On Monday morning, June 25, 2007, The Reverend George David Exoo, a Unitarian minister and euthanasia (literal meaning: “good death”) advocate living in Beckley, West Virginia, was arrested by FBI agents and taken to the Southern Regional Jail, near Beckley. There he was booked and jailed, pending a hearing on Friday, June 29, at 2:30 at the Federal Building in Beckley. At that time it will be determined if he is eligible for bond while awaiting legal proceedings to determine if there are any legal grounds for his extradition to Ireland.
Irish police want to prosecute Exoo for his role in the suicide death of Rosemary Toole (formally known as Rosemary Elizabeth Toole Gilhooly), a 48-year-old Irish woman who suffered from the debilitating effects of Cushing’s Syndrome and profound depression. Toole ended her life by taking a massive overdose of sleeping pills mixed with alcohol and by inhaling helium gas. This method of suicide, which Ms. Toole chose to employ, is explained in the international best-selling book, Final Exit, by Derek Humphry, founder of The Hemlock Society USA.
Exoo denies that he took any active role in Toole’s suicide, stating that he broke no laws by providing her with suicide counseling, observing her death, and providing a compassionate presence as she carried out her last wishes by her own hand. He will contest any attempts to extradite him.
Read the fuller story at the Compassionate Chaplaincy site.
