Fwd: News: Victory! No More Forced Shock for Joan T.

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Thu, 05 Feb 2004 16:41:17 -0800

" www.MindFreedom.org Office "

 

News: Victory! No More Forced Shock for Joan T.

 

 

News: MindFreedom Update - 5 February 2004

http://www.MindFreedom.org - please forward

 

Victory! Joan T. is Free of E.C.T.!

 

No More Forced Electroshock for

60-Year-Old New York Woman.

 

Attorney Says Joan " Expressed Delight! "

 

Today, 5 Feb., attorney Dennis Feld announced that his

client Joan T. is free from any further electroshock,

also known as electroconvulsive therapy or E.C.T.

 

Less than two months ago, on 11 Dec., MindFreedom

announced a campaign to ask Gov. George Pataki to stop

the forced electroshock of Joan T., who is 60 years old.

 

The State of New York's Pilgrim Psychiatric Center had

administered 180 weekly involuntary electroshocks

to Joan T., and was asking the court to let them give

52 more -- another year's worth of forced shock -- over

Joan T.'s clear and repeated objections.

 

Attorney Dennis Feld from Mental Hygiene Legal

Service went to court for Joan T. MindFreedom helped

locate expert witnesses, and alert the public.

 

Mr. Feld announced today that Joan T. had reached

an agreement with Pilgrim that they would not give her

any more forced shock. One argument: A break in the

electroshock did not result in the rapid and dangerous

decline that the State of New York had predicted.

 

Electroshock involves running an electrical current

through the brain of a subject.

 

The victory letter from Mr. Feld thanking those

who assisted his client is below. Mr. Feld said,

" timely assistance and support... likely saved the

mind and perhaps the life of Joan T. "

 

David Oaks, Director of MindFreedom, said, " Mr. Feld

defends forced shock cases like he does a death penalty

case, and he ought to be deeply thanked. But this is

about more than a court of law. Whenever the court of

public opinion finds out about forced electroshock, we see

that 99 percent of the public passionately supports freedom.

Forced electroshock is torture and ought to end today! "

 

~~~~~~~

 

Action:

 

Forced electroshock continues in New York, the USA

and increasingly internationally in developing countries.

 

Thank Governor Pataki for ending the forced shock of

Joan T., but ask him to now ban *all* forced electroshock

in New York. Use his message web page: http://161.11.3.75/

 

To thank Attorney Dennis Feld and send best

wishes to his client e-mail here: dfeld

 

For background and previous alert on Joan T. Campaign:

 

http://www.mindfreedom.org/mindfreedom/shock/jt_shock.shtml

 

For news about three other successful campaigns where

MindFreedom helped stop forced electroshock, plus photos:

 

http://www.mindfreedom.org/mindfreedom/paul.shtml

 

To find out more about MindFreedom and join see

http://www.MindFreedom.org

 

BELOW is thank you letter today from attorney Dennis Feld:

 

~~~~~~

 

 

 

Dennis Feld

State of New York

MENTAL HYGIENE LEGAL SERVICE

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court

Second Judicial Department

 

Re: Joan T.

 

Dear Friends and Colleagues:

 

Kim Darrow and I wish to inform you that

the forced shock case of Matter of Joan T.,

has been favorably resolved by Pilgrim

Psychiatric Center having agreed in a

written Stipulation filed with the Appellate

Division, Second Department, not to enforce

the Order of Suffolk County Supreme Court

which granted the state hospital the

authority to administer 52 shock treatments

to Joan T.

 

As you know, Joan T. had already endured 180

shocks in the past 3 years. Pilgrim had

argued before Supreme Court that Joan T.

needed this course of maintenance shock in

order to control her behavior and maintain

her fragile mental state. The state had

asserted that Joan T. would probably need

maintenance shock for the rest of her life

on a once a week basis and asked the hearing

court to accept the proposed 52 shocks as a

narrowly tailored treatment plan.

 

If you recall we obtained a stay of the

Supreme Court Order pending the outcome of

the appeal. It was during this stay that

Pilgrim Psychiatric Center realized that its

predictions that Joan T.'s condition would

rapidly and dangerously decline without

weekly ECT were in serious error. We further

believe that it was made clear to Pilgrim

from the brief we filed with the Appellate

Division that much more harm will be done

this patient than good if they follow this

course of weekly ECT.

 

The case was to be argued on February 17,

2004 but the appeal now has been withdrawn

based on the above stipulation. Your timely

assistance and support helped bring about

this ultimate result and in our opinion,

likely saved the mind and perhaps the life

of Joan T. Indeed, our attorney assigned to

Joan T.'s unit reports that Joan T.

expressed delight when told she no longer

will be subjected to shock.

 

Once again, thank you for all your assistance

 

Dennis Feld

 

~~~~~~~

 

- end -

 

Please forward.

 

News release by:

 

MindFreedom Support Coalition International.

 

United Action for Human Rights.

 

http://www.MindFreedom.org

 

To join/donate to MindFreedom go directly to:

 

http://www.mindfreedom.org/join.shtml

 

" Today, psychologists have a favorite work and that

word is 'maladjusted.' The salvation of the world

lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted. "

 

- Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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