A Sympathetic Look At Final Exit's Jerry Dicin

Here’s a more than sympathetic portrayal of the Final Exit Network’s Jerry Dicin.

Right-to-Die Advocate Jerry Dincin Awaits His Own Exit

In February, as temperatures in the Chicago area unseasonably spiked into the 60s and 70s, Jerry Dincin’s neighbors took to the streets. They strolled around the North Shore town of Highland Park wearing T-shirts and shorts, with their dogs and children, soaking up the sun. Everyone, including Dincin, a retired psychologist, marveled at how nature can surprise us. But for him, the beauty was bittersweet. “I think this is my last winter,” he told me, staring through a window at the bright blue skies.

At 81, Dincin does not want to die. He loves Susanne, his wife of 11 years; her son, Ben, who starts college this fall; and his four adult children from a previous marriage. And his cats Sparky (the fat one) and Scrappy (the skittish one). And the symphonies of Beethoven. And the wooden objects he and Susanne collect at art fairs and hang on the walls of their red-roofed ranch house. He is in no hurry to leave all this behind. more

More On The Final Exit Network In Minnesota

Here’s more about the indictment of the Final Exit Network in Minnesota. 

Assisted Suicide Group Accused in Death of Apple Valley Woman

Five years after an Apple Valley woman was found dead inside her home, prosecutors now say four people illegally helped her commit suicide. A Dakota County grand jury has also indicted members of a group called "Final Exit Network" in connection with the woman's death.

The new charges have placed Minnesota in the middle of the on-going assisted suicide debate.

The case stems from the death of 57-year-old Doreen Dunn. Those who knew here say she was in obvious pain for years. Her struggle dragged on for years. more

Minnesota: Final Ext Network Indicted

The Final Exit Network has been indicted in Minnesota for being involved in the suicide of a woman who suffered from chronic pain.

Legal fight looms in Apple Valley suicide case

A national right-to-die group is headed for a court battle in Dakota County after investigators pieced together evidence linking it to an Apple Valley woman's suicide nearly five years ago.

Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom announced Monday that a local grand jury had indicted the Final Exit Network and four of its members on 17 counts of assisting a suicide and interfering with a death scene. more

Final Exit Network Nailed In Minnesota

The Final Exit Network has been accused of assisting in a suicide in Minnesota. Will keep you posted as the trial unfolds.

Debate flares over assisted suicide

Doreen Dunn had lived in pain for a decade by the time she killed herself in May 2007.

After consulting with the nonprofit Final Exit Network, she used helium and a plastic bag to end her life on the couch of her home in Apple Valley, Minn.

Now, an investigation of her death puts Minnesota at the center of a national debate over assisted suicide.

Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom will present evidence to a grand jury this week, seeking indictments against the Georgia-based Final Exit Network and a handful of its members, accusing them of breaking state laws against aiding a suicide and interfering with a dead body. more

Final Exit Network Settles In Assisted Suicide Death

Good to see that the Final Exit Network in Georgia isn’t winning all they put their hands to. It was the death of John Celmer that finally brought FEN into the open.

Ga. widow settles lawsuit against suicide group

An attorney says the widow of a 58-year-old has reached a settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit filed against members of a suicide group once charged with helping him die. more

Final Exit Network Wins Court Battle

Bad news in Georgia: Pro-death organization the Final Exit Network prevails in getting the court to agree that encouraging assisted suicide is free speech. Hopefully Georgia legislators can craft a better law than the one that was just struck down.

Georgia court strikes down assisted suicide restrictions

Georgia's top court on Monday struck down a state law designed to discourage assisted suicides after four members of a group that helped a cancer-stricken man die said the law also violated free speech rights.

The Georgia Supreme Court's unanimous ruling concludes the 1994 state law "restricts speech in violation of the free speech clauses" of the U.S. and Georgia constitutions. The ruling could help reshape the state's end-of-life policy. more