Lisa McPherson
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| Lisa McPherson | |
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 www.lisamcpherson.org
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| Born | February 10, 1959 United States |
| Died | December 5, 1995 Clearwater, Florida, United States |
This article forms part of a series on Scientology |
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Concepts
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Lisa McPherson (born Lisa Skonetski, February 10, 1959–December 5, 1995) was a Scientologist who died while in the care of the Flag Service Organization (FSO), a branch of the Church of Scientology. The death provoked controversy about the nature of Scientology beliefs and practices, particularly the Introspection Rundown, although there is dispute about whether she was ever actually put through this procedure. Since her death there have been regular pickets outside Scientology offices on or around the anniversary of her death.
A civil suit brought by her family against the Church was settled on May 28, 2004.
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[edit] Background
McPherson's last address was listed by the police as 210 S. Ft. Harrison in Clearwater, Florida, which is the Fort Harrison Hotel, home to the FSO. McPherson had been a Scientologist from the age of 18 to her death at age 36, and worked for AMC Publishing, owned at the time by Bennetta Slaughter.
On November 18, 1995, McPherson was involved in a minor car accident. She was apparently not hurt, but she got out of her car and took all her clothes off and seemed mentally unstable. She was taken to a hospital where she was physically evaluated as being unharmed, but the hospital wanted her to be psychologically cared for. However, some Scientologists arrived and stated that McPherson did not believe in psychiatry, and she checked out after a short evaluation and left with the Scientologists.
She went with them to the Fort Harrison Hotel for "rest and relaxation" according to the Church of Scientology, but statements made in dispositions and Church logs [1] from McPherson's stay there from November 18 to her death on December 5 show otherwise. McPherson was put on the Introspection Rundown [2] that Scientology uses to handle those who have had a psychotic break.
Mark McGarry, an attorney with the Florida Office of the State Attorney, characterized Lisa's stay at the FSO as an "isolation watch":
| “ | My understanding now is, from talking to many, many witnesses, the purpose of her being there in the Church, correct me if I'm wrong, she was experiencing some mental problems, and you guys were going to stabilize her through an isolation watch. And after that watch occurred, there was going to be a procedure run on her, and the procedure was an Introspection Rundown. | ” |
Some logs from the isolation watch are missing, and Brian Anderson, the then Commanding Officer of the Church's Office of Special Affairs (OSA) in Clearwater, acknowledged having destroyed some of the logs on the night of her death after summarizing them. Anderson's testimony indicates that McPherson was never actually put onto the rundown but instead died during an attempt to "stabilize" her condition.[3] Later, however, lawyers Kendrick Moxon and Helena Kobrin led an attempt to get the criminal case over McPherson's death dismissed based on alleged harm the existence of the case was doing to other Church of Scientology members. One of the central points of this action was that McPherson had been undergoing the Introspection Rundown, which Moxon and Kobrin said was an "entirely religious" practice; according to Moxon and Kobrin, for prosecutors to attack that practice would be effectively fofrcing Scientologists to get psychiatric or psychological care against their religion.[4]
On December 5, 1995, the Church staffers overseeing her care called David Minkoff, a Scientologist medical doctor who had already prescribed drugs twice for McPherson during her stay without seeing her.[5] On hearing of her medical condition, Minkoff instructed them to bring her to the nearest hospital, two minutes away; they objected, fearing that McPherson would be put under psychiatric care.[5] When they arrived at Minkoff's hospital 45 minutes north of Clearwater, having passed four other hospitals on the way, McPherson was dead on arrival.[6]
According to the coroner's report, she was underweight and severely dehydrated. She also had several bruises and bedsores, as well as literally hundreds of insect bites on her body, which according to some forensic experts was a result of being left in a [dark] room with a large cockroach population. [7][8][9].
A group of Scientology critics led by Bob Minton named the short-lived Lisa McPherson trust after her.
[edit] Criminal and civil cases over McPherson's death
The family of Lisa McPherson sued the Church of Scientology and individuals involved for wrongful death on February 19, 1997, while the Church claimed it did nothing wrong toward McPherson. [10]
On November 13, 1998, the Church was indicted on two felony charges in McPherson's death; abuse or neglect of a disabled adult, a second-degree felony, and unauthorized practice of medicine, a third-degree felony; the first criminal charges ever filed in the United States against the Church of Scientology.[11] These charges were brought against the Church as a corporation, not against any individuals, and the maximum penalty, had the charges been pursued and the Church found guilty, would have been a $15,000 fine plus costs.[12] On December 6, 1999, Florida State Attorney Bernie McCabe presented a response to Scientology's attempt to get the case dismissed.[13]
On June 12, 2000, on the advice of his chief assistant, Assistant State Attorney Douglas Crow, McCabe dropped the criminal charges against the Church because, according to a memo by Crow, medical examiner Joan Wood could not be counted on to confidently testify.
