Scientologists seek dismissal of death case

[Tampa Tribune 13 May 1999]

5/13/99 -- 1:15 AM

Scientologists seek dismissal of death case By DAVID SOMMER of The Tampa Tribune

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CLEARWATER - The government should not ``taint and burden an entire church and religion'' in enforcing laws, a Scientology attorney says.

State prosecutors trampled freedom of religion and defied state and federal law when they charged a branch of the Church of Scientology with crimes in the 1995 death of Lisa McPherson, the church contends in new court motions.

The two criminal counts pending against the church's Clearwater-based Flag Service Organization - abuse of a disabled adult and practicing medicine without a license - should be thrown out for a variety of reasons, according to several pounds of pleadings filed this week in Pasco-Pinellas Circuit Court.

Such charges are ``virtually unprecedented in the history of the United States,'' one motion states. Only once has a church been accused of a crime, and that case was ultimately dismissed on constitutional grounds, church attorney Lee Fugate wrote.

If any crimes were committed in McPherson's death, they were committed by individuals, and that is who prosecutors should go after, Fugate wrote.

``It is by no means necessary for the government to taint and burden an entire church and religion and virtually all its parishioners in order to enforce its laws.''

The charges were filed in November, almost three years after McPherson's death Dec. 5, 1995. Chief Circuit Judge Susan Schaeffer assigned the case to herself after Fugate said he anticipated lengthy and complex legal maneuverings that would disrupt the schedule of a regular trial judge.

Fugate's earlier motion for clarification of the charges is scheduled to be heard today.

A longtime church member who moved here from Texas in 1993, McPherson, 36, died after a 17-day stay at the church's Clearwater headquarters, the Fort Harrison Hotel.

She was involved in a minor traffic accident Nov. 18, 1995, near the headquarters. As police investigated, McPherson disrobed and began walking naked down the street. Officers took her to Morton Plant Hospital for psychiatric evaluation. Church officials soon arrived, and McPherson checked herself out.

Prosecutors contend McPherson then was held against her will at the Fort Harrison Hotel and lost weight and became dehydrated.

Scientology employees did not seek treatment for her until it was too late to prevent McPherson's death from an embolism, an investigator said.

If convicted, the church faces a maximum fine of $15,000 on both counts.

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