Lisa McPherson’s charges against Scientology

The St. Petersburg Times published column by
Mary Jo Melone on the Lisa McPherson charges against Scientology
this week.

"The usual rules of the game require that I withhold judgment
on the charges of criminal neglect and practicing medicine without
a license that were filed against the Church of Scientology on Nov.
13 by Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney Bernie McCabe in connection
with McPherson’s death in 1995. But the good guys finally struck
back at that collection in Clearwater of the glassy-eyed, the robotic
and the rich. And the just plain sick.

"The Scientologists didn’t literally use a turkey baster to
force pseudo-medical cocktails into McPherson, but a device that
operates under the same principle, called an irrigation syringe.
Imagine a needleless syringe bigger than the one used to give you
a flu shot. Honest-to-God medical people use it to flush wounds,
said Ken Dandar, the attorney for McPherson’s survivors, who are
suing the Scientologists. McPherson was pumped with concoctions
that would have impressed Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: magnesium, a
sedative called chloral hydrate, aspirin, the antihistamine Benadryl,
and assorted vitamins and herbs. Scientology mumbo-jumbo swears
it was going to save her from her psychosis.

"A hearing will be held on the criminal charges on Nov. 30,
and the Scientologists vow to resolve them quickly. They say nothing
like this will ever happen again. If the church pleads no contest
to McCabe’s criminal charges, the criminal case can’t even be mentioned
in the civil suit. On the other hand, if the church fights the charges
and loses, the criminal case can be cited in the civil proceedings.
This would almost certainly drive up the cost of a settlement."

The Times also published an article on the decision to bring charges
against Scientology in the case.

"Among McCabe’s options: Be aggressive and level a serious
charge such as manslaughter, but risk a bruising legal battle with
the Church of Scientology, which had taken on much bigger fish than
McCabe. Only four years earlier, the well-heeled organization had
subdued the IRS after a 40-year legal war, at times spending $1-million
a month on lawyers. Another route would have been to decline to
charge or level a minor
charge, which might have exposed McCabe to accusations that he lacked
toughness.

"He eventually chose a third option, say Heyman and other
lawyers who know the state attorney and are familiar with the workings
of his office. McCabe took what they described as an eminently safe
and practical middle course that resulted in two felony charges
against the Church of Scientology’s main operating entity in Clearwater.
The Church of Scientology Flag Service Organization Inc. was charged
with abuse and/or
neglect of a disabled adult and practicing medicine without a license.

"To prove manslaughter, prosecutors would have had to prove
that Scientology or its members committed culpable negligence. That
means proving they ‘must have known or reasonably should have known’
their actions were ‘likely to cause death or great bodily injury,’
according to the jury instruction for manslaughter. The prosecutor
also would have to prove that any violations were ‘gross and flagrant.’
Also, a manslaughter defense likely would include the argument that
Scientologists were simply practicing their religious beliefs in
trying to help McPherson, Heyman said.

"McCabe’s office probably chose the abuse and/or neglect charge
because it fits the facts in the case better than manslaughter.
Under state law, prosecutors must prove that a ‘caregiver’ who has
assumed responsibility for a disabled adult must take ‘reasonable
measures’ to protect the person. In using the charge, McCabe will
not be required to prove the church caused McPherson’s death —
only that it seriously injured her. The prosecutor thus avoids what
was expected to be a sophisticated and highly scientific defense
in which Scientology would have tried to prove McPherson’s death
was a health-related accident that happened to occur while she was
in their company."

The Guardian published an article on the McPherson case this week.

"If Hollywood stars such as John Travolta - JT to the hierarchy
- and Tom Cruise are Scientology’s pin-ups, McPherson and her like
are the stick-ups - they put the posters on their walls. But life
was still good to McPherson. An unsigned tax return for 1994 showed
her income as almost $137,000, though she appears to have donated
$75,275 of that ‘to qualified religious services’. She kept a diary
in which she detailed routine concerns about relationships, her
health, her kitten and her mother. She loved dancing and would take
a twirl with anyone who could keep up with her at the Old New York
New York nightclub in Clearwater, the church’s world headquarters.

"There was no particular reason to predict what would happen
when she was in a minor car crash on November 18 three years ago.
There was no evidence that McPherson was hurt, and she got out of
the vehicle and walked down the road wild-eyed, tearing off her
clothes. She was thought to have had a breakdown and was recommended
to a mental institution by the local hospital. But Scientologists
share at least one strongly-held belief with mainstream skeptics:
they will have no truck with psychiatry. So McPherson was taken
instead to the Fort Harrison hotel, owned by the organistion. Seventeen
days later, she was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at HCA
hospital, New Port Richey. Her family blames Scientology for her
death, for her dehydration, the bruises on her arms and legs, the
abrasions and lesions, the apparent bug or animal bites. A medical
examiner said she had died of a blood clot complicated by dehydration.
She also had an infection, which the church blames for all her symptoms.

"McPherson’s ashes were scattered over the graves of her brother
and father, who also died by his own hand. Every so often her mother,
Fannie, walks by a Dianetics office in Dallas, Texas. ‘When I see
those poor things going into that place I want to go in there and
scream: ‘Get out. You don’t know what you’re getting into’.'"

This news was taken from:

Alt.religion.scientology
Week in Review Volume 3, Issue 34
11/29/98
by Rod Keller &91;rkeller@voicenet.com&93;
copyright 1998