By Gabriella Miller | Staff Editor

March 27, 2024

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In 1981, Arne Cheyenne Johnson stabbed his landlord to death and pleaded guilty by reason of demonic possession.^[1] Prior to this, Johnson witnessed his future brother-in-law levitating, listing the names of forty-two demons in Latin, and possessing unusual strength.^[2] After Johnson told the alleged demon to enter into his body instead, he began behaving strangely, committing acts such as putting his fist through a chest of drawers with no explanation and falling 100 feet without injury.^[3]

Martin Minnella, Johnson’s lawyer, argued that demonic possession caused Johnson to kill his landlord, a defense that showed Johnson’s lack of intent.^[4] Indeed, Johnson claimed that he completely blacked out and did not remember stabbing his landlord at all.^[5]

A local news article covering Johnson’s trial cited the Connecticut Supreme Court Judge, Robert Callahan, as denying the defense of demonic possession because “[e]vidence of demonic possession is simply not relevant.”^[6] Minnella hoped to call Catholic priests to the stand because, according to Catholic doctrine, demonic possession is a real occurrence.^[7] Judge Callahan, however, considered this “incompetent evidence.”^[8] If Judge Callahan had allowed this evidence, “legal observers predicted it would have set a precedent for others to use and would hamstring law enforcement.”^[9]

Johnson was convicted of manslaughter and served five years of a ten- to twenty-year sentence.^[10]

There are no provisions in U.S. law that cover demonic possession as a defense for any crime; in fact, such claims are often used to prove insanity.[11] However, the “Satan defense” often comes up in Texas courts—though it typically results in the defendant being found guilty or insane.^[12] This defense is considered impractical because there is an inherent implication that someone blaming the devil for their crimes is not taking responsibility for their own actions.^[13]

Even so, Johnson was not the first person to reference demonic possession during his murder trial. In England in 1974, Michael Taylor attacked a friend who claimed that Taylor was speaking in tongues and had a “bestial” look about him.^[14] Like Johnson, Taylor claimed that he did not remember the attack—only that “he felt an evil force taking over.”^[15] Taylor’s behavior transformed after that from a warm, gentle man to a violent person.^[16] He was easily annoyed and destroyed all religious items in the house.^[17]

The Catholic church performed a long and arduous exorcism on Taylor, allegedly casting out forty demons from his body.^[18] However, the following day, Taylor violently murdered his wife, believing that she was possessed by Satan.^[19] While Taylor did not claim personal demonic possession as a defense, a clinical psychologist testified that the trauma inflicted by the exorcism in combination with Taylor’s pre-existing mental health conditions pushed him to insanity.^[20] No motive was established for the murder and Taylor was found not guilty by reason of insanity.^[21]

David R. Berkowitz, also known as the “Son of Sam,” was charged with six counts of second degree murder in 1978, committed during a “yearlong shooting rampage” in New York City.^[22] Berkowitz’s actions left six people dead and seven wounded.^[23] Initially, at his trial, Berkowitz cited demons as the cause of his actions, claiming that they motivated him to kill and injure people throughout New York City.^[24] Additionally, Berkowitz pointed to Sam Carr and Carr’s black Labrador retriever, claiming that they were the leaders of the demons and gave him the nickname “Son of Sam.”^[25]

Prior to the trial, Berkowitz was examined by multiple psychiatrists to ensure that he was mentally fit to stand trial—which he was.^[26] Instead of pleading insanity as he originally intended, Berkowitz pled guilty to the murders.^[27] He was given six twenty-five-years-to-life sentences.^[28]

A recent demonic defense claim occurred in England in 2011.^[29] Nineteen-year-old Lorraine Mbulawa claimed possession by evil spirits to escape an attempted murder conviction.^[30] Mbulawa stabbed her sleeping mother and claimed that she acted according to instructions from her deceased grandmother.^[31] She “told police she had planned to kill herself after killing her mother.”^[32] Mbulawa’s family believed in witchcraft and spirits, and accepted Mbulawa’s story, welcoming her with open arms after her hearing.^[33]

