Christian and Muslim prisoners get life sentence for murdering fellow inmate to 'exorcise a demon'

Two religious prisoners were sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering a convicted double killer, believing that the act would "exorcise a demon" from the victim and "cleanse" him of his crimes.

Gary Lindley and Billy White reportedly prayed after they carried out the killing of Brett Rogers, who had been jailed in 2016 for murdering his mother and her friend.

White, a 24-year-old Catholic, is already serving a life sentence for murdering his partner in 2015, while Lindley, a 42-year-old Muslim, is serving an indeterminate sentence for his part in a violent distraction burglary in 2007.

Judge Robert Juckes QC noted that the duo, who both pleaded guilty to murder at an earlier hearing, had admitted during police interrogation that they decided to kill Rogers around a week before his death.

The two men, who shared the same wing as 25-year-old Rogers, had reportedly smoked cannabis with the victim before committing the crime.

Rogers was found strangled in his cell at HMP Long Lartin in Worcestershire on June 7, according to BBC.

After praying, Lindley reportedly handed staff at HMP Long Lartin a note saying the killers had decided to "free" Rogers from "darkness."

"I was ordered by the Lord My God to free Brett Rogers. I know you will not see it this way but that is between you and God. I am of sound mind. Please can I speak to the Governor," Lindley's note read, as reported by Independent.

Lindley and White, who worked as support cleaners at the prison, told the police that they tried to "snap" Rogers' neck and then suffocated him with a pillow because he did not appear to be dead. After the murder, White used a blue marker pen to draw yin and yang signs on the victim's cheek.

Addressing his reasons for sentencing White to life imprisonment, the judge said: "This is his second offence of murder."

"This was a determined and premeditated killing of a particularly cruel kind of a man in his own cell by two men who overpowered him. They picked on him because of what they had come to believe about him," he added.

The judge decided that the crime was not committed to further a religious cause although both men were motivated by religion.

Prior to the sentencing, Lindley tried unsuccessfully to withdraw his guilty plea, citing mental health issues.

Worcester Crown Court heard that he was first sentenced to a 15-month prison term in 2000 for a violent offense. He was jailed again in 2002 for an attempted robbery and possession of an offensive weapon in a public place.