zebra may be drinking at the Kiboko waterhole in the valley below.

If you stay at one of Loisaba's two sets of star beds you'll have an extra reason to sleep comfortably -- they're part of a responsible tourism project that benefits the local Koija community.

Loisaba Wilderness , Laikipia, Kenya; + 254 62 20 31070; from $420 per person, per night, including full board, safari activities and transfers, through Cheli and Peacock (+254 20 600 3090)

The Stilted Lodge, Mandina Lodges, the Gambia

The ordinary rooms here, set in a mangrove forest, are impressive enough.

But the Stilted Lodge adds something extra -- a thatched two-story riverside tower with open sides, including a (discreet) open-air bathroom, separate bedroom and lounge room open to the skies.

READ: Malawi, Africa's next go-to destination?

Mandina Lodges, Makasutu, The Gambia; from $2,230 pp for seven nights, half board through The Gambia Experience (+44 845 330 8708)

Claw-footed bath included.

The Tree House, Tongabezi, Zambia

You can't quite hear the roar of Victoria Falls from The Tree House but they're close.

The broad Zambezi River looks peaceful from the deck at the top of this three-tier treehouse, but a few bends away that all changes.

When it hits the lip of Batoka Gorge, the river hurls itself over at 3,000 cubic meters a second.

The spectacle has drawn visitors to the area since 1855, starting with the explorer David Livingstone.

There are multiple ways to experience the falls, from soaring through the spray in a microlight to rafting the rapids or bungee jumping from the Victoria Falls Bridge.

This riverside eyrie high up in an ebony tree, with king-size bed and claw-footed bath, provides a place to hide out after all that activity.

Tongabezi , Livingstone, Zambia; +260 213 327450; $620 pppn, incl. full board and safari activities

Chalkley Treehouse, Lion Sands Game Reserve, South Africa

Lion Sands has three luxury treehouses in wilderness rich in wildlife.

The Chalkley Treehouse, a timber deck built around an ancient leadwood tree, is particularly good for photographers.

MORE: 20 years of photographing Africa

It's high off the ground and exposed, with superb panoramic views.

Lion Sands Game Reserve , Sabi Sands, South Africa; +27 13 735 5000; from $250 pppn, incl. picnic dinner

Baines' camp: Wetlands eyrie.

Baines' Camp, Botswana

Part of a small safari camp on a private concession in the Okavango Delta, the five suites here are built on stilts with decks looking out over wetlands.

On dry, warm nights, you can wheel your four-poster bed out to hear the throaty chuckling of hippos and the high-pitched chirrups of frogs.

Baines' Camp, Okavango Delta, Botswana; +44 20 7190 7728; from $755 pppn incl. full board, safari activities and transfers, through Sanctuary Retreats

Chole Mjini Lodge, Tanzania

Some Swahili Coast aficionados have been to Zanzibar many times but never heard of its little cousin, the island of Mafia.

The name may sound ominous, but Mafia is a perfectly innocent island of sand and shimmering light, around 160 kilometers south of Zanzibar.

Of the few people who make it here, most are divers: in the surrounding waters whale sharks and turtles float above some of the best preserved coral reefs in Tanzania.

Mafia has an even tinier relative, Chole, an islet just over a kilometer long tucked off its southeastern shore.

Hidden among the dense mangroves, baobabs and tangled figs are half a dozen treehouses making up Chole Mjini, a simple off-grid eco-lodge.

Stay in Treehouse No.1, and you may have nesting fish eagles for neighbors.

Chole Mjini Lodge , Chole Island, Mafia, Tanzania; +255 784 520799; from $220 pppn, full board

READ: Dream destinations for 2014

Winner of several British travel journalism awards, Emma Gregg has written about Africa for The Independent newspaper, National Geographic Traveler and Travel Africa magazine.

How common are pilot errors?

Nine instances of "pilot error" in Hong Kong last year are being investigated, but they rarely impact safety.

• Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department reports pilots disobeying traffic control orders


• Traffic controller admits errors occur on "daily basis," often due to language barrier


• Technology helps avert errors, but most important is trust between pilots and controllers

(CNN) -- Events in Hong Kong in 2013 served as a reminder that pilots are human, too.

Hong Kong Airlines was involved in nine incidents in which pilots apparently disregarded instructions from air traffic controllers (ATCs), including a plane taxiing onto a runway without permission and failure to follow instructions about altitude and direction.

Hong Kong's Civil Aviation Department is still investigating those incidents.

Other recent cases of miscommunication between pilots and ground controllers include:

• July 2010: The captain of an Air Blue flight disregards instructions from traffic control and crashes into mountains near Islamabad, killing 152.

• June 2013: Two Boeing 747s narrowly miss colliding over Scotland when one plane turns right and the other left -- effectively doing the opposite of ATC instructions.

• December 2013: A British Airways jumbo jet crashes into a building at Johannesburg airport when the pilot goes down the wrong taxiway.

According to Ady Dolan, an air traffic controller at London Heathrow Airport who spoke with CNN for this story, human errors between pilots and air traffic controllers occur on "a daily basis."

But while common, most errors go unnoticed and are of no threat to safety, thanks to established systems of communication and technology.

English ... but whose English?

English is the language of the skies.

According to Dolan, controllers at Heathrow deal with 85 airlines and 1,350 flights a day.

Controllers need to be able to communicate with pilots of many different nationalities, he says.