A psychiatrist found that Mbulawa was of sound mind and, instead of being convicted for attempted murder, she was given the less severe sentence of unlawful wounding.^[34] Mbulawa received a 12-month custodial sentence with an 18-month suspension and 120 hours of unpaid labor.^[35] Justice Keith, who oversaw Mbulawa’s case, thought that Mbulawa’s conviction that she was obeying the spirits “reduced her culpability significantly.”^[36] This, coupled with Mbulawa’s family’s support, likely aided the efficacy of her spiritual possession defense.^[37]

In general, “the devil made me do it” does not appear to be a valid murder defense in a court of law. Certainly, it is not one that many people attempt, even if they are genuinely convinced that they are obeying an evil spiritual entity. Allowing such a claim would set a precedent for courts to allow lesser sentences for those who can convince the court that they were possessed. Without solid proof that spirits exist and can, in fact, possess people, the defense of demonic possession in court cases will likely remain ineffective.

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^[1] Arne Cheyenne Johnson, UVA Law Special Collections (2022), https://archives.law.virginia.edu/dengrove/writeup/arne-cheyenne-johnson.

^[2] Chris Eberhart, Real-Life ‘Devil Made Me Do It’ Case of Arne Cheyenne Johnson ‘Scared Us S—less’: Lawyer, Fox News (2023), https://www.foxnews.com/us/real-life-devil-made-me-do-it-case-arne-cheyenne-johnson-scared-us-lawyer.

^[3] Id.

^[4] Id.

^[5] Id.

^[6] James V. Healion, A Judge Wednesday Threw Out the ‘Demonic Defense’ of…, UPI Archives (1981), https://www.upi.com/Archives/1981/10/28/A-judge-Wednesday-threw-out-the-demon-defense-of/2826373093200/.

^[7] Id.

^[8] Id.

^[9] Id.

^[10] Charles Bramesco, ‘Something Went On in That House’: Did the Devil Drive a Teen to Murder?, The Guardian (2023), https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/oct/18/netflix-documentary-devil-on-trial-murder-demon-possessed.

[11] L. Joe Dunman, The Devil in Recent American Law, 39 Pace L. Rev. 929, 965 (Sep. 2019).

^[12] William Axford, Texas Crimes That Have Been Blamed on Satan and Satanic Rituals, CHRON (Dec. 12, 2017), https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/texas/article/Texas-crimes-blamed-on-Satan-devil-evil-12345521.php.

^[13] Herb Silverman, A Few Kind Words for Satan, HUFFPOST (May 12, 2014), https://www.huffpost.com/entry/a-few-kind-words-for-sata_b_4941371.

^[14] The Ossett Exorcism Murder (The Devil Made Me Do It) | England, Evidence Locker (2022), https://www.evidencelockerpodcast.com/transcripts/transcript-198-the-ossett-exorcism-murder-the-devil-made-me-do-it-england, (last visited Mar. 10, 2024).

^[15] Id.

^[16] Id.

^[17] Id.

^[18] Id.

^[19] Id.

^[20] Id.

^[21] Id.

^[22] Anna Quindlen, Berkowitz Pleads Guilty to Six ‘Son of Sam’ Killings, The N.Y. Times (1978), https://www.nytimes.com/1978/05/09/archives/berkowitz-pleads-guilty-to-six-son-of-sam-killings-reference-to.html.

^[23] Id.

^[24] Id.

^[25] Anna Quindlen, Berkowitz Pleads Guilty to Six ‘Son of Sam’ Killings, The N.Y. Times (1978), https://www.nytimes.com/1978/05/09/archives/berkowitz-pleads-guilty-to-six-son-of-sam-killings-reference-to.html; Son of Sam Serial Killer is Arrested, HISTORY (2010), https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/son-of-sam-arrested.

^[26] People v. Berkowitz, 93 Misc. 2d 873, 880 (1978).

^[27] Son of Sam Serial Killer is Arrested, HISTORY (2010), https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/son-of-sam-arrested.

^[28] Id.

^[29] Mercy for Witchcraft Girl ‘Told to Stab Mother,’ The Telegraph (2011), https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/8532833/Mercy-for-witchcraft-girl-told-to-stab-mother.html.

^[30] Id.

^[31] Id.

^[32] Id.

^[33] Id.

^[34] Id.

^[35] Id.

^[36] Id.

^[37] Id.