Sutter Says:
That he was suffering from a brain tumor on September 29, 1995:
"Most of you know I am quite ill, with cancer, Stage 4 congestive heart
failure, chronic hypoxemia, asthma, sleep apnea, diabetes, incomplete SCI at
T-12, spinal arthritis, uncoordinated parastalsys, and a brain tumor...Got to go, something's wrong, I don't feel so good, more later. Rev Jim
The Truth:
Oh, he's right about that last part. Something's definitely
wrong.
Eight days later Sutter was apparently healed of the brain tumor (although that nagging sleep apnea still lingered):
"I myself am a PWD, fighting congestive heart failure, SVT episodes, chronic hypoxemia, diabetes, hearing impairment, unstable asthma, coronary artery disease, sleep apnea, an incomplete SCI at T-12, and neuromuscular disabilities."
(source)
Sutter goes on to say that:
"Despite all this, I strap on my wheelchair and portable respirator each day and go about my ministry work... My doctors tell me that I will most probably die soon, because my heart has been damaged too far to repair."
What a trooper!
In the latter part of 1995, Jim Sutter became an active participant in a Usenet group dedicated to the Americans with Disabilities Act. According to former members, Sutter began spinning tales about fictitious disabilities and declining health in order to solicit support for his lawsuit against the City of Lakewood. Those fooled by his claims sent letters of recommendation to the judge in the trial, who is said to have cited these letters in his ruling in favor of Jim Sutter.
Naturally there was a great deal of bitterness once it became known that Sutter had been scamming the membership and abusing the function of the ADA newsgroup. We like the quote of one individual in particular, who put it this way:
"Many of us have been familiar with the "fraud" of Reverend Jim for many months now....It is a sad commentary on abuse of this list and the Internet in general that so many have been duped by this man whose only real "sickness"....is in his head...."
(source)