Saturday, June 21, 2008

So what is the difference?

A scary man named Johnathan Pinney bit a police office while in mental hospital. He was convicted of aggravated battery and sentenced to time served (890 days). Pinney practices Wicca.

In the past, Pinney has stated he is a practitioner of magic and the Wicca religion who casts spells and embraces evil. He often wore dark eye makeup to court. On Friday, his face was bare and he was wearing orange and white jail clothes.

Source: COURT WATCH: Pinney released after 890 days

It is the dark eye makeup that scares me.

Pinney was in a mental hospital. I wonder if it was because he is some dark Wicca priest who uses his imaginary powers to frighten children, the police and healthcare workers? Would it have made a difference if he had proclaimed that he worshiped Jesus Christ and prayed for Armageddon (while keeping the dark eye makeup)? Or what if he had proclaimed himself an atheist and declared there were no Gods? My bet is that Court Watch would have passed on the whole Christian angle, while emphasizing the amoral nature of dark eye makeup wearing atheists.

And one other thing. Don't they have a diminished capacity defense in Canada? Pinney bit a police office while in a mental hospital. Down here in the states Pinney would never have seen a charge. Any defense attorney worth his salt would have the case thrown out before it even made its way to the preliminary hearing. Canada is a strange place, eh?

So what is the difference? Would Pinney have been treated differently if he had ben a Christian, an Atheist, or just a normal emo nutjob?

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5 comments:

Patti said...

As I know you're aware, Wicca is not a faith that would look kindly on someone who claims to "embrace evil," especially if he's trying to tie that up with being Wiccan. Pinney is obviously completely unaware of what Wicca is all about.

Mojoey said...

Patti - I was just having fun. This guy is a nutball.

Psychodiva said...

when I worked on the wrads oh so many years ago every single attack , verbal and physical was prosecuted- to ensure that at the very least the person would have a record fo the sort of behaviours indulged in or perpetrated as part of their mental illness- just because someone has A mental illness does not mean that they are incapable of making choices about EVERY action - and from my experience working in forensic psychiatry I would say that most of my patients knew excatly what they were doing to the nurses and guards and knew that if they couldn't get away with it they would curtail it a bit.

Psychodiva said...

oh- forgot to say- I live and work in the UK - not such a strange place

1hotmama said...

He is from Illinois not Canada. He is from the "states"