Posted by FInal Exit Network members indicted
By
Associated Press
Story Created:
Mar 9, 2010 at 3:22 PM EST
Story Updated:
Mar 9, 2010 at 3:22 PM EST
ATLANTA (AP) – A grand jury indicted four members of an assisted
suicide group Tuesday on charges they helped a 58-year-old man with
cancer kill himself, clearing the way for a trial that could not
only decide their fate but also help validate – or repudiate -
their work.
Attorneys representing the Final Exit Network members say they
are confident they will be exonerated if their case lands before a
jury. And they hope it will bolster this offshoot of the
right-to-die movement, which contends it never actively assists
with suicide, just guides people through the process.
“This is a difficult issue that our society is going to have to
face in the years to come,” said Bob Rubin, an attorney for Claire
Blehr, a group member who was indicted. “But it’s going to be a
huge issue as our population ages and we have to think about what
people have to do in terminal situations. And this trial will
certainly air that issue.”
Blehr and three other members of the network were arrested in
February 2009 in connection with John Celmer’s death at his north
Georgia home. The arrests came after an eight-month investigation
where an undercover agent posing as someone seeking to commit
suicide infiltrated the group.
The Forsyth County grand jury formally indicted Blehr, former
network president Thomas E. Goodwin, ex-medical director Dr.
Lawrence D. Egbert and regional coordinator Nicholas Alec Sheridan.
Each were indicted on charges of offering assistance in the
commission of suicide, tampering with evidence and violating the
state’s anti-racketeering laws.
Authorities say the network, which was also indicted, has helped
dozens of people kill themselves since it was founded in 2004. Some
members, including Egbert, also face charges from authorities in
Arizona in connection with a suicide there.
The four indicted in the Georgia case are scheduled to be
arraigned April 1, said Forsyth County District Attorney Penny
Penn. She said prosecutors were pleased with the indictments, which
came more than a dozen witnesses testified at a grand jury hearing.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation carefully picked its targets
after the sting operation.
Goodwin and Blehr were with Celmer when he died, each holding
one of his hands, according to court records. Afterward,
investigators said they removed a helium tank and hood Celmer wore
to help him suffocate. Investigators say Egbert and Sheridan, who
were arrested in Maryland, evaluated him before his death and gave
the OK for his suicide.
The network bases its work on “The Final Exit,” a best-selling
suicide manual by British author Derek Humphry. Network members are
instructed to buy two new helium tanks and a hood, known as an
“exit bag,” according to the GBI. In court papers, investigators
said the organization recommends helium because it is undetectable
during an autopsy.
The case highlighted a rift in the right-to-die movement.
Final Exit Network leaders say the group helped not only people
with terminal illnesses, but also those who were suffering but not
necessarily dying. Critics within the movement, including Dr. Jack
Kevorkian, have said people should be able to seek assistance
ending their lives, but only from doctors and only if they are
terminally ill.
Goodwin told The Associated Press in an interview last year that
the organization’s leaders believed that people with just months to
live aren’t the only ones who should be able to seek help
committing suicide. He said the group has helped nearly 200 people
across the country die but never actively assisted suicide.
“These people who are terminally ill are blessed in a small way
- there’s a finite time for their suffering,” said Goodwin, who
stepped down as president after his arrest. “But there are many,
many people who are doomed to suffer interminably for years. And
why should they not receive our support as well?”
Celmer’s case seemed tailor-made to heighten the debate.
His mother said he had long suffered from throat and mouth
cancer, but his doctor told investigators he had made a
“remarkable recovery” and was cancer-free when he killed himself
in 2008. Authorities said he may have been embarrassed about his
appearance after jaw surgery.
The network’s attorneys are now readying their defense if the
case goes to trial. And they’re preparing to defend not only the
four members, but the assisted suicide process.
“We’ve been working on this case for a year,” said defense
attorney Don Samuel, who represents Egbert and the network. “We’re
confident in our defense and we expect a very favorable outcome.”
