Ga. grand jury indicts members of assisted suicide network accused of aiding dozens of deaths

Assisted suicide network members indicted in Ga.

ATLANTA — 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.”

On the Net:

www.finalexitnetwork.org