CCHR "Psychiatry Exposed" Exhibit In Seattle Area July 18 - 26
The Citizens Commission on Human Rights' “Psychiatry Exposed” traveling exhibit will be in the Seattle area from July 18th to July 26th. This exposes the 300 year history of failure of psychiatry. The best times to attend the exhibit will be July 24th Saturday or July 25th Sunday when the full exhibit will be on display at Waterfront Park - pier 57 on Alaskan Way. The Grand opening ceremony is scheduled for 1pm on Saturday July 24.

The full exhibit schedule is:
July 18 - Sunday, Burien Library - 14700 6th 1pm to 5pm

July 19 - 23rd Monday thru Friday, 401 Broadway at the Broadway Market upstairs. 9am to 7pm.

July 24 & 25 - Saturday & Sunday 10am to 6pm Waterfront Park, Pier 57 on Alaskan Way.

July 26th - Monday, North East Branch Library, 6801 35th Ave NE 1pm to 7pm.

If you have any questions or need further information, do not hesitate to call me at: 206-283-1099 or email me at: cchrseattle@aol.com

Steve Pearce
Director
posted by rick giombetti
12:30 PM - Permanent Link

Congressional Hearing: What did drug companies & FDA hide?
Alliance for Human Research Protecxtion
Promoting openness and full disclosure
Contact: Vera Hassner Sharav
Tel: 212-595-8974
e-mail: veracare@ahrp.org

FYI

AHRP has learned that the Congressionall hearing by the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, scheduled for Tuesday, July 20, 2004 at 9:30 AM, will have a line up of major pharmaceutical industry executives who will be questioned about their companies' failure to disclose clinical trial test results from antidepressant trials conducted in children / adolescents.

Two other panels of top officials of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association and the FDA are also scheduled. The hearing is scheduled for the full day.

The media is advised not to miss the opportunity of hearing major drug company executives testify under oath what they knew about the safety of antidepressants and what they withheld.

The FDA will have to explain the agency's failure to ensure that physicians and the public were warned about evidence of an increased risk of suicide in children prescribed an antidepressant, and the failure of antidepressants to demonstrate a benefit for children in clinical trials.
posted by rick giombetti
12:22 PM - Permanent Link

Congressman Hinchey Calls For Ouster Of FDA Counsel
Alliance for Human Research Protecxtion
Promoting openness and full disclosure
Contact: Vera Hassner Sharav
Tel: 212-595-8974
e-mail: veracare@ahrp.org

Wish I'd said that: "Having Daniel Troy as chief legal counsel of the FDA, is like placing John Gotti in charge of the Justice Department." (Tom Woodward, whose 17 year old daughter committed suicide soon after taking Zoloft said that. Daniel Troy intervened in court decisions defending Pfizer's concealment of Zoloft-related adverse effects, including evidence of increased suicide).

Congress is demanding that the FDA focus its energies on protecting the rights and health of the public--not the wealth and stealth of drug companies.

At a news conference on Tuesday, Congressman Maurice Hinchey said that Troy's intervention on behalf of Pfizer and other drug / device manufacturers broke the law: "by not adhering to the responsibilities of his office to protect the public interest. He should be removed from office. He doesn't belong there."

Hinchey challenged FDA Acting Commissioner, Lester Crawford, for failing to disclose the fact that Pfizer paid Troy's firm $358,000 for Troy's services on the company's behalf in 2001 just prior to being hired by the FDA.

Congressman Hinchey noted that the FDA spent 622 hours working on court briefs Troy improperly filed on behalf of drug manufacturers. Following the press conference, the House passed Hinchey's bill shifting $500,000 from the FDA counsel's office to the office of drug safety. AHRP has obtained a copy of a letter to Crawford from Senators Jeff Bingaman and Jack Reed reminding him that: "drug companies are required to report to FDA data regarding adverse events, whether those products are in clinical trials or already approved for sale. The FDA has also been given additional funding in recent years by the Congress, as the FDA has noted, to "protect human subjects and the integrity of research data in clinical trials."

The Senators cite an article in the May 1, 2004, edition of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, by Drs. Julie Magno Zito, Albert T. Derivan, and Laurence L. Greenhill, noting that federal regulations require: "Assuring subjects that research finding from all studies, whether proprietary or in the public domain, will be made available is a clear application of the justice principle."

The letter further notes that the Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act (FDAMA, P .L. 105-115) "encourages that all such clinical studies, whether publicly or privately funded, be listed on a publicly accessible database maintained by the National Library of Medicine (NLM)." Since manufacturers have failed to abide by the requirement--as confirmed by the FDA's own analysis-- the letter asks the FDA to respond to the following:

* What actions does FDA plan to take to ensure that drug trial sponsors respond to the current federal clinical trial reporting provisions under FDAMA?

