Clearwater, FL

Learn about Scientology's activities and controversies in Clearwater, FL.

Clearwater, FL in the News

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April 4, 2001 Letters: Scientology Should Be Treated Differently Leaders of Scientology, represented by at least one lawyer who works with Pope, were convicted in a plot involving infiltration and burglary of federal government offices. Scientology officials and organizations have been criminally convicted in Canada. If attorney Wallace Pope and Clearwater police Chief Sid Klein can't tell the difference between Calvary Baptist Church and a syndicate like Scientology, they are a lonely pair indeed. crimes, lawsuits, Press, Scientology and Society
April 9, 2000 2 Judges, 2 Counties, and a Lot of Baloney How to explain the mental nose dives of the medical examiner and the chief circuit judge when they were confronted with the story of the slow, miserable death in 1995 of Scientologist Lisa McPherson at the Fort Harrison Hotel? This is the part I gag on: The Internal Revenue Service gave Scientology the tax-exempt protection of a religion. If what they do at Scientology headquarters in Clearwater is a religion, then I'm a planet. Saturn, say, rings and all. deaths, lawsuits, Lisa McPherson, Press, Scientology and Society
April 8, 2000 Judge Rejects Church Argument In a ruling that stunned the Church of Scientology and its lawyers, a Hillsborough County judge said Friday that religious rights are not a central issue in the 1995 death of Scientologist Lisa McPherson. Hea also said it is not clear whether McPherson consented to her treatment by Scientology staffers before she died in their care. That question should be left to a jury, the judge said. deaths, false imprisonment, lawsuits, Lisa McPherson, Press
April 8, 2000 Scientology Suit For Jury To Decide, Circuit Judge Says A judge says issues of consent - not religion - are at the core of a lawsuit against the Church of Scientology. As criminal charges against the Church of Scientology over the 1995 death of Lisa McPherson hang in the balance, a wrongful death lawsuit filed against the church by McPherson's family grinds toward a June trial. McPherson, 36, died after a 17-day stay at the hotel. Lawyers for McPherson's family contend the 13-year Scientologist was held against her will and force-fed medication. deaths, false imprisonment, lawsuits, Lisa McPherson, Press
April 6, 2000 Scientologists Are Saying Church Being Persecuted Lawyers for the Church of Scientology argued yesterday that criminal charges filed against them in a church member's death were brought by prosecutors determined to negatively brand the church. Prosecutors countered this case is not one of religious freedom, but one of medical neglect. Lisa McPherson had been under the care of Scientology for 17 days following a minor car accident and a mental breakdown. Prosecutors said she was badly dehydrated, malnourished and that the medical care church members gave her was unlicensed and inadequate. crimes, deaths, false imprisonment, Lisa McPherson, Press
December 6, 1998 Washington Post: The Life and Death of a Scientologist After 13 years and thousands of dollars, Lisa McPherson finally went 'clear.' Then she went insane. Lisa McPherson, Press
January 28, 1998 St. Petersburg Times: Hardball When Scientology goes to court, it likes to play rough - very rough. In a 14-month, worldwide survey, the St. Petersburg Times documented a consistent pattern of church officials relentlessly pursuing its critics in legal actions that some charge are designed as much to harass as to achieve legal victory. Lisa McPherson, Press
December 1, 1997 New York Times: Scientology Faces Glare of Scrutiny After Florida Parishioner's Death After Scientologist Lisa McPherson was kept under 24-hour watch at Scientology headquarters, she died in their custody. Her family sued the church on behalf of her estate, claiming McPherson was held. Lisa McPherson, Press
September 4, 1997 St. Petersburg Times: Scientologist's Death Differs in Two Tellings The Church of Scientology's original portrayal of how a 36-year-old woman died under its care bears little resemblance to the sobering tale unfolding this summer with the release of the church's own internal records. Lisa McPherson, Press
April 15, 1997 Scientology's Publication Is Critical Of Police Scientology criticized the Clearwater Police Department in a blistering series of articles published in their tabloid "Freedom". Citing "an informed source" who is not named, the latest edition of the Scientology publication Freedom states that Clearwater police discriminate against black people, have a poor record of drug enforcement, and pad their law enforcement statistics. Police Chief Sid Klein said, "Freedom is at best journalistically bankrupt." Press, Scientology and Society