Tag Archives: exorcism

Prison Justice for Pastor accused of Killing Girl During Exorcism

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Prisons have their own form of justice. For those of us not familiar with prison life, we generally think that a building full of criminals must be chaotic, and filled with random violence. It’s far more complicated than that. Inmates have their own code of justice, which can largely be dependent on the state that you are in. This code has a kind of hierarchy of bad, meaning that there are some crimes that are considered “good” (like robbing a bank), and others considered evil (like raping or killing a child). Prisoners will often dispense their own form of punishment, which tends to be deadly.

Now, for the sake of clarity, I must also specify that there is a difference between prison and jail. Prison is where people convicted of a crime go. Jail is the holdover for people suspected of a crime. This is why those in jail still have the presumption of innocence. With that in mind, when former pastor Rene Tigueros Hernandez was booked recently in San Jose over allegations that he killed his 3 year old granddaughter following a botched exorcism, it didn’t take long for one of his neighbors to find out what he had done, and a bunch of them decided to do something about it. Hernandez is 60 years old, so odds are, he didn’t put up much of a fight.

The thing is, the details of the incident are what’s putting his life in danger.

On Monday, a coroner testified that 3-year-old Arely had so many injuries — including blunt force trauma on her face and internal abdominal injuries — that it was impossible to know which injury was “the final blow.” The coroner said she determined Arely’s cause of death was a combination of mechanical asphyxia and smothering

The defense attorney requested that the judge bar the media from publishing or airing “up-to-date-in-court images and video” that make it “easier for hostile inmates in jail to identify and attack him,” Fite wrote.

The thing is, all of this is merely to keep him alive before he can actually go to trial. Once he’s actually in prison, then he’s in big trouble. Prisoners have a way of finding things out about you. Usually this is done on the first day with what is called a “heart check”. A scary looking man approaches you, demands to know for what crimes you are there for, and will often instigate a fight to see if you have any “heart”, and will defend yourself even against a tougher opponent. The worst thing you can be is a child rapist or murderer. These people typically have short stays, followed by a quick trip to the morgue.

Given the extend of the little girl’s injuries, I can’t imagine that his fellow prisoners will give him much leeway. Keep in mind that many of these men are fathers first, and criminals second. No doubt the time away from their loved ones only amplifies their hatred for these types of crimes. Their distorted sense of justice will inevitably lead to more death, perhaps as a way for them to try and atone for their crimes. Such is the primitive nature of prisons. They have their own laws, and codes of justice, and this spells bad news for the Hernandez family.

You see, Hernandez isn’t the only one of the family that was in jail, and the other  members have all said that they’ve been threatened multiple times. Considering the brutality and severity of their victims injuries, I have a feeling that prison life is going to be extremely difficult for them.

All of this tragedy was the result of the fact that Catholics still believe in dangerously stupid shit like demon possession. They think that behavioral problems are the result of satanic forces, and so strong is this belief that the welfare of their own child was less important that their superstitions.

Woman left handicapped after exorcism

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In the slums of Khanewal, Pakistan, the poor and indigent who suffer from treatable illnesses are sent, often by physicians wishing to unload their patients, to the Islamic equivalent of exorcists. They are called Pirs (or Peers), meaning “old man”, and these “saints” often perform barbaric torture rituals they believe can clean people of djinns, or demons.

One victim of their archaic stupidity was a woman suffering from asthma by the name of Zakia. She was taken to a famous local Pir called Safdar Khan, who proceeded to tie her up, sticking a hot poker through her wrists and feet while she howled in agony. He then beat her mercilessly until she stopped moving. This, to Safdar, was proof that the demon had been driven out.

Zakia is now bed ridden and can no longer walk. Her brother Zain – outraged that his superstitious idiot parents would take her to such a charlatan – knows that the police will do nothing to help him. As far as everyone is concerned, Safdar is a respected holy man whose words carry much weight. Zain, on the other hand, is just another unimportant peasant whose story will be forgotten in a few days.

The police know there was no other way which is why they haven’t said anything and the doctors come to us regularly for such things,” he said. Shani said that Safdar often ‘treated’ patients who had been referred to him by hospital officials.

“They always send us the cases that they know are for us. The possessed people are treated here. That is why the doctors will never go against us. Safdar is one of the most famous healers in this city,” he said.

Of course, if you think that’s the worst thing that can happen to you when going to get “exorcised”, you’re in for a horrible surprise:

In Notak Nasheb Sainghar, Pir Javed Shah broke into Shehzadi Bibi’s house late at on Friday night and told her that her house was haunted by ‘evil’ djinns who were causing her daughters to fall sick.

Shah gave Shehzadi and her daughters glasses of water that had been drugged and the family fell unconscious. Javed Shah repeatedly raped Shehzadi the entire night. When the family woke up the next day and went to the hospital doctors refused to treat her for fear of the djinns.

What a fucking shithole of ignorance, all thanks to the power of faith.

The Good Atheist Podcast: EP 171

Welcome back to another episode of your favorite audio crack. This week, Ryan and I ask you guys whether or not atheists need to get more organized, and we also talk about the lessons of the Milgram Experiments, and finally we discuss the rise in exorcisms! If you’re a fan of the show, you’ll love the fact every show now comes with embedded notes, with links to the stories we mention on the show. Just look at the ‘lyrics’ section to find out more!

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The Good Atheist Podcast: EP 171
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Woman sets her child on fire in voodoo ritual

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I’ve seen some pretty messed up voodoo rituals in my day. I think probably the most graphic one involved a man, allegedly possessed by the spirit of the dead, who bit off the testicles of a goat. The gonads were spread around for everyone to suck on, until the creature’s throat was cut, with some licking the bloodied knife. Let’s just say I had some trouble keeping my lunch down.