* What is the status of the public database of adverse events FDA is considering?

* What will be done to ensure maximum public accessibility to this adverse event information and as well as compliance by manufacturers?

* Is FDA willing to pursue making clinical trials registration a conditionof approval of a protocol, or consider making institutional review board approval contingent upon registration, as the AMA has recommended? Would FDA's ability to hold up clinical studies pending the sponsor's commitment to list the trial require any change in law to provide specific authority for the agency to do this?

* How does your agency respond to the recommendations set forth by Drs. Zito, Derivan and Greenhill and is there anything FDA is planning to do to address these concerns."

Congressman: FDA lying about lawyer: Agency's lead attorney accused of helping drug firms battle consumers
Article Published: Wednesday, July 14, 2004
By Anne C. Mulkern
Denver Post Staff Writer

Washington - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration lied and obfuscated when asked to explain why its lead attorney is helping drug companies fight consumer lawsuits, a congressman said Tuesday.

Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-N.Y., had demanded answers from FDA Commissioner Lester M. Crawford in March after learning that FDA lead counsel Daniel E. Troy has filed court briefs in three lawsuits.

Troy in those cases argued that the suits against drug companies or medical-device makers were invalid.

"I think he's broken the law by not adhering to the responsibilities of his office to protect the public interest," Hinchey said at a news conference. "He should be removed from office. He doesn't belong there."

The Denver Post in May reported that Troy, at a conference of drug company attorneys in New York last December, said he was willing to assist them with cases and invited them to call his office for help.

Troy previously worked as a private attorney and represented drug-manufacturer Pfizer Inc. He went to the FDA in August 2001.

Troy, The Post reported, is one of more than 100 former industry advocates appointed by President Bush to jobs where they now regulate their former industries.

Because so many people from industry have been hired as regulators, Hinchey said Tuesday, "some of those agencies have been corrupted."

Crawford issued a statement in response saying that Troy "is a dedicated and talented public servant who has provided excellent legal advice to FDA."

The statement said Troy "fully complied" with a government requirement to remove himself from involvement in matters involving a past client for the first year in government work.

"FDA has accurately reported the scope and nature of Dan's private-sector work," Crawford said.

"Any allegation that he has not conducted himself in compliance with applicable legal and ethical rules is simply false," he said.

The FDA would not answer any specific questions about Hinchey's accusations.

Hinchey said he has since learned of a fourth court brief and released a letter from the law firm defending a device- maker in that case.

Addressed to Troy's office, the letter gives the best timing for the FDA to submit a court motion. Hinchey said he is also disturbed to learn that Troy is soliciting new cases.

Hinchey said the FDA spent 622 hours working on the briefs Troy filed.

So Hinchey on Tuesday also introduced an amendment to a funding bill that would take $500,000 from Troy's office - the amount of taxpayer money Hinchey says Troy wasted.

The money would go to enforcement of misleading advertising, Hinchey said.

The amendment passed on the House floor. The funding bill will have to be merged with a Senate bill.

Hinchey said he learned that Pfizer paid Troy's old law firm $358,000 in 2001 for services performed by Troy.

Troy left the firm in August 2001 to go to the FDA.

The FDA, in response to questions asked of Crawford at a House committee hearing, had told Hinchey that Troy worked about 80 hours a year for Pfizer. The FDA omitted mention of the $358,000, which Hinchey called an attempt to minimize Troy's efforts for Pfizer.

The agency also said it had intervened in court cases, Hinchey said, but failed to mention that in all cases prior to Troy, it had done so only when asked to by a court.

Separately, the FDA listed four cases filed under Troy's tenure "in which FDA has been subpoenaed to produce a witness or documents."

That is false, Hinchey said, because Troy intervened without the court asking.

Hinchey also said Troy may have violated ethics laws by not getting a waiver allowing him to deal with issues affecting Pfizer and other companies.

Two of the cases in which Troy intervened involve antidepressants.

At Hinchey's news conference, three families that had lost people to suicide while on the drug Zoloft spoke out against Troy.

"Troy has turned the agency on its head and now uses it as a vehicle to protect his former clients' financial and business interests," said Tom Woodward of Pennsylvania.

Woodward's daughter, Julie, 17, killed herself a week after starting Zoloft. He has not sued.

"Having Daniel Troy as chief legal counsel of the FDA," he said, "is like placing John Gotti in charge of the Justice Department."

