Fan to commit suicide on stage at a concert
Hell on Earth web page
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Originally Posted by [URL=http://www.rollingstone.com/news/newsarticle.asp?nid=18696
]RollingStone[/URL]
Florida industrial rockers Hell on Earth are planning to host an on-stage suicide during their October 4th show at St. Petersburg's State Theater. A terminally ill member of a euthanasia society, whose identity and condition have not been revealed, intends to raise awareness for the cause of dying with dignity by committing suicide during the concert, according to the band's singer, Billy Tourtelot.
"I support the right to die with dignity," Tourtelot says. "I got an email a few weeks ago from this person, who is a fan of the band and who stated an interest in doing this."
Tourtelot, 33, says he will reveal the name of the person on the day of the show. "I was skeptical at first, but we did some research and talked to the person and met, and they're going to do it."
In a press release issued Monday the fan wrote: "I thank the Lord that Hell on Earth is giving me this opportunity to end my suffering. I just want to say as my last will and testament that this is my God-given choice to end my life. I'd prefer to have a physician-assisted suicide but until the laws are changed, those who are in pain like me will either have to continue to suffer or do it themselves." According to Tourtelot, several suicide methods have been discussed, among them a plastic bag over the head, but the person has not yet decided.
If Hell on Earth -- whose songs include "Toilet Licking Maggot" and "Raped by the Virgin Mary" and whose past stage stunts, according to Tourtelot, include having intercourse with cows and drinking blended rats -- go through with the plan, they could be hit with secondary felony charges for assisting in the commission of self-murder. The punishment for such a crime is fifteen years in prison, though, according to a police spokesperson, the statute has rarely been enforced.
"What they're proposing to do is a crime," says Bill Proffitt of the St. Petersburg Police. "I don't know if this is a publicity stunt, but we will most likely try to head them off at the pass and show them the statute. They may not be aware that it is a crime."
Tourtelot denies that is a publicity stunt or a crime: "We have legal representation, and this is not illegal. I'm definitely not assisting in any suicide . . . What I'm doing may be immoral, but it's not illegal."
GIL KAUFMAN
(September 17, 2003)
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Originally Posted by [url=http://www.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/Music/09/29/suicide.concert.ap/index.html
]CNN[/URL]
ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (AP) -- The St. Petersburg city council passed a law Monday designed to scuttle a rock group's plans to feature an onstage suicide.
The hard-rock band Hell on Earth had said that a suicide by a terminally ill person would take place during a concert Saturday to raise awareness of right-to-die issues.
In response, the city council met Monday morning to unanimously approve an emergency ordinance making it illegal to conduct a suicide for commercial or entertainment purposes, and to host, promote and sell tickets for such an event.
"While I still think it's a publicity stunt, we still couldn't sit idly by and let somebody lose their life," council member Bill Foster said.
Tampa-based Hell of Earth, known for such outrageous onstage stunts as chocolate syrup wrestling and grinding up live rats in a blender, created the furor by announcing the suicide would happen Saturday at the Palace Theater in downtown St. Petersburg.
But the theater's owner, David Hundley, promptly canceled the band's show, and another venue also turned away the event.
Band leader Billy Tourtelot has vowed that the concert and suicide will still take place at an undisclosed location in the city, broadcast live on the band's Web site.
"This show is far more than a typical Hell On Earth performance," Tourtelot said in an e-mail last week. "This is about standing up for what you believe in, and I am a strong supporter of physician-assisted suicide."
A message left for Tourtelot was not immediately returned Monday.
A Florida law already makes assisting in a suicide manslaughter, a second-degree felony.
Hell on Earth is playing clubs in support of its independently produced album, "All Things Disturbingly Sassy."
