Yesterday, March 19th, the Minnesota Supreme Court issued a decision that affects two cases in Minnesota. From the Christian Science Monitor:
The Minnesota Supreme Court on Wednesday reversed the convictions of a former nurse accused of encouraging two people whom he met online to kill themselves.
The court ruled that the language in the state’s assisted-suicide law that pertains to “encouraging” suicide is unconstitutional. It violates the right to free speech. However, the court upheld the part of the law that bans “assisting” suicide.
“We conclude that the State may prosecute Melchert-Dinkel for assisting another in committing suicide, but not for encouraging or advising another to commit suicide. Because the district court did not make a specific finding on whether Melchert-Dinkel assisted the victims’ suicides, we remand for further proceedings consistent with his opinion,” wrote Justice G. Barry Anderson in the majority opinion.
His 360-day jail sentence had been on hold pending the outcome of the appeal.
Melchert-Dinkel, 51, was convicted on two counts of aiding suicide in the deaths of two people: Mark Drybrough, 32, of Coventry, England, who hanged himself in 2005; and Nadia Kajouji, 18, of Brampton, Ontario, who jumped into a frozen river in 2008.
His attorney argued that he was exercising his right to free speech, and that the law — which states that anyone who “intentionally advises, encourages, or assists another in taking the other’s own life” is guilty of a crime — was too broad.
In addition to his free speech claim, Melchert-Dinkel argued that he had no influence on either person’s actions. But prosecutors say his speech wasn’t protected and that he played an integral role in the deaths, including giving step-by-step instructions.
Evidence showed that Melchert-Dinkel sought out depressed people online. When he found them, he posed as a suicidal female nurse, feigned compassion and offered instructions on how they could kill themselves.
Melchert-Dinkel told police he did it for the “thrill of the chase.” According to court documents, he acknowledged participating in online chats about suicide with up to 20 people and entering into fake suicide pacts with about 10, five of whom he believed killed themselves.
Prosecution of Final Exit Members have been on hold pending the outcome of this case. Theoretically, prosecutions in both the Melchert-Dinkel and Final Exit Network cases are possible in terms of suicide assistance, but in reality probably much less likely in the case of Melchert-Dinkel, who never came into physical contact with his targets. There’s a stronger case for assistance in terms of the Final Exit Network, with several members facing various charges regarding their roles in the suicide of Doreen Dunn.
As for Melchert-Dinkel, it’s highly likely he’ll be free of all criminal charges when the dust settles. And that’s disturbing – to put it bluntly, the man is a predator. He searched for vulnerable people struggling with suicidal feelings online. Once he found one, he adopted a persona that would “befriend” that person and work toward a sham suicide pact (with Melchert-Dinkel trying to get the other person to webcast their own suicide). He got off on it.
If cleared of all criminal charges, he’ll have a clean record. And there’s no reason to assume he can’t regain internet access and resume his favorite sport again, secure in the knowledge that he has a free pass from now on. Even the court acknowledged the “depravity” of his actions, which you can read in the decision, available here in pdf.