FAIR USE NOTICE: This may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Such material is made available to advance understanding of ecological, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc. It is believed that this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior general interest in receiving similar information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml If you wish to use copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
posted by rick giombetti
11:39 AM - Permanent Link

National Mental Health Headline Round-Up July 15, 2004

Novel therapy may aid patients too defiant or too desperate to get help
Thursday, July 15, 2004
By BENEDICT CAREY
THE NEW YORK TIMES

"I've been going through this since I was 11 years old," the young woman said. "I'm backed up against the wall. Either I need to do this therapy or I need to die."

"Well, why not die?" the therapist asked.

"Well, if it comes down to it, I will."

"Uh-huh, but why not now?"

This aggressive cross-examination is a signature technique of what has become one of the most popular new psychotherapies in a generation.

For years, psychotherapists have had a wide array of techniques to draw from in helping troubled patients. The most commonly discussed recent therapies teach interpersonal skills for improving relationships or cognitive skills for defusing upsetting thoughts. But even the best therapies are worth little if patients are too defiant, too desperate or too upset to accept help.

That is why clinicians and health officials around the world are trying out a provocative approach called dialectical behavior therapy. Developed at the University of Washington by Dr. Marsha Linehan, a researcher and clinician who was the therapist in the above exchange, dialectical techniques have proved effective in the most difficult-to-reach cases, sometimes saving the lives of intensely suicidal people.

Other therapies, Linehan said, implied that the patients were the problem, and that they could change if they wanted to.

"But these are people who have been told all their lives that they are the problem," she said, adding, "We needed a new approach."

Dialectical therapy neither involves drugs nor concerns itself much with biology. It begins with an idea called radical acceptance, the insistence that people in therapy accept who they are and that they are not who they want to be. They cannot go back and repair their childhood, as awful as it might have been. They have blown precious relationships for good. Most of all, they experience waves of rage, emptiness and despair far more intensely than other people do.

The therapist, in turn, acknowledges that self-harming behaviors and suicide attempts actually make some sense. They are expected responses to profound distress; though dysfunctional, they provide relief.

But the patients also come to realize they have only two choices: Change or stay miserable. The woman Linehan treated, for example, said she saw the treatment as her only hope.

Linehan has been careful not to make grand claims for the therapy, beyond that it helps keep some suicidal people alive and out of the hospital. This restraint makes her an unusual figure: an academic researcher and clinician who promotes her brand of therapy without selling out.

"I have seen enthusiasts of this therapy making claims that it's a complete treatment for borderline disorder," said Dr. Drew Westen, a professor of psychiatry, psychology and behavior sciences at Emory University, "but I have never heard Marsha oversell it."

Although dialectical therapy is being used more widely, it may take some work to find a therapist who is trained in the approach. Some practitioners have not undergone formal training, but still incorporate aspects of the therapy into their work. And many clinics have worked with Linehan's company. The company's Web site, www.behavioraltech.org, includes a list of therapists who are trained in dialectical therapy.

FAIR USE NOTICE: This may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Such material is made available to advance understanding of ecological, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc. It is believed that this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior general interest in receiving similar information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml If you wish to use copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Oregon's First Recovery-Based Program for Serious Mental Illness Saves State $4.9 Million in Less Than Two Years: Public-Private Partnership between Office of Mental Health & Addiction and Telecare Prepares Residents for Meaningful Lives in the Community
Press Release
Source: Telecare
Thursday July 15, 12:04 pm ET

GRESHAM, Ore., July 15 /PRNewswire/ -- "I feel a rekindling of hope that through the Recovery Center I may indeed call myself recovered." During the past two years the words of this resident have been echoed by dozens of alumnae from Oregon's first recovery-based treatment program for individuals with serious mental illness.

The Telecare Recovery Center (TRC), a unique 16-bed facility located in Gresham, Ore., saved the state approximately $4.9 million in 17 months during treatment of its first 134 residents. A TRC resident's care costs the state a little more than half the price per day than care delivered in a traditional hospital setting.

TRC (celebrating two years of operation during a reception on July 21 at the Center, 4101 NE Division St.) opened April 25, 2002, at a time when the state faced a crisis in funding and capacity for Oregonians needing services for serious mental illness, such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.

Prior to TRC's opening, residents were among a group consuming up to 15 percent of the state's acute care bed capacity at a cost of up to $800 per day. During TRC's first two years, the average length of stay for a resident was 52 days, compared with a median state hospital stay of 99 days.

