# Been Reading about Lisa McPherson and the Introspection Rundown **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 26, 2006, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/been-reading-about-lisa-mcpherson-and-the-introspection-rundown/366118 "2006-07-26T17:36:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/been-reading-about-lisa-mcpherson-and-the-introspection-rundown/366118/1 "2006-07-26T17:36:19Z")
From this link [The Lisa McPherson Clause](http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Scientology/ReleaseForms/Introspection.html) > [@Waiver Signed by Scientologists upon Joining](#): > > If circumstances should ever arise in which government, medical or psychiatric officials or personnel or family members or friends attempt to compel or coerce or commit me for psychiatric evaluation, treatment or hospitalization, I fully desire and expect that the Church or Scientologists will intercede on my behalf to oppose such efforts and/or extricate me from that predicament… > I understand that the Introspection Rundown … includes being isolated from … family members, friends or others with whom I might normally interact… The Case Supervisor will determine the time period in which I will remain isolated, according to the beliefs and practices of the Scientology religion. I further specifically acknowledge that the duration of any such isolation is uncertain, determined only by my spiritual condition, but that such duration will be completely at the discretion of the Case Supervisor. > > I accept and assume all known and unknown risks of injury, loss, or damage resulting from my decision to participate in the Introspection Rundown and specifically absolve all persons and entities from all liabilities of any kind, without limitation, associated with my participation or their participation in my Introspection Rundown. There’s no way this is enforceable, right? At the site linked to, it says Lisa McPherson’s case was “delayed until 2004.” What more recent developments have taken place? What documentation exists regarding other cases of harm coming from an “Introspection Rundown?” Assuming this site [http://www.whyaretheydead.net/lisa\_mcpherson/introspe.htm](http://www.whyaretheydead.net/lisa_mcpherson/introspe.htm) isn’t misrepresenting the introspection RD, then the info from both sites linked to in this post seems to be sufficient for a strong suspicion that Scientology does in fact engage in incarceration and directly psychologically harmful practices during that incarceration. If they weren’t doing it, why would they have documents like these explaining how to do it, and attempting to absolve themselves of legal responsibility for it? And it would be very hard to believe Lisa McPherson constituted an isolated case of a practice that had never actually been engaged in before. It looks like Scientology is involved in alot of lawsuits, but I’m interested in the question of criminal conduct. Have criminal charges been brought against them? -FrL- (I’ve put this in GD because I just know it’s going to turn GD.) (The following is an observation which is in really poor taste. It may very well offend you. It should offend you. It’s totally wrong. It’s bad. Don’t read it. But it’s kind of funny. It strikes me that “Lisa McPherson and the Introspection Rundown” could make for a good band name. I told you not to read it. ---
**Author:** ![Walter\_Windchill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Walter\_Windchill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walter_Windchill)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/been-reading-about-lisa-mcpherson-and-the-introspection-rundown/366118/2 "2006-07-26T17:40:35Z")
The less I know about the Church of Scientology, the happier I am. ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/been-reading-about-lisa-mcpherson-and-the-introspection-rundown/366118/3 "2006-07-26T17:44:02Z")
[QUOTE=Walter Windchill] The less I know about the Church of Scientology, the happier I am. [/QUOTE] A technique that seems to work well for Tom Cruise, too. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/been-reading-about-lisa-mcpherson-and-the-introspection-rundown/366118/4 "2006-07-26T17:53:48Z")
No term of a contract is enforceable in court if it is illegal or otherwise “contrary to public policy.” In particular, you cannot, in advance, sign away any of your civil rights, including your right to unrestricted freedom of movement. No way would this release stand up in court. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/been-reading-about-lisa-mcpherson-and-the-introspection-rundown/366118/5 "2006-07-26T17:55:10Z")
From [LisaMcPherson.com](http://www.lisamcpherson.com/home.php) > [@](#): > > The Lisa McPherson Civil Case was settled by the parties in May of 2004… CMC fnord! ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/been-reading-about-lisa-mcpherson-and-the-introspection-rundown/366118/6 "2006-07-26T18:50:45Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] No term of a contract is enforceable in court if it is illegal or otherwise “contrary to public policy.” In particular, you cannot, in advance, sign away any of your civil rights, including your right to unrestricted freedom of movement. No way would this release stand up in court. [/QUOTE] That is incorrect. You surrender unrestricted freedom of movement and absolute freedom of speech among other things when you join the military. That contract is most definitely enforceable. ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/been-reading-about-lisa-mcpherson-and-the-introspection-rundown/366118/7 "2006-07-26T18:55:21Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] No term of a contract is enforceable in court if it is illegal or otherwise “contrary to public policy.” In particular, you cannot, in advance, sign away any of your civil rights, including your right to unrestricted freedom of movement. No way would this release stand up in court. [/QUOTE] [QUOTE=Airman Doors, USAF] That is incorrect. You surrender unrestricted freedom of movement and absolute freedom of speech among other things when you join the military. That contract is most definitely enforceable. [/QUOTE] The same is true when if you sign yourself into a psychiatric hospital. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/been-reading-about-lisa-mcpherson-and-the-introspection-rundown/366118/8 "2006-07-26T19:24:26Z")
[QUOTE=Airman Doors, USAF] That is incorrect. You surrender unrestricted freedom of movement and absolute freedom of speech among other things when you join the military. That contract is most definitely enforceable. [/QUOTE] I was referring to contracts between private parties. The military is, legally, a separate category entirely, and the terms of your enlistment are legally enforceable based on special statutory provisions, not alone on the ordinary common-law principles of contract law (though those remain relevant for some purposes). As for signing yourself into a psychiatric hospital, that is not a “contract” in the usual sense and, again, its legal force is based on special statutory provisions. **No way** can the Church of Scientology bring this kind of contract into court and expect it to stick. It might try to make a case for an “introspection rundown” facility as being a species of psychiatric hospital, but that would get laughed out of court even if the CoS **didn’t** denounce psychiatry as a harmful pseudoscience in its own literature. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2006, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/been-reading-about-lisa-mcpherson-and-the-introspection-rundown/366118/9 "2006-07-27T19:33:42Z")
[QUOTE=Frylock] It strikes me that “Lisa McPherson and the Introspection Rundown” could make for a good band name. I told you not to read it. [/QUOTE] I’m gonna need a double bass drum kit to fit all that. But, yeah, you’re right. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2006, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/been-reading-about-lisa-mcpherson-and-the-introspection-rundown/366118/10 "2006-07-27T20:35:13Z")
[QUOTE=Airman Doors, USAF] That is incorrect. You surrender unrestricted freedom of movement and absolute freedom of speech among other things when you join the military. That contract is most definitely enforceable. [/QUOTE] Yes, because that’s a legal contract.