“The Exorcism of Emily Rose” is a great horror movie, but also a courtroom drama. You wouldn’t necessarily imagine those two genre’s going together, but they do. We took a look at the horror side of things in an earlier video, now let’s talk a little more about the legal story. I would love to see Legal Eagle give his thoughts on this extraordinary trial, one that is based on actual events.
The Exorcism of Emily Rose is based on a real life tragedy, that of Anneliese Michel. Anneliese was a young student living in Bavaria in the 1960s and 70s. She grew up in a deeply religious family and was remembered as a very sensitive soul.
Just before her 18th birthday, Anneliese began to suffer convulsions. Doctors diagnosed it as epilepsy, but the young woman reported seeing horrific visions and hearing voices in her head condemning her. This was intensely disturbing to her and her family.
Her condition worsened. She met with doctors, but nothing they did seemed to help. Eventually she refused further medical and psychiatric treatment and turned to the church.
Some of the priests who met with Anneliese didn’t find any evidence of possession and suggested she seek further medical attention. Eventually she met with Father Alt who became convinced she was possessed. In 1975, the Catholic Church granted permission to perform the exorcism, with another priest, Father Renz, assisting. In all, Anneliese endured more than 60 exorcisms, some lasting several hours. It all proved too much for the young woman and Anneliese succumbed to starvation and dehydration.
After a criminal investigation, Father Alt and Father Renz, along with Anneliese’s parents, were put on trial for negligent homicide in 1978. The Catholic Church provided defense attorneys for all four. There was no jury, only the judge, and the trial was said to have been the biggest sensation since the Nazi trials at Nuremberg.
The priests and Anneliese’s parents argued that she was possessed and medical treatment wasn’t helping. The defense asserted that it was Anneliese herself who refused to go to more doctors, though the prosecution claimed that was out of fear of being declared insane and sent to an asylum.
The prosecution presented a number of medical and psychiatric professionals who told the judge that Anneliese’s issues were not supernatural and that they could have treated her, though those treatments included forced feeding and electroshock therapy. The prosecution claimed that the priests’ belief in Anneliese’s possession fed the Michel family’s delusion.
Many of the exorcisms were taped, though the judge chose not to allow the recordings to be played in court. In the end, the defense’s theory of possession was rejected and all four defendants were found guilty. Each received 6 months jail sentences, though those were suspended, several years probation, and a fine.
Now that you know the real story behind the movie, I bet you won’t watch “The Exorcism of Emily Rose” the same way again.