"We were using significant resources for these individuals, but they were not being treated in the most appropriate setting nor were they gaining the skills needed to take personal control of their illness and create a meaningful life," said Bob Nikkel, administrator of the Oregon Department of Human Services Office of Mental Health and Addiction Services.

According to Mr. Nikkel, TRC is the first Oregon program that uses a recovery-based model for persons who can benefit significantly from state-of- the-art treatment that falls between what's offered in an acute care setting and longer-term institutionalization.

To create TRC, part of Oregon's Post Acute Intermediate Treatment Services (PAITS) program, the state initiated an unusual partnership with Telecare Corporation, a private California-based company with 40 years experience in developing recovery-centered care.

"With the right type of treatment these individuals learn to take charge of their lives and return to the community with new hope and skills," said Kevin McChesney, TRC's on-site administrator. "Not only is the quality of residents' lives enhanced, but the state saves millions in health care costs."

Highlights of a Telecare report on the first two years of operation include:
- For each admission, the state saved $37,000
- Per day cost, $454 at TRC, vs. $800 for acute care hospitalization
- Program structure enables Medicaid matching and state costs of just $190 per patient, per day
- 94% of surveyed residents believed they could grow, change and recover
- 80% said they are better able to deal with crisis
- Referrals predominately from Multonomah (74%), Clackamas (10%), and Washington (6%) counties

According to McChesney, TRC's model is based on the premise that every person with mental illness can recover. The program relies on a multi- disciplinary approach in a community setting where carefully selected staff develop relationships with residents built on partnership and mutual learning.

"We offer a high staff-to-resident ratio and spend less time on group therapy and more time one-on-one, providing residents with highly personalized support," he said.

According to a staff member, "One thing I like about TRC's recovery model is the fact that residents make their own choices about their recovery. I believe this prepares them for the real world."

Telecare is one of the largest providers of adult mental health services in the country. Based in Alameda, Calif., Telecare works in partnership with local, county, state and other behavioral health organizations to design and provide a wide range of innovative, recovery-focused, outcomes-driven services and supports for high-risk individuals with complex needs. Telecare is an employee-and family-owned organization with over 1,900 employees and more than 50 programs in California, Texas, Oregon, and North Carolina.

New Medicare plan will cost retirees benefits, study says

House OKs bill, but outlook dim for imported drugs

Vann faces new charges after confession: She says she took cash from elderly resident at Fairwinds

Infectious Schizophrenia

Psychiatrist: Suspect in highway shootings competent despite schizophrenia

Alleged Serial Shooter Found Competent To Stand Trial

First-ever reduction in autism diagnoses in California appears to reinforce theory of link with mercury poisoning

Op-Ed: Hiding the Truth about Drugs

Speaker to address suicide prevention

Researchers Study New Drug Combination For Depression: Study Participants Wanted

Neuro3d Receives Support from ANVAR for Ongoing Clinical Development of its Antidepressant ND1251

The Psychology of Michael Moore

Millions of Singles Could Be Using Flawed Compatibility Tests: Research Finds That Almost All Online Dating Services Lack Proof of Scientific: Validity True Proposes Online Testing Standards to Address Disturbing Trend

Why Is Your Teenager Shy?

Lawyer: Editorials May Have Contributed to Suicide

Lawyer: Editorials May Have Contributed to Suicide: See all stories on this topic

TASK force to examine Austin's mental health (Registration)

Mental health burden pinches hospitals

Schuylkill officially ends 53 mental health jobs: MH-MR is run by private company, which hired many laid-off worker

New mental health, medical VA site opens

BIPOLAR DISORDER: A mother sheds light on the 'demons' plaguing people with this chronic but treatable mental illness

Queens College Professor Studies Preschoolers’ ADHD

Diabetic Weight-Loss Drugs: Caution Advised

Depositions tell how Prozac company sent unsolicited samples to patients



Applaud Pfizer for stepping up for uninsured

Toddler drowns in swimming pool: The 2-year-old boy failed to revive after receiving CPR from family and police

Toddler drowns in swimming pool: The 2-year-old boy failed to revive after receiving CPR from family and police: See all stories on this topic

Sibling revelry: Bonds show clearly at camp for foster children

Saint Francis hosts summer camp for foster children

State moving on classification of sex offenders

State moving on classification of sex offenders: See all stories on this topic

Bill to help track sex offenders

Bill to help track sex offenders: See all stories on this topic

Nursing Home Has Highest Number Of Sex Offenders In Nation: Many Come From Different Parts Of Ohio

2 classified as sex offenders

Sex offenders take plea offers

School board votes to ban registered sex offenders from attending