Daniel Petru Corogeanu, a priest at the Holy Trinity convent in Tanacu village of Romania, has been jailed for 14 years for conducting an exorcism that led to the death of a nun who he believed was possessed by devils. Irina Cornici died from starvation while being chained to a cross at a secluded convent in the north-east. The botched ritual occurred in 2005, when Irina was 23 years old.

Corogeanu and the four nuns involved were convicted of manslaughter. The nuns got jail terms ranging from five to eight years, plus excommunication from the church. He is now banned from the priesthood.

This case has shocked Romania as well as the Orthodox Church, which plans to implement psychological screening tests for future monastery candidates. The Vatican issued its first new exorcism guidelines in 1999, urging priests to use modern psychiatry to evaluate those who wish to be exorcised.

All of the defendants plan to appeal their case.