Blind Justice? The Brennan Estate v. Church of Scientology (Friday, February 15)

About a year ago, attorney Luke Lirot joined the God Discussion show to talk about a wrongful death lawsuit filed by his client, Victoria Britton, Personal Representative of The Estate of Kyle Brennan, against the Church of Scientology. Her son Kyle, a 20-year-old Catholic college student from Charlottesville, Virginia, died on February 16, 2007, when visiting his Scientologist father Tom Brennan in Clearwater, Florida.  We will revisit this disturbing story in February 15 episode of the Freethought Fridays and Variety Show with Al and Deborah.

Kyle, who was denied his anti-depressant medication because of his father’s religious beliefs, was found at his father’s apartment, shot in the head with his father’s .357 Magnum. The gun was lying near his body. According to the Justice for Kyle Brennan website, there were a number of suspicious circumstances surrounding the young man’s death, including no evidence that Kyle committed suicide since there was no suicide note and Kyle’s fingerprints were found nowhere, including on the revolver and ammunition found at the scene. Additionally, Kyle was a prolific writer; yet, his laptop computer was nowhere to be found.

Speaking publicly for the first time, Victoria Britton will share her son’s story: what he was like growing up; how Kyle, a non-Scientologist, felt about the Church of Scientology; and how he became a victim of the church’s dictatorial “handling” mandate and its well-known war against psychiatry and psychotropic medications.

Joining Victoria will be experts in the elements of Scientology beliefs that are alleged to have contributed to Kyle’s death.  Ex-Scientologist Lance Marcor will discuss “handling” and “disconnection”, two of Scientology’s most injurious policies; Dr. Stephen Wiseman will talk about the church from a psychiatrist’s point of view; and David Love will talk about Narconon – how the facility treats illegal drugs and medically approved medications as being one and the same.

Lance Marcor submitted declarations in the wrongful death lawsuit.  Still a minister of the Church of Scientology, Marcor left the church in 2007.  In his Second Declaration (linked), Lance describes the “handle or disconnect” policy of the Church that he contend played a role in Kyle’s death.

Dr. Stephen Wiseman is a psychiatrist and the medical director of the Complex Pain Centre at St. Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver, Canada. He has researched and presented on Scientology’s relationship with psychiatry for many years, conducting workshops at both the American and Canadian Psychiatric Association annual conferences. Dr. Wiseman is a proponent of evidence-based medicine, and believes that the fear and mis-information presented by Scientology about psychiatry over the years has perpetuated the stigma against patients and their families and has been very destructive to the cause of rational mental health treatment for all who require it.

David Edgar Love is well-known for his efforts to expose Narconon’s practices in Canada.  A former patient and staff member with Narconon, David now publishes news stories critical of the rehab program and relevant human rights information on his website, NarcononCanada.com.  Born on the West Coast of British Columbia, David lives in the Montreal area. He formed a charitable organization in 1990 and was the director of a rehabilitation center for substance abuse. He then completed a University of British Columbia Real Estate Course and was employed as a Realtor and Sub-Mortgage Broker for more than six years. David’s life is fulfilled doing research on public safety, culture, disease and illness.  In his words, he “strives to help persons with human rights and freedom issues,  especially those related to Scientology Narconon and other dangerous cults.”

Show Time: Friday night, February 15, 2013, 6 Pacific / 7 Mountain / 8 Central / 9 Eastern / GMT=Saturday, February 16 @ 3 AM (Additional time conversions at the World Time Server).

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