Minnesota: Defence wants charges tossed out in online suicide case

Description: [of the article from the Ottawa Citizen]

[Background note: Some Canadian anti-euthanasia activists and Members of Parliament appear to be hoping that this case, involving an Ottawa student, will provide the impetus for Parliament to ban all online access to information about euthanasia and self-deliverance.]

The report starts with: A lawyer for the Minnesota man accused of two felony counts of assisted suicide, including one involving an 18-year-old Carleton University student, will try to have the charges against his client thrown out of court.

William Melchert-Dinkel, 47, was scheduled to appear in court Tuesday to enter a plea. Instead, the hearing was postponed by Melchert-Dinkel's lawyer, Terry Watkins, who indicated he would contest evidence gathered by U.S. law enforcement officials. Watkins did not respond to a request for comment.

In April, Melchert-Dinkel was charged with assisted suicide for his involvement in the deaths of Nadia Kajouji, an 18-year-old Brampton girl who killed herself in March 2008, and Briton Mark Dryborough, who hanged himself in 2005 when he was 32. Melchert-Dinkel, a former nurse with a disturbing disciplinary history, has admitted to trolling online suicide chat rooms in search of severely depressed people to talk into suicide. In conversations with police, he likened the activity to hunting, admitting he was motivated by "the thrill of the chase."

In Ottawa: Ottawa police, who have a nearly identical Canadian law to work with, told Nadia Kajouji's mother they don't believe Melchert-Dinkel violated the assisted-suicide law. Ottawa police Staff-Sgt. Uday Jaswal said there wasn't sufficient "cause and effect" to convict him.

[There are other related stories in the Links section below.]

Links:

To read the full article click on one of these links, both of which go to the same destination. A short link is provided for the convenience of readers. Also, readers may search and browse past and future advisories on the web (see bottom.)

  • http://tinyurl.com/2bwnaux

  • http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Defence+wants+charges+tossed+Kajouji+case/3218305/story.html

    Also see:

  • Minnesota: Did Nurse Encourage Several Online Suicides? [ABC News]
    http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=10855796
    This story ends with: According to police, Melchert-Dinkel confessed that he had "encouraged dozens of persons to commit suicide," entered into "10 to 11 suicide pacts online with individuals all over the world" and "assisted five or less individuals in killing themselves." Police said Melchert-Dinkel told them he did it for "the thrill of the chase."

    But he was never present at a death, never met his victims and never supplied equipment or drugs. He did nothing but chat online. "Our belief is that Mr. Melchert-Dinkel will be acquitted," said Watkins, the defense attorney. Perhaps the defendant's best hope of acquittal is if words like these are deemed free speech: "Attach the noose or loop to yourself then step off and hang successfully."

  • Assisted suicide - where will Canada draw the line? [OneNewsNow (EuthaNEWSia, Dec. 4, 2009)]
    http://www.onenewsnow.com/Politics/Default.aspx?id=791328

    This story is about House of Commons Motion 388, which asks the government to clarify the Criminal Code to protect Canadians against Internet suicide predators who may attempt to convince vulnerable individuals to commit suicide. This "Christian news service" suggests that Motion 388 is really "a motion to clarify laws dealing with assisted suicide."

Source:

Greenberg, Lee. "Defence wants charges tossed out in Kajouji case". The Ottawa Citizen. June 30, 2010. <www.ottawacitizen.com/Defence+wants+charges+tossed+Kajouji+case/3218305/story.html>. The Ottawa Citizen, 1101 Baxter Road, Box 5020, Ottawa, Ontario, K2C 3M4.

Tags:

Tags (or keywords) briefly indicate some major topics of the report.

  • assisted suicide

  • prosecution

  • Minnesota

  • U.S.A.

ID:

The EuthaNEWSia ID for this advisory is: enid201006307727.
Mailed: Wednesday, June 30, 2010 14:15:21 -0600
at Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

Etcetera:

EuthaNEWSia is a free Canadian news advisory service covering end-of-life issues such as right to die, assisted suicide, and euthanasia. EuthaNEWSia is produced by the Right to Die Society of Canada which works toward a good death for all, including open, regulated and equitable access to euthanasia and assisted suicide. The editor is Michael Dawson <editor@euthanewsia.ca>. 

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