Lisa McPherson

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lisa McPherson
Born	February 10, 1959 (1959-02-10) United States
Died	December 5, 1995 (aged 36) Clearwater, Florida, United States

Lisa McPherson (February 10, 1959 – December 5, 1995) was a member of the Church of Scientology who died of a pulmonary embolism while under the care of the Flag Service Organization (FSO), a branch of the Church of Scientology corporation.^[1] Following her death, the Church of Scientology was indicted on two felony charges, "abuse and/or neglect of a disabled adult and practicing medicine without a license."

The charges against the Church of Scientology were dropped after the state's medical examiner changed the cause of death from "undetermined" to an "accident" on June 13, 2000. A civil suit brought by her family against the Church was settled on May 28, 2004.

Contents 1 Background 2 Coroner's report and review 2.1 First coroner's report 2.2 Independent opinion 2.3 The Church hires forensic pathologists 2.4 Second coroner's report 3 Criminal and civil cases over McPherson's death 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Background

In 1994, Lisa McPherson, who became a Scientology adherent at age 18,^[2] moved from Dallas, Texas, to Clearwater, Florida, with her employer, AMC Publishing, at that time owned by Bennetta Slaughter and operated and staffed primarily by Scientologists. During June 1995, the church placed Lisa in an Introspection Rundown due to perceived mental instability. Lisa completed the rundown, and she attested to the state of Clear in September.^[3]

On November 18 McPherson was involved in a minor car accident. Paramedics initially left her alone because she was ambulatory, but after she began to remove her clothes, the paramedics decided to take her to the hospital. At one point she remarked that she had taken off her clothes in hopes of obtaining counseling.^[4] Hospital staff agreed that she was unharmed, but recommended keeping her overnight for observation. Following intervention by fellow Scientologists, McPherson refused psychiatric observation or admission at the hospital and checked herself out after a short evaluation.^[5]

Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Frank Quesada concluded:^[6]

Lisa McPherson refused psychiatric observation or admission at the hospital; she expressly stated her desire to receive the religious care and assistance from her fellow congregants that she and they wanted her to have.

McPherson was then taken to the Flag Land Base for "rest and relaxation" according to the Church of Scientology,^[7] but sworn statements demonstrate that McPherson was brought there for another Introspection Rundown.^[8][9]

Mark McGarry, an attorney with the Florida Office of the State Attorney, characterized Lisa's stay at the FSO as an "isolation watch":^[8]

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.

The church accommodated McPherson in a cabana and kept a "24 hours watch" over her. Detailed logs were kept on McPherson’s day-to-day care. These logs were handwritten on plain white paper.^[10] Most of these logs were kept but the logs for the last three days were summarized from the originals and the originals shredded. Brian J. Anderson, the then Commanding Officer of the Church's Office of Special Affairs(OSA) in Clearwater, said in his sworn statement:^[11]

I saw the handwritten notes, gave a cursory look to see if the summary -- see if they matched and matched, and I threw the handwritten reports in my shred basket, and I had the report, kept the report.

McPherson’s "care logs" narrate the last 17 days of her life: McPherson was incoherent and sometimes violent, her nails were cut so she wouldn’t scratch herself or the staff, she bruised her fists and feet while hitting the wall. She had trouble sleeping and was being given natural supplements and the drug chloral hydrate to help her sleep. She looked sick and developed sores; "She looked ill like measles or chicken pox on her face." On repeated occasions she refused food and protein shakes that the staff offered. On the 26th, 30th, 3rd and 4th the staff attempted to force feed her, noting that she spat the food out. She was noted to be very weak, not standing up nor on some days moving at all.^[10] Scientologists who questioned this handling were told to "butt out".^[12]