It’s bad enough when these rituals constitute animal cruelty, but this latest story makes this goat stuff pale and seem like child’s play. Marie Lauradin was convinced her daughter Frantzcia was possessed by an evil spirit, and so she decided to douse her daughter in rum, and to burn the demons out. After the Grandmother put Frantzcia out with a bucket of water, they put her to bed, only bringing her to a hospital the next day after another relative begged them to. Frantzcia suffered from second and third degree burns. She will be scarred for the rest of her life, and I can only imagine the pain she must have gone through. I get all teary when I get a little burn on my hand. She has second and third degree burns on 25% of her body!

The mother faces up to 25 years in jail for endangering the welfare of a child, and the grandmother was also charged and faces a possible 7 years. Their version of the story was that she was boiling water and accidentally spilled it on her child when startled. She still has no explanation as to why she waited almost 24 hours before going to the hospital, however. The truth only came to be known when Frantzcia told her foster caregivers what had really happened to her.

I have to wonder how many rebellious or independent daughters have suffered at the hands of their mentally deranged mothers who believe their behavior must be the product of evil forces at work. It’s another example of how dangerous superstitious beliefs can be. It seems burning people alive is a common practice in a number of organized religions. Clearly, this shit has to stop.

I hope both these deranged women get the maximum penalty for their crime, and I hope poor Frantzcia will recover and find a new family that doesn’t think setting people on fire is a good idea. There are still a few sane people in this world, right?

The Good Atheist Podcast EP: 067

This week, we discuss the news of a Quebec priest who was recently sentenced to 18 months in jail for molestation, as well as talk about poor little Khyra Ishaq, who was starved to death by her mother for being ‘possessed’ by a demon.

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The Good Atheist Podcast EP: 067
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Parents starve “possessed” daughter to death

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Khyra Ishaq was, by all accounts, your typical happy-go-lucky 12 year old living in Birmingham. Her mother, a recent convert to Islam, pulled her from school and began to isolate all of her children away from the outside world. Her excuse was they had been bullied in school over their attire, but no official complaint was filed with the school, and many of the house’s windows were boarded up.

One neighbor, who had left out some stale bread to feed the birds, was verbally lambasted for allowing the children to eat it (they had, apparently, been sneaking out in desperation looking for food.

The other 5 children were also dangerously malnourished, and at first glance it would appear the reason may have been because the children were not properly observing their religious rituals. It is likely this is why Khyra’s mother felt she was possessed; her natural rebellious nature would have easily been confused with some kind of demonic spirit.

It’s rather difficult to get the real story as to what happened. One thing is for sure, however; religion played a role in the neglect and torture of these children. To what extent, it’s difficult to ascertain, but it’s not uncommon for extremely religious individuals to completely isolate themselves from the outside world, especially if they feel it has a corrupting influence.

Trying to use religion to properly raise your kids is like trying to perform brain surgery with a lead pipe; there’s no room for subtlety. How many more little girls have to have their clitoris removed, or die at the hands of their own family for failing to observe religious traditions?

NOTE:  It seems she was not only starved, but also tortured. More disturbing news is coming to light, such as the systematic torture (using cold baths, beating her with a stick, etc.) of this little girl for no other reason than her mother felt she had an evil spirit. If you’re surprised by these kinds of actions, realize they are common practices in many parts of the world.

More exorcisms gone wrong

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ignoramuses to sit and listen to reason. Now it looks like ten people will soon be going to jail over the death of Janet Moses, a New Zealand woman who drowned during one of these stupid curse-lifting ceremonies. The troop includes friends and family members, although their names have been suppressed for now.

Moses died from drowning as they poured water down her throat, presumably to drown the evil spirit or something equally stupid. Now the 22 year old is dead, and everyone is facing serious manslaughter charges. It turns out they had to hold her down while she struggled to live, and that very fact is going to make this an open and shut case. I wonder if the judge will throw the book at them. I hope he does.

We need to make an example out of these people. Superstition has no business in our modern society. If people feel depressed or angry because of the death of a loved one, the solution is not to carry on dangerous and pointless exorcism rituals; it’s to give people time to grieve, and let time heal all wounds. Speaking of time, I bet those  idiots will have lots of it to re-evaluate the wisdom of their actions while trying to prevent evil demons from entering their anuses.

Romanian nun dies during exorcism

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So here you are, a Romanian priest who’s been ‘trained’ by the Church to perform exorcism, and some poor nun has to die right in the middle of it. To make things worse, the police are at your front door, asking what the hell happened. You casually explain to the officers that you had bound, gagged and starved the woman for three days only for her to later die of asphyxiation. The police don’t seem very impressed with your answer, and all of a sudden, the media shows up. Talk about a bad day!

I wish I was making this story up, but unfortunately, I’m not. Father Daniel, who committed this vile crime, is unapologetic and has no remorse for his actions:

“I don’t understand why journalists are making such a fuss about this. Exorcism is a common practice in the heart of the Romanian Orthodox church and my methods are not at all unknown to other priests.”

In his eyes, he was following church doctrine. The nun was possessed by a demon, so he did the only logical thing: he crucified her, and she eventually died. What is most shocking about this is the fact he doesn’t think he’s done anything wrong. As far as he’s concerned, he saved that woman’s soul.

I predict this whole affair is going to get very messy. There are tons of Romanians who are deeply religious, and may feel the state getting involved is oppressive to their religious beliefs. These poor deluded fools actually trust a man who believes incantations and ‘holy’ water is enough to cure serious mental illnesses. Exorcisms are not only stupid, dangerous, and ignorant; they are quite obviously deadly.

Hopefully this nun’s death will not be in vain. If it can help stop this kind of practice, we can take comfort in the fact her death can at least prevent more tragedies like this from occurring.