Wrongfully Disfellowshipped?

YoursChelbie

Of all the ex-Jehovah's Witnesses who are posters on this forum, I think we could be divided into two major groups: Those who over the years "drifted away" and were never DF and those who were DF.

Out of those who were subjected to a Judicial Meeting and subsequently were disfellowshipped, how many feel that the decision was undeserved by the JWitnesses own criteria for disfellowshipping and was completely mishandled?

Did you consider suing the WT society for defamation of character?

Did the disfellowshipping cost you your good name in the neighborhood and have a negative affect on how others view you?

I would appreciate anyone sharing their story.

--YC

flower

I was wrongfully df'd imo....at the time I was fully repentant for what I supposedly had done. I didnt consider sueing though. I figured if I was as repentant as I was and Jehovah still cast me out then I not worthy of life and I considered suicide.

Of course it had a negative affect on how my family viewed me but now I can quite honestly say .."who gives a flyin *(#%@!"

rocketman

Flower, we're so glad that you did not follow through on the thoughts of suicide!! But the fact that you had them demonstrates just what that religion is capable of doing to people. Your flying &^%$#*& attitude now is much more healthy!

Stefanie

You should have never bothered to put yourself through the judical hearings. The were a waste of your time and they have no right to know every personal detail of your life. Unless you still wanted to be a dub. I think from your experience you now know what kind of people you were dealing with. your life will only get better from here.

La Capra

Defamation: For there to a cause of action for defamation, it generally has to be a false statement (written is libel, oral is slander) publicized that tends to bring ridicule, obliquy, disparages in the profession, states as fact that the person committed a crime or would tend to cause a person to be avoided socially (stop being invited over for dinner), etc. BUT it has to be false. They only way one could sue for defamation if it were announced that an individual had been disfellowshipped when she actually had not. Just because people may assume what a person MIGHT have done to be disfellowshipped (even if it weren't the cause), this is not grounds for a defamation claim. Even if a congregation announced that someone was DF'ed in error, it is unlikely that they would avoid correcting the misstatement at the soonest possible moment. If it's the truth, then it isn't defamation (might be invasion of privacy, but that's a whole different set of standards, and hardly that either...) Shoshana

Frannie Banannie

No...I defamed THEIR character....in a letter....telling them what hypocrites and white-washed graves they are....and that Jesus Christ couldn't even qualify for baptism according to their criteria for baptism in the borg today.....this went beyond what Jesus said to/about the religious leaders of his day...so I fully expected them to df me....and they did....took 'em about 6 wks from the time I sent the letter....right on schedule....heheheheh

Frannie B