PHOENIX -- An Arizona cryonics facility must show a document
to the nephews of the late Ted Williams that could prove the
baseball Hall of Famer wanted to be frozen after his death, a judge
has ruled.
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Thomas Dunevant III ordered
Friday that Alcor Life Extension Foundation Inc. must present a
document of gift to John Theodore and Samuel Stuart Williams.
The nephews are among family and friends of Ted Williams who
have waged a legal battle to have the remains of the famed Boston
Red Sox slugger cremated.
Alcor CEO Joe Waynick said the company will produce the document
within two weeks unless its attorneys decide to appeal the judge's
decision.
The nephews said they will halt their legal challenge if Alcor
can produce a proper document that proves that Williams wanted to
be frozen at the cryonics warehouse in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Under the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act, a hospital or entity that
accepts donated body parts must have a signed document of gift that
shows the deceased person or his or her family authorized the
donation.
A former Alcor manager who copied files relating to the case
before leaving the company in August 2003 has claimed that Alcor
did not have proper authorization to freeze Williams' remains.
Williams, who died in Florida in July 2002, is among 64 patients
frozen at Alcor in liquid nitrogen.
His son John Henry Williams, who died of leukemia in March at
age 35, is believed to be among Alcor's patients.
In June, Williams' oldest daughter and son-in-law ended their two-year fight to have the baseball great's remains removed from Alcor.
Bobby-Jo Williams and Mark Ferrell spent close to $100,000
battling Williams' estate before saying their money had run out.
Bobby-Jo Williams said her father's last will detailed his
request to be cremated and have his ashes scattered in his favorite
fishing waters off the Florida coast.
But John Henry Williams later produced a scrawled note,
allegedly written by his father from a hospital bed, in which the
Hall of Famer agreed to cryonics preservation.
Alcor stores human bodies and severed heads in vats of liquid
nitrogen in the hope that someday science will be able to bring the
dead to life.