Update: The deadly rattlesnake that killed Pastor Jamie Coots over the weekend will be used again for church service on Saturday, rather than being put down. Jamie’s son, Cody Coots, told TMZ that his family still believes that God will protect them against the snake’s poisonous venom.
Although it is illegal to use snakes during church services in Kentucky, the police chief has announced that he will not enforce the law.
Pastor Jamie Coots, the star of National Geographic’s “Snake Salvation,” has died due to a snake bite.
“Snake Salvation” is a reality show on National Geographic channel where the practice of handling deadly snakes in church is believed to be a biblical passage and ritual. Pastor Jamie Coots starred in the reality show and believed snake handling was a commandment from God and that poisonous snakebites will not harm believers who followed that biblical path. The practice is illegal in most states, but the reality show featured Coots and the cast handling all kinds of poisonous snakes like copperheads, rattlers and cottonmouths.
Jamie Coots passed away on Saturday when he was bitten by a viper snake on the right hand at his Kentucky church. Middleborough police reported that Coots refused to be treated or hospitalized for the snake bite in which resulted in his death late Saturday evening.
In one of the “Snake Salvation” episodes, Coots said “When I first started church I said if I ever went to a hospital or a doctor over a snake bite I would quit church.”
National Geographic Channels spokeswoman Stephanie Montgomery released this statement on Sunday, “Those risks were always worth it to him and his congregants as a means to demonstrate their unwavering faith. We were honored to be allowed such unique access to Pastor Jamie and his congregation during the course of our show, and give context to his method of worship. Our thoughts are with his family at this difficult time.”
