Final Exit Network Has 4 Members Arrested

On February 25, 2009, four volunteers of the Final Exit Network were arrested by officers acting under the authority of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The Final Exit Network is a non-profit organization composed of volunteers who assist people seeking to end their lives. According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation website, the arrests of the Final Exit Network members were the result of an ongoing investigation into the death of a 58-year-old Georgian man. Other state's law enforcement agencies as well as many other Georgian agencies contributed to the investigation and arrests of the four Final Exit Network Volunteers.

Arrested were: Claire Blehr (age 76) of Georgia; Thomas Goodwin (age 63) of Florida; Dr. Lawrence Egbert (age 81) of Maryland; and Nicholas Sheridan (age 60), also of Maryland. All but Sheridan remain in police custody. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation states that the investigation of the Final Exit Network is ongoing and other arrests may occur. They do not mention how many states are assisting in the Final Exit Network investigation.

According to the Final Exit Network website, "the Final Exit Network will serve many whom other organizations may turn away." Also according to the Final Exit Network website, a person must have an "incurable condition which causes intolerable pain" in order to seek the services of the Final Exit Network. The Final Exit Network website goes on to describe other required conditions, as well as certain ailments for which the Final Exit Network will not provide services.

Like other right-to-die organizations, the Final Exit Network states that it wishes to end the suffering of people with terminal and extraordinarily painful conditions. According to the Final Exit Network website, they step away from legislative work because they feel the process is too slow and people need solutions now. The Final Exit Network website lists Dr. Larry Egbert, one of the four arrested, as the Medical Director of the Final Exit Network. Ted Goodwin is listed as the president of the Final Exit Network, but it is not made clear in the Georgia Bureau of Investigation news release whether this is the same Thomas Goodwin they arrested on February 25, 2009.

Sources:

The official website of The Final Exit Network, http://www.finalexitnetwork.org/default.htm

Arrests Made, Search Warrants Executed in Assisted Suicide Investigation into Final Exit Network, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, http://gbi.georgia.gov/00/press/detail/0,2668,67862954_67866877_134336516,00.html