Judge Says 'Life of Brian' Does Not Violate 340-Year-Old Statute Outlawing Blasphemy

A Boston Municipal Court judge decided Friday the Monty Python movie "Life of Brian" does not violate a 17th- century Massachusetts statute outlawing blasphemy.

After viewing the movie--a parody of the life of Christ--Judge John A. Pino said he would not issue a complaint for blasphemy against Sack Theaters, the chain showing the movie in Boston.

Pino said yesterday the 1638 statute applies only to persons who actually intend to deny or debase the word of God. He added, "This is just a bit of Monty Python's humor."

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But Pino added, "I'm glad I didn't have to spend the $4 to see it."

Three women from the Woburn area had sought the complaint, saying the movie had ridiculed the life of Christ, Robert W. Meserve, attorney for the theaters, said yesterday.

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About 50 members of Christian groups distributed pamphlets in the courtroom Friday. Meserve said, adding, "I was reproached for my lack of Christian dogma."

Church groups have also protested the film in Lewiston, Maine, and caused a run of the movie to be canceled in Laconia, N.H. A Valdosta, Ga., judge issued a restraining order preventing showing of the film, but later removed the order.

The Massachusetts law originally prescribed death by hanging or pressing for anyone who "willfully blasphemes the holy name of God." Meserve said, but added the sentence was long ago modified to a jail term. The current maximum penalty is a $300 line and a one-year jail sentence.

The last reported blasphemy case in Massachusetts was in 1838, when a man who denied the existence of God was sentenced to 60 days in jail, Meserve said. At the time, the justices were divided on whether the law is constitutional, he added.

Nine years ago Maryland found a similar statute unconstitutional, Meserve said.