God, God, quite contrary

by Feòrag

Australia: A man accused of killing his mother and her dog told the police that God made him do it.

I murdered my mother because I believe I was acting out of the will of God and only now do I realise it was God punishing me for disobeying him, he said.

The whole story is a little bizarre, and a terrible case of undiagnosed mental illness:

In what was described as bizarre behaviour the day before the murder, Mr Wright went to Kalgoorlie's Church of Christ and interrupted morning mass, attended by about 200 people.

In a statement read to the court yesterday, youth pastor Mark David Gibb said Mr Wright walked down the church aisle carrying a gold sword in one hand and the Bible in the other. He then went to the front stage and began reading aloud from the Bible...

...In a recorded interview with police played to the court, Mr Wright spoke at length about being the chosen one and having to fulfil a prophecy by killing his mother. He also told officers he was an intellectual genius who was not your average sociopath.

Describing himself as a healer, Mr Wright sang The Lord's Prayer during the interview, before telling officers that my mum had the most awesome death.

I healed her, he said. Even though I might seem to be a callous and cold-blooded murderer, I see things holistically.

In contrast to the United States, where similar religious nutcases are regularly treated by the courts as sane, Wright is expected to be found insane and receive the treatment he needs.

Accused killer 'possessed by God'—The Australian, 27th March 2007.

Tags: Australia, bampots, Christianity, mental illness, religion, schizophrenia