On December 5, 1995, the Church staffers contacted David Minkoff, a Scientologist medical doctor who twice prescribed drugs (Valium and chloral hydrate) for McPherson without seeing her.^[13] They requested for him to prescribe an antibiotic to McPherson because she seemed to have an infection. Minkoff refused and stated that McPherson should be taken to a hospital and he needed to see her before prescribing anything.^[14] They objected, expressing fear that McPherson would be put under psychiatric care.^[13] Janice Johnson stated that Lisa had been gasping and had labored breathing while en route. However they passed a total of four hospitals along the way to their ultimate destination. When they arrived at Minkoff's hospital 45 minutes north of Clearwater McPherson arrived without vital signs. They worked on her for about 20 minutes trying to resuscitate her, giving her CPR and antibiotics, but to no avail. She was then declared dead.^{[5][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]}

Scientologists called McPherson’s family to say that she’d died of meningitis or a blood clot^[22] on December 5, 1995 while at Fort Murray for “rest and relaxation”.^[23] A suspicious death investigation began the next day and an autopsy was performed. A year later, in response to a Clearwater Police Department website request for information on her death, Clearwater media began speculating^[24] about the causes of McPherson’s death.^[25]

The controversy included regular pickets outside Scientology offices on or around the anniversary of her death.^[26]

[edit] Coroner's report and review

[edit] First coroner's report

In the original report the state’s coroner Joan Wood stated that the autopsy showed McPherson had deteriorated slowly, going without fluids for five to 10 days, was underweight, had several bruises and bedsores. They also showed she had been unconscious for up to 48 hours before her death and had dark brown lesions consistent with "insect/animal bites" in the right lower arm just above the wrist.^[27][28] Wood said that McPherson had probably been bitten by cockroaches.^[29][30] Joan Wood concluded that Lisa McPherson died of a pulmonary embolism caused by bed rest and severe dehydration. Scientology responded by stating that Wood was lying and sued Wood for defamation.^[29]

[edit] Independent opinion

The St. Petersburg Times contacted five medical experts for their opinions about the report, and they confirmed it. The Church of Scientology responded that the five doctors should have been given the entire autopsy report, not just the vitreous fluid tests, which pathologists use to determine the composition of blood at the time before death.^[31][32]

[edit] The Church hires forensic pathologists

The Church hired its own team to oppose Wood’s findings, including two nationally known forensic pathologists: Dr. Michael Baden, a former Chief Medical Examiner for the City of New York, and Dr. Cyril Wecht, a county coroner from Pittsburgh. Dr's. Baden and Wecht concluded that McPherson, 36, died suddenly and unpredictably of a blood clot in her left lung that originated from a knee bruise she suffered in a minor automobile accident 17 days earlier.^[33]

This scientific evidence was then sent to Joan Wood for review.^[34] The scientific evidence sent to Wood included:

• Research on compounds known as ketones, which people produce when they are dehydrated, starving or even fasting. Tests of McPherson's bodily fluids showed no ketones.^[1]
• Findings from a body measurement expert hired by the church. The expert compared autopsy photos of McPherson with those taken in happier times, shortly before the accident. The expert concluded from the photographs there was "no appreciable weight loss," countering the prosecution's view that McPherson lost 20 to 40 pounds while in Scientology's care.^[1]
• A report by a Morton Plant Hospital doctor who saw McPherson just before she entered Scientology's Fort Harrison Hotel, McPherson already was thin with protruding cheek bones.^[35]
• A report by Robert D. Davis, the pathologist who conducted the autopsy for Wood's office, concluded McPherson's body was of average nutritional status.^[35]
• Medical literature and sworn testimony that it says proves the eye fluid samples were improperly handled by Wood's office, incompetently tested at an independent lab and ultimately contaminated.^[35]

Also notable was that Wood did not do McPherson's autopsy personally but assigned it to Robert Davis, an employee who later was asked to resign and was a witness for the defendant (Scientology). He disputed Wood's conclusions and testified that she did not speak to him about her findings before signing his autopsy after he had resigned.^[36]

The plaintiff's response was that that the chain of custody of evidence was not broken (also corroborated by Crow's memo^[37])

They simply argue that the McPherson postmortem test results of fluid,... cannot be relied upon.... They apparently ignore the testimony of Robert Davis, M.D., Joan Wood, M.D., David Minkoff, M.D., Janice Johnson, M.D., attendant staffer Rita Boykin, attendant staffer Heather Hof Petzold, the ER personnel, and the two autopsy technicians, Stodgell and Daerr.

