Exclusive
WITCH TRIALS
Wicca witch murderer Anthony Chernetsky wins 18-year legal fight to use scented prayer oils in jail to ‘purify’ himself
It comes after the killer was allowed to use a sweat lodge for rituals from behind bars
A MURDERER serving life for killing and mutilating his neighbor has won an 18-year legal battle to be able to use natural scented prayer oils behind bars as part of his Wicca witchcraft religion.
Anthony Chernetsky, 51, sued the Nevada Department of Corrections (NDOC) and the State of Nevada in 2006 over being denied access to various items behind bars needed for his religion.
4
4
4
The items he wanted to use included a sweat lodge, certain types of meals, and natural oils to "purify" himself.
Chernetsky insisted he needed access to these items as part of his religion, Wicca, a witchcraft-based faith system that uses ancient pagan rituals and spells to worship a triple Goddess and a horned God.
Chernetsky's latest victory in using ritual oils comes after he was granted permission to use a sweat lodge in jail in 2014.
His victim, Joe Sherman, 22, was killed in cold blood on November 12, 1991 - beaten, shot four times in the head, and mutilated with a knife.
Read more on witches
Describing his death on a petition to deny Chernetsky an early release, Joe's family wrote, "Our world came crashing down when Joe's maternal grandmother discovered him in his apartment - unresponsive and covered in blood.
"The subsequent autopsy revealed the horrifying extent of Joe's injuries; he suffered severe facial trauma and multiple gunshot wounds. His body was determined to be beaten as well as mutilated with a knife.
"Homicide detectives discovered his apartment had been ransacked, all his property stolen and pawned."
When his parole was moved off the agenda, Joe's family said they were "celebrating this as a victory."
Most read in The US Sun
Over the years, Chernetsky had represented himself in the Nevada court system.
That changed when a powerful team of lawyers, law students at the elite Stanford and Yale Law Schools, and multi-faith religious advocacy groups joined forces to assist him, allowing him to finally win his battle.
Inside ‘Cave of the Devil’ with ‘blood-smeared walls where witches cast spells’
His supporters included the Jewish Coalition for Religious Liberty and the Sikh Coalition.
'MEETING OF MINDS'
Ismail Royer of the Washington, D.C.- based Religious Freedom Institute told The U.S. Sun, “We were all supporting this prisoner.
“He is a Wiccan and they look at themselves as pagan and practitioners of witchcraft.
“It was a real meeting of minds. People from different backgrounds came together to support him.”
Chernetsky was previously allowed natural anointing oils until a new law - AR 810 - was introduced in 2004, banning them.
This law was later revised to allow synthetic “non-flammable, non-toxic anointing oils” but had a total ban on natural oils.
Chernetsky argued he is guaranteed access to natural oils under the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, RLUIPA.
Chernetsky has “endured a long and lonely struggle to vindicate his rights," his legal team wrote in court filings submitted to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeal in March 2023.
They added, "Chernetsky has been denied the right to practice as his religion requires.
"[He has been a] devout Wiccan whose religion requires natural anointing oils.
“The Wiccan faith is a neo-pagan, earth-based religion that focuses on the practitioner’s connection to nature.
“NDOC recognizes Wicca as a religion and has designated Chernetsky as both a member and leader of that community in prison.
“As part of his religion, Chernetsky believes in the teachings of a Wiccan text called the Dyadic Book of Shadows. This book lays out numerous rituals, including anointing the body with oil.
He has endured a long and lonely struggle to vindicate his rights."
Chernetsky's court filings
“Specifically, to purify himself to properly observe holy days and perform other forms of worship, Chernetsky believes he must follow 'the strict rules of fasting, prayers, anointing and smudging of the body.'
“The failure to so prepare in fact bars participation in other Wiccan ceremonies.
“Accordingly, Chernetsky needs a small quantity of oils to anoint himself as a fundamental aspect of his faith.
“As with Wicca generally, Chernetsky’s faith is 'profoundly based on the experience of the sacred relationship with nature' and therefore requires him to use only natural oils.
“Indeed, the Dyaddic Book of Shadows stresses that practitioners must 'ensure that . . . oils are as pure and natural as possible'.”
Read More on The US Sun
"Conversely, the text forbids baby oil because it is “cosmetic [and] industrial in nature.”
The U.S. Sun was unable to get in touch with Joe Sherman's family for comment.
4