When cult activities precipitate violence against others, the i n t e r h e of religious belief and practice, and law becomes complex. Personal and group psychological factors can assume importance not only to explain the crimes, but atso in the processing of cases, particularly where a death penaltylmitigation trial is involved. While destructive cult membership has not been accepted in the legal system as a basis for an insanity plea, mitigation from the death penalty or other reduced responsibility outcomes can be justified and was effective in defence of Kirtland cult members. Outcomes in the Kirtland case reflected statutory requirements and procedural operations in complex constellations with roughly proportionate results. The paper details specifics of the case, defense strategies, prosecutorial functions, and religious and psychological underpinnings which led into acts for which neither religious fi-eedom nor psychological disturbance could exempt h m Penalty.
SECTION I: THE CONTEXT
Understanding cult violence involves social, psychological, and legal perspectives.
From a legal standpoint, the U.S. has a smcture and precedents which rest upon kedoms of expression, religion, and assembly. There are tax law benefits for nonprofit, educational, and religious groups and there are criminal and civil sanctions against attempts to restrict the activities of persons whose views are not consistent with majority view (West & Singer, 1970; Civil Rights Act of 196PTitle vnr>. Psychological coercion has not been upheld in most courts as a legitimate basis for abrogating those basic freedoms (Hassan, 1988; Streiker, 1984). Sociological observations include the following the vast majority of cults are violence free and most members of violent cults are not themselves violent. Aho's (1990) in-depth study of religious based cults active in Idaho indicated most members were middle-class, employed, and of better than average education. They were frequently politically involved in the community, unless the group was one which eschewed such involvement. Cultists were likely to have had religious upbringing and training of a significant sort, and at least in Idaho, frequently were upwardly mobile. Many came from fundamentalist religious backgrounds which emphasized dualistic thinking and a simplistic world-Sandra McPherson is a Clinical and Forensic Psychologist. Correspondence may be addressed t o D r McF'hason at 12434 Cedar Road, Suite 15, Cleveland Heights, Ohio, 44106, USA.