Due to the vitreous fluid tests, they maintained that she was dehydrated. Chemical pathologists Calvin Bandt and Spitz concurred with the initial coroner's report in their affidavits.^[38] Referring to Dr. Minkoff's affirmative testimony of McPherson described with "hollowed-out eyes ... thin skin ... and did she look dehydrated, yes", plaintiff said even still the abovementioned Scientology experts "opine Lisa McPherson was not dehydrated in appearance and therefore it is error to look at the post mortem chemistries." Plaintiff witness Dr. Alan Wu also testified that ketones need not be present for dehydration in a special case like McPherson where she was fed proteins and therefore didn't create measurable ketones.^[39] The plaintiffs maintained that Lisa did lose water weight to result in 108 lbs with respect to the vitreous fluid.^[40]

[edit] Second coroner's report

After the review Wood changed the cause of death from "undetermined" to an "accident". Wood traced McPherson's pulmonary embolism to her psychosis and a minor auto accident as major factors.^[1] This garnered controversy as described in Assistant State Attorney Douglas Crow's memo in which he recommends dropping the criminal case.^[41]

They and the plaintiffs stated,

Even after changing her opinion, Dr. Wood states she is ambivalent as to whether Lisa's death is medical neglect or homicide. (Appendix "2", p35 of June 1, 2000 sworn interview to the state attorney)."^[42][43]

and that Woods

initially changed [the death certificate] to read the death was an "accident" not caused by dehydration, Crow said. She then reconsidered, he said, deciding to re-insert dehydration as a cause of death and list the death as a homicide. The next morning, she changed her mind once again and finalized the changes.^[44]

Crow's memo and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement alleged she had been under constant surveillance of private investigators and that "several factors may have impacted the quality of her judgment...citing Wood's vulnerability to litigation in the case and a suggestion by Scientology that it could reveal information extremely damaging to Wood's office and her career."^[36] Wood also resigned that year due to prosecutors and defense attorneys attacking her credibility based on this report and the handling of the case.^{[45] [46][47][48][49][50][51]}

[edit] Criminal and civil cases over McPherson's death

This article or section may contain an inappropriate mixture of prose and timeline. Please help convert this timeline into prose or, if necessary, a list.

On February 19, 1997, the family of Lisa McPherson sued the Church of Scientology and the individuals involved for wrongful death, while the Church claimed it did nothing wrong toward McPherson.^[52]

On September 15, 1998, Dr. David Minkoff settled his portion of the wrongful death suit by having his malpractice insurance pay $100,000 to the estate.^[53]

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.^[36] 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.^[54][55]

On February 23, 2000, Medical examiner Joan Wood changed the cause of death of Lisa McPherson to an "accident." "Gone from the new report is the original reference to the bed rest and dehydration. Wood still traces the death to a blood clot behind McPherson's knee. But she lists McPherson's psychosis and a minor auto accident as major factors."^[1]

On March 8, 2000, a group of more than 200 Scientologists moved to have the criminal case dismissed on the claim that it had "chilled the religious rights of every Scientologist" and that other Scientologists were now being treated with concern, suspicion or ridicule by non-Scientologists. A central point of the motion was that McPherson had undergone the Introspection Rundown, which the brief putting forth the motion called an "entirely religious" practice.^[56]

On April 4, 2000, Scientology moved to have the entire case dismissed. "The entire basis for the state's prosecution of this case has now collapsed," begins one of the many Scientology legal briefs arguing the case should be dismissed.^[57]

On June 12, 2000, on the advice of Assistant State Attorney Douglas Crow, State Attorney Bernie McCabe dropped the criminal charges against the Church. 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. ... our ability to establish these necessary facts beyond a reasonable doubt has clearly been compromised.^[36]

Later State Attorney Bernie McCabe stated:

Number one, the practice-of-medicine charge was never going to fly on its own, it needed to be there with something else. And the abuse case was predicated almost completely on the dehydration, leading to embolism, leading to death. If you can't establish that, there is nothing to support the abuse charge.^[58]

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.^[13]

On April 29, 2002, the church accused McPherson attorney Ken Dandar of professional misconduct and perjury and tried to get him removed from the case.^[59]

On June 22, 2002, Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Frank Quesada dismissed the count alleging that McPherson was falsely imprisoned on the McPherson's civil suit.

