Anyone who has followed the Final Exit Network (FEN) since the news broke out about the arrests of members in Georgia and Arizona has to have noticed that the group has changed its tune about just what its mission is, and just what kind of “help” they give to people who commit suicide.
A lawyer for FEN was in court on Friday arguing the charges against the four FEN members in Georgia violate their constitutional right to free speech.
The thing is, though, that the charges relate to alleged actions by FEN members, not words.
Unfortunately, no single news story contained every bit of rebuttal against the “free speech” defense.
So piecing from different news stories, here is a reality check about the criminal charges:
- Forsyth News: “All four were indicted in March on one count each of offering to assist in the commission of suicide, tampering with evidence and violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations, or RICO, Act.” (‘tampering with evidence’ means that FEN members cleaned up after the suicide to remove evidence that Celmer – and others ‘helped’ – died through suicide)
- Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB): “Meanwhile, a Forsyth County judge did not immediately rule Friday on a request to dismiss the case against four of the network’s members. An undercover officer posing as a suicide candidate testified one of the members showed him how they would hold his hands so he could not remove a helium bag from his face that would help him die.”
There is no telling when the judge will rule, or what that ruling will be. Luckily, the judge will most likely be evaluating the arguments presented in court – and not the mostly sloppy press coverage of FEN. –Stephen Drake