Netflix’s The Devil on Trial documentary examines the first murder trial in the United States to use the devil made me do it as a defense. The demonic possession trial took place in 1981, and although it’s been re-imagined for multiple films, many of the people with firsthand knowledge of the case have never been interviewed as a part of a documentary until now.
Teenager Arne Cheyenne Johnson claimed to have been controlled by demonic forces when he brutally murdered his landlord, Alan Bono. Johnson’s case had a link to Ed and Lorraine Warren, the paranormal investigators whose work was the basis for The Conjuring and who examined the original Amityville haunting. In the end, the jury didn’t accept the demonic possession defense, and Arne Cheyenne Johnson was convicted of first-degree manslaughter.
The Devil on Trial, which just debuted a motion poster, is set to air on Netflix on October 17, 2023.
Christopher Holt (The Hillside Strangler) directed, and Hattie Bridges-Webb served as a producer. Julia Nottingham and Sam Starbuck are the executive producers.