Based on the undisputed facts of this case, plaintiff has not made and cannot make a showing that Lisa McPherson was unlawfully restrained "against her will' by the defendants." "In fact, all of the evidence indicates the opposite. Lisa McPherson refused psychiatric observation or admission at the hospital; she expressly stated her desire to receive the religious care and assistance from her fellow congregants that she and they wanted her to have.^[6]

Scientology conducted a survey in the Clearwater area which showed that four out of five residents have a negative opinion of Scientology.^[60] They tried to use this as a reason for a change of venue, then withdrew the request.^[61]

Scientology sued attorney Ken Dandar for breach of contract, for having added David Miscavige to the wrongful death lawsuit despite a mutual agreement not to add additional defendants. In a 2003 jury trial, Scientology asked for over two million dollars in damages, but received only $4,500 in attorney fees and no punitive damages.^[62][63]

The civil suit was settled out of court on May 28, 2004, under terms undisclosed to the public.^[64][65]

The Church of Scientology now makes members sign a waiver specifically against suing the Church over the Introspection Rundown.^[66]

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 to avoid prejudicing the jury pool against Scientology.^[67] A group of Scientology critics led by Bob Minton named the short-lived Lisa McPherson trust after her. Bob Minton later became a witness for the Church of Scientology, confessing to perjury in the wrongful death lawsuit.^[68]

[edit] See also

• Project Chanology -- worldwide protests held against Scientology on February 10, 2008, Lisa McPherson's birthday.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Lisa McPherson Memorial website Created by long time critic of Scientology, Jeff Jacobsen

v • d • e Scientology Beliefs and practices Assists · Auditing · Comm Evs · Disconnection · Doctrine of Exchange · E-meter · Holidays · Jesus in Scientology · Marriage · Medical claims · R2-45 · Past lives · Rundowns · Silent birth · Space opera · Supernatural abilities · Study Tech · Thetan · Training routines · Variant texts Concepts MEST · Reactive mind · Tone scale Controversies Democracy · Fair Game · The Fishman Affidavit · Free Zone · Gabe Cazares · Philip Gale · Project Normandy · Keith Henson · Legal cases · Noah Lottick · Lisa McPherson · Operation Clambake · Operation Snow White · Operation Freakout · Patter drill · Elli Perkins · Psychiatry · Scientology as a business · Suppressive Person · The Internet · Scientology and Me · "The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power" · Lawrence Wollersheim · Xenu · Project Chanology · Scientology Moscow vs. Russia Dianetics Engram · Dianetics: MSMH · Clear Organization Church of Scientology · Church of Scientology International · Sea Org · RPF  · Celebrity Centre · Trementina Base · Church of Spiritual Technology · Office of Special Affairs · Gold Base · International Association of Scientologists · Religious Technology Center People Tom Cruise · Tom Davis · L. Ron Hubbard · Mary Sue Hubbard · Heber Jentzsch · David Miscavige · Karin Pouw · Mike Rinder · John Travolta Popular culture Ali's Smile/Naked Scientology · "A Token of My Extreme" · A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant · The Bridge · The Profit · Revolt in the Stars · South Park Public groups and recruitment ABLE · CBAA · Celebrities · Criminon · Downtown Medical · Citizens Commission on Human Rights · Narconon · Personality Tests · The Way to Happiness · Volunteer Ministers · WISE Portal Timeline · Trademarks · Scientology bibliography · Filmography · Discography