George David Exoo (August 22, 1942 – May 26, 2015) was an American

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

-born former

Unitarian Universalist Unitarian or Unitarianism may refer to: Christian and Christian-derived theologies A Unitarian is a follower of, or a member of an organisation that follows, any of several theologies referred to as Unitarianism: * Unitarianism (1565–present) ...

minister and

assisted suicide Assisted suicide, sometimes restricted to the context of physician-assisted suicide (PAS), is the process by which a person, with the help of others, takes actions to end their life. Once it is determined that the person's situation qualifie ...

activist who spent months in jails after he was accused of helping a woman in Ireland kill herself. He became a Unitarian Universalist minister in 1973, but resigned in 2002 because of the Irish legal charges against him. He was originally a Methodist and had a doctorate in music history from

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

. He began his involvement with assisted suicide after a member of his congregation made remarks about a man he'd counselled who had committed suicide. In 1982 he joined the

Hemlock Society The Hemlock Society (sometimes called Hemlock Society USA) was an American right-to-die and assisted suicide advocacy organization which existed from 1980 to 2003, and took its name from the hemlock plant ''Conium maculatum'', a highly poisonous h ...

and later he joined

Final Exit Network Final Exit Network, Inc. (FEN) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit right to die advocacy group incorporated under Florida law. It holds that mentally competent adults who suffer from a terminal illness, intractable pain, or irreversible physic ...

. The first suicide he assisted occurred in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

in 1995. In 2008 he claimed to have assisted in at least 102 other suicides.

AIDS activist and residency at the New Vrindaban "City of God"

Exoo studied under

Wilfred Cantwell Smith Wilfred Cantwell Smith, (July 21, 1916 – February 7, 2000) was a Canadian Islamicist, comparative religion scholar, and Presbyterian minister. He was the founder of the Institute of Islamic Studies at McGill University in Quebec and later ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, and did his doctoral work in religion and society at the

Graduate Theological Union The Graduate Theological Union (GTU) is a consortium of eight private independent American Seminary, theological schools and eleven centers and affiliates. Seven of the theological schools are located in Berkeley, California. The GTU was founded ...

. He was ordained a minister by the

Unitarian Universalists Unitarian Universalism (abbreviated UUism or UU) is a Religious liberalism, liberal religious tradition characterized by its commitment to theological diversity, inclusivity, and social justice. Unitarian Universalists do not adhere to a single ...

. In

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

, where he led a Unitarian congregation, he distributed free condoms to homosexual men in the 1980s at restrooms at South Carolina freeway rest stops. In August 1989, he visited the

New Vrindaban New Vrindaban is an unincorporated area and an ISKCON (Hare Krishna) intentional community located in Marshall County, West Virginia, United States, near Moundsville. The town consists of (0.1 km² of which is water), and several building co ...

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna may refer to: * International Society for Krishna Consciousness, a group commonly known as "Hare Krishnas" or the "Hare Krishna movement" * Hare Krishna (mantra), a sixteen-word Vaishnava mantra also known as the "Maha Mantra" (Great ...

community in

Marshall County, West Virginia Marshall County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 30,591. Its county seat is Moundsville. With its southern border at what would be a continuation of the Mason-Dixon line to the Ohio River ...

, and became attracted by the vision of an interfaith community as described by the community's founder, Kirtanananda Swami Bhaktipada. He moved to the community in June 1990, determined to create a hospice for AIDS victims, and in October 1990, along with two other interfaith residents, incorporated his own church, "The Interfaith Friends", a federation of Unitarian-Universalism, Taoism and Quakers. However, by early 1991, he became disturbed by the "totalitarian control by the Swami", and the "lack of integrity, blatant corruption, deceit, theft, and the gross abuse of the mental and physical well being of its own residents." Exoo (and his partner Thomas McGurrin, a former Krishna devotee) left the community and moved to

Beckley, West Virginia Beckley is a city in Raleigh County, West Virginia, United States, and its county seat. The population was 17,286 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in West Virginia, ninth-most populous city in th ...

, where he led a Unitarian congregation. In June 1992, ''In Pittsburgh'' magazine published an article by Exoo titled "The City of Fraud" in which he told the tale of betrayal and threatened physical harm he experienced while living at the New Vrindaban "City of God".

Extradition request from Irish government

In January 2002 the Irish authorities wanted Exoo for assisting the suicide of Rosemary Toole. The United States arrested him, but ultimately refused extradition on the grounds that Irish and American law in this area were not compatible. Exoo declined to attend the inquest into Toole's death on legal advice."I won't be back, says right-to-die reverend"
by Jason O'Brien, ''

Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray backgrou ...

'', May 16, 2009; retrieved May 31, 2009 He stated, however, that it was unlikely he would work with Irish citizens in the future, as he considered it too dangerous. Although he had supporters, there were concerns within the right-to-die community that Exoo assisted suicides of individuals who did not have terminal or debilitating illness."I make it look like they died in their sleep"
by

Jon Ronson Jon Ronson (born 10 May 1967) is a British-American journalist, author, and filmmaker. He is known for works such as '' Them: Adventures with Extremists'' (2001), '' The Men Who Stare at Goats'' (2004), and '' The Psychopath Test'' (2011). H ...

, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', May 12, 2008

Coverage by Jon Ronson

profiled him in

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

documentary ''Reverend Death''.''Reverend Death''
/ref> Exoo claimed to have helped 102 people commit suicide, although

claims that most of Exoo's clients, including Toole, were suffering from depression or psychosomatic illnesses, not terminal illnesses.

Property in Gastonia

Exoo bought a property in

Gastonia, North Carolina Gastonia is the most populous city in and the county seat of Gaston County, North Carolina, United States. It is the second-largest satellite city of the Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte area, behind Concord, North Carolina, Concord. The po ...

, in 2007, with the intent of using part of it as a place for terminally ill patients to end their lives.

Death

Exoo died May 26, 2015, at a hospice in

, at the age of 72.

References