Undue Influence

New Book on Patty Hearst Falls Short of Understanding Undue Influence

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I recently read a NY Times book review of AMERICAN HEIRESS: The Wild Saga of the Kidnapping, Crimes and Trial of Patty Hearst by Jeffrey Toobin and listened to an interview done with the author on NPR. Honestly, I was horrified at his lack of knowledge and understanding about undue influence and disagreed 100% with his conclusions. I felt like I was listening to a “cult apologist”- someone hired by cult groups to defend the group and say they are “fine”- for example, G. Gordon Melton flying to Japan after the sarin gas attacks to defend the Aum Shinrikyo cult. The cult leader, Shoko Asahara, is on death row for being guilty of the terrorist attacks on over five thousand of Japanese citizens.

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Prince and the Power of Undue Influence

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By now, almost everyone reading has heard the news that Prince has died. Though the exact cause of his death is still unknown, there have been speculations that his beliefs as a Jehovah’s Witness may have played a part. Whether or not the rumors are true, it is a fact that Jehovah’s Witnesses are taught to abstain from blood transfusions. If Prince were to have refused treatment and died, he would not be the first to do so as a result of Watchtower doctrine.*

One has to wonder though, how does a person like Prince become a Jehovah’s Witness?

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