Man Gets 22 Years For Stabbing Wife 'The Devil Made Me Do It,' He Says

In Phoenix a man named Donald Jesse Goetti stabbed his wife, Laura Ann Goetti, 27 times to death. He and his wife had been high school sweethearts in love who had been married for about 17 years. Neighbors saw Donald Goetti screaming and walking down the street before the police arrived, on April 23. He told police, “The devil made me do it.” Donald states that he does not recall stabbing his wife. He was sentenced to 22 years prison conviction in Maricopa County Superior Court. Prosecutor Michael Gingold said the prescribed sentence if the case had gone to trial would have been 25 years to life in prison.
The Salem Witch Trials of 1692 was a period in time when men and women were accused of tragic events. Usually when threats were made, tragic incidents, or disappearances of something occurred people were willing to blame anyone. Many of the witches would use the excused that “the devil made me do it “to prevent severe punishment. Some people even believed that the devil took human form to perform such violence. Donald Goetti using this saying could in fact be an excuse preventing jail time or really the devil!