Convicted rapist and murderer Irving Davis is requesting that a Texas appeals court toss out his death sentence. Why? He thinks it's unfair that jurors were informed that he's a Satanist. Apparently, the prosecutors showed the jury his satanic drawings, a copy of The Satanic Bible he kept in his cell, and also a "grievance form that showed Davis complaining about being denied a gong, candles, chalice, black robes, a vial of blood and other items he said were needed to practice his religion." From The Statesman:
"I mean, come on, boil it all down, the Church of Satan?" Judge Michael Keasler said. "You've got to be kidding me as to how that's good, because Satan himself, at least as far as Christian doctrine is concerned, is the epitome of what evil is. If somebody chooses to align themselves with something like that, it certainly would seem relevant."
Musing aloud, Judge Lawrence Meyers asked if Satanism should be considered a religion at all, because religions revolve around worshipping a higher power. "Satan's not an almighty being," Meyers said.
But Ruben Morales, Davis' lawyer, argued that introducing Satanism in court was an improper attempt to criminalize beliefs that society finds offensive or disagreeable.
"The state's attempt to place (Davis) in a bad light with the jury was nothing less than a 'witch hunt.' This is precisely the risk that society runs when it attempts to distinguish between good and bad religions," he said in legal briefs.
"Satanism wrongly used at trial, death row inmate argues" (Thanks, Jason Weisberger!)