"Her inability to logically explain her opinions makes it clear that she cannot withstand cross-examination in this case. The actions and testimony of Dr. Wood, a forensic witness essential to the state's case, has so muddled the equities and underlying facts in this case, however that it has undermined what began as a strong legal position."[11]
Scientologist OT 8 Dr. David I. Minkoff had his license suspended on August 3, 2001 for one year and was fined $10,000 for prescribing medicine to McPherson at the request of her FSO caretakers without having ever seen her.[5]
The Church conducted a survey in the Clearwater area that shows 4 out of 5 residents have a negative opinion of Scientology.[14] They tried to use this as a reason for a change of venue, then withdrew the request.[15]
The civil suit was settled out-of-court on May 28, 2004, under terms undisclosed to the public.[16]
The Church of Scientology now makes members sign a waiver specifically against suing the Church over the Introspection Rundown. [17]
During the civil suit against the Church of Scientology brought by McPherson's family members, an injunction was sought and obtained to keep the Scientology-critical film "The Profit" from being shown. The stated reason was that it might prejudice the jury pool against Scientology. Since spin off legal cases against Dr. David I. Minkoff followed, this delay is still outstanding as of March 6th, 2007. An upcoming hearing into the reopening of the matter is slated for March 27th, 2007. [18]
[edit] See Also
- Noah Lottick, young Scientologist committed suicide, featured in TIME's The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power
- Elli Perkins
- Philip Gale
- The Friend of Mankind - a short non-fiction film about L. Ron Hubbard and the Church of Scientology which references McPherson's death and the ensuing wrongful death suit.
- The Bridge (film) - fictional film about a young woman's death, member of Scientology
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.whyaretheydead.net/lisa_mcpherson/logs/lisam.htm
- ^ Scientology's new tack, St. Petersburg Times, November 20, 1998
- ^ http://lisatrust.bogie.nl/legal/lisa-criminal/cpd-cd/3159.htm
- ^ Tobin, Thomas C.. "Scientologists decry toll of criminal case", St. Petersburg Times, 2000-03-09. Retrieved on April 8, 2007.
- ^ a b c Tobin, Thomas C., Ulferts, Alisa. "Doctor in Lisa McPherson case suspended", St. Petersburg Times, 2001-08-04. Retrieved on June 26, 2006.
- ^ Frantz, Douglas. "After a Hotel Room, An Emergency Room", New York Times, 1997-12-01, p. A16. Retrieved on June 30, 2006.
- ^ http://www.shipbrook.com/jeff/CoS/autopsy.html
- ^ http://whyaretheydead.net/lisa_mcpherson/autopsy/autopsy_03/ (Caution: Disturbing photos)
- ^ http://whyaretheydead.net/lisa_mcpherson/legal/bugs/index.html
- ^ Suit accuses Scientologists of negligence in death, Tampa Tribune, February 20, 1997 (convenience link)
- ^ a b State drops charges against Scientology, St. Petersburg Times, June 13, 2000
- ^ Scientology's new tack, St. Petersburg Times, November 20, 1998
- ^ http://www.lisamcpherson.org/mccabe.htm
- ^ Church requests that trial be moved, St. Petersburg Times, May 23, 2003
- ^ Church drops venue change, St. Petersburg Times, June 11, 2003
- ^ http://www.sptimes.com/2004/05/29/Tampabay/Scientologists_settle.shtml
- ^ http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/%7Edst/Scientology/ReleaseForms/Introspection.html
- ^ http://www.theprofit.org/faq.html
[edit] Press coverage
- Scientology charged in member's death (Thomas C. Tobin, St. Petersburg Times, 14 Nov 1998)
- State drops charges against Scientology (Thomas C. Tobin, St. Petersburg Times, 13 Jun 2000)
- Doctors paid by church give defense (Thomas C. Tobin, St. Petersburg Times, 07 Mar 2000)
- Church requests that trial be moved (Robert Farley, St. Petersburg Times, 23 May 2003)
- Scientologists settle death suit (Robert Farley, St. Petersburg Times, 29 May 2004)
[edit] External links
- Lisa McPherson Memorial Page: Killed by the Church of Scientology
- LISA McPHERSON.com (documentation of civil suit)
- McPherson Case: "Scientologist's death now ruled accidental". Press revue from the CESNUR. Associated Press and St. Petersburg Times (2000-02-23). Retrieved on October 7, 2006.
- Fort Harrison Hotel — Room 174: Death of scientologist Lisa McPherson (Why Are They Dead)
- LisaFiles.com The Clearwater Police Department Investigation into Lisa McPherson's Death
- Lawyer Solicits Distant Relative In Money-Grab Plot (Church of Scientology Freedom Magazine, February 1998)
- Lisaclause.org: The Lisa McPherson Clause
