Pagan Scholar Testifies In High-Profile Murder Case

Lawrence Douglas Harris was under pressure, unmedicated and trying to find a way to gain control of his life when he attempted to cast a spell in the basement of his house the day his stepdaughters were killed, ...

[NiftyWitch]

Very interesting. I'm glad that the defense made the effort to use an expert witness who actually knows something about Wicca, as opposed to some clueless Bible-thumper.

I do agree that she's wrong about the use of the inverted Pentagram. She claims that Wiccans don't use it. However, there are some Wiccan/Pagan traditions that do.

The comments made in response to the article were interesting. I don't understand the objection to the defense trying to establish the defendant as insane. I don't think the intent is to associate Wiccan with insanity, but to clarify that he's NOT Wiccan, just a nutjob who took on the trappings of a non-mainstream religion.

[NM Desert Rat]

NiftyWitch wrote:

Very interesting. I'm glad that the defense made the effort to use an expert witness who actually knows something about Wicca, as opposed to some clueless Bible-thumper.
I do agree that she's wrong about the use of the inverted Pentagram. She claims that Wiccans don't use it. However, there are some Wiccan/Pagan traditions that do.
The comments made in response to the article were interesting. I don't understand the objection to the defense trying to establish the defendant as insane. I don't think the intent is to associate Wiccan with insanity, but to clarify that he's NOT Wiccan, just a nutjob who took on the trappings of a non-mainstream religion.

Thanks for sharing this. It was an interesting read.

[The Real Lori]

For the record...the "Lori" that posted a comment on the main web page for this article was not me. I agree with her...but I didn't make the post.