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Mean CabbageThe New York Times Magazine, September 27, 1998A Philadelphia spiritualist was recently acquitted of bilking an elderly invalid of her life's savings because, the judge ruled, the demons claimed to have been exercised may really exist. "I don't find intent to deceive because theories no way to prove whether the spirits were there or not," said judge Richard J. Hodgson as he dismissed charges against Joy Jadus- ingh, a voodoo healer. Jadusingh convinced a wheelchair-bound client that 'murderous cabbages" were invading her home, and that the only defense was "mystical water' from Atlantic City. The victim shelled out more than $90,000. But since she and Ja- dusingh had arranged a service contract, the defense attorneys, Michael Fanell, success- fully argued, What's the crime? The pros- ecutor, Henry S. Hilles 3d, calls the judg- ment a license to steal: "Proving that demons don't exist is tough, which makes a predator like Joy Jadusingh very hard to convict."
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