The backstory:
The case surrounded Gennaro Piscopo, the 55-year-old pastor of Evangel Christian Church in Roseville.
In 2003, Piscopo was convicted of sexually assaulting a female church member during a deliverance ceremony in which Piscopo said he expelled the devil from the woman’s body.
The blame has shifted:
Michigan’s high court has agreed to hear the case because a key piece of testimony, about the devil, was not allowed. According to court records, the woman indicated she “had been raped by a demon” and sexually assaulted by Satan himself, who she claimed was living in her attic at the time of the exorcism.
What does Piscopo’s defense lawyer, George Michaels, say about all this?
The woman has also claimed that she was sexually assaulted, during a separate incident, by her own father, who also happens to be a minister. The allegation against the woman’s father was not part of the Piscopo trial, but Michaels said it should have been. “The jury was out for five days. Had they had this information that would have gone toward her credibility.”
Michaels also argued during Wednesday’s appeal that the exorcism by Piscopo was performed in front of more than 100 people. According to Michaels, none of the witnesses said it was inappropriate to touch someone while performing an exorcism.
Can both sides lose this case?
Please?
(Thanks to infideljoe for the link!)
[tags]atheist, atheism, Satan, Christian, Jesus[/tags]
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