English is the language of aviation and vital for pilot-controller communication.

"We're lucky that English is the language of the air," says Dolan. "If English is not the pilot's first language and they only come to Heathrow occasionally, we need to afford extra care to that pilot.

"We can't speak with speed and abbreviation as we would to someone who comes here several times a day."

A pilot who often flies to China and Southeast Asia, and who spoke with CNN on condition of anonymity, says pilots and air traffic controllers generally enjoy a good relationship, especially in Hong Kong where ATC standards are high.

"But China can be a bit of an issue," he says. "We should all be speaking English, but for a lot of people it's their second language."

The pilot says airlines have varying policies on recruiting pilots with good English, and this can cause problems.

Patter and chatter

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a United Nations agency that sets and regulates standards of air safety, says standardized phraseology is an important part of pilot-controller dialogue.

For example, before the 1977 KLM-Pan Am crash, the pilot reportedly told traffic control, "We are now at takeoff" as he moved down the runway.

The controller understood this to mean the plane was ready to take off, but was still stationary and waiting for further instructions.

At any airport if you have humans involved there are going to be errors.

For this reason the controller didn't warn the pilot about another plane on the runway, which was obscured by thick fog.

"Pilot and air traffic controller radiotelephony communication is an important part of training leading up to licensing for both functions," says an ICAO spokesperson. "ICAO guidance requires that both controllers and pilots use standardized phraseology in their communication exchanges.

"ICAO is continuously reviewing and updating its standardized phraseology guidelines to better meet the needs of the air transport system and ICAO language proficiency requirements have been in place since March 2008."

The relationship between controllers and pilots functions well generally, says South African Airways pilot Sarah Jones, who flies across South Africa and Africa.

"There are lots of structures in place to try and prevent miscommunication between us. Obviously, there has to be trust," she says.

While Jones says ATC standards are high in airports such as OR Tambo in Johannesburg, they're not as good at some other African airports.

She says it can be challenging when controllers and other pilots don't speak English.

"You have to be very vigilant, listening to the other traffic and having good situational awareness," she says. "It's an issue when they are speaking, say, French or Brazilian, and you can't understand what other pilots are telling ATC in airports where you would be more naturally cautious anyway."

Human error inevitable

Pilot errors are common, says one air traffic controller, but rarely dangerous or even noticed.

Errors that occur as a result of pilot-controller misunderstandings are normal, but go largely unnoticed by passengers, according to the pilots and controllers interviewed for this story.

As air traffic increases, so does the potential for poor communication.

That's why it's important to have solid backup procedures in place, says Heathrow air traffic controller Ady Dolan.

Dolan works for UK-based NATS, a provider of air traffic services in the UK and more than 30 other countries.

The company also provides strategies for dealing with potential problems.

"At any airport if you have humans involved there are going to be errors," he says. "Our job as an ATC provider is to spot the potential for that error before it takes place and then when it does happen to have mitigations in place to correct that."

He says typical errors might be "simple," like a plane ending up facing south instead of north on a stand.

"Safety has not been compromised, but you as an ATC need to have in mind the aircraft may end up facing south instead of north. It's the kind of human error that takes place on a daily basis; it has no impact (but) is not noticed."

The pilot who flies to China and Southeast Asia says the nature of flying and human beings means "dozens" of small mistakes are made regularly.

"There are mistakes, but we are there to manage it and that's where standards of training and checking and a rigorous operating procedure come in," he says. "It means you can get on the deck with a pilot you have never flown with before.

"It's only a minor risk, but there is always the potential for things to go wrong and to escalate into a position where things could be harmful.

"That's why it's positive that cases like the ones in Hong Kong have come to light and are being investigated.

"As far as ATC goes, if they tell you to descend to a certain level, one pilot sets the level and the other gets the reading and repeats it and then the other repeats it again. It's a system of double checking.

"That doesn't mean we never have 'altitude busts' [aircraft descending to altitudes for which they aren't given clearance] but there is very good backup with Traffic Collision Avoidance System and Ground Proximity Warning System."

Sarah Jones agrees on the potential for errors.

The aircraft may end up facing south instead of north ... it has no impact (but) is not noticed.

"If ATC gives you a climb instruction and a heading instruction you could get those confused," she explains. "That's why you always have one pilot flying and one monitoring.

"Mistakes can happen regularly but they get corrected quickly. If there is any possible confusion you always double check with ATC quickly, that's the system."

Electronic communication replacing human contact

The daily process of handling weather, delays, spacing aircraft evenly for landing and takeoffs and squeezing maximum capacity for runways is getting more complicated.

Sarah Jones says that the balancing act between safety and keeping traffic moving is maintained by mutual respect.

ICAO also believes the potential for things to go wrong can be handled.

"The role of effective communication has long been considered a key component of safety," says the spokesperson. "ICAO has dedicated and continues to dedicate much effort and resources to ensuring our guidance in this area is comprehensive and aligned with operational needs."

The increasing use of technology over human voices to communicate with the flight deck offers one solution.

For example, Heathrow conveys electronic clearances for takeoff directly to the flight deck. Even so, it's unlikely we'll see computers completely taking over traffic control in this generation.

"You've got to be able to trust the information that is being passed to you or the whole system falls apart," says Dolan. "If the pilot is in any doubt as to the safety of the instructions and is having to second guess things you know you are in a bad situation."

Claire Hu is a wine, food, culture and travel journalist based in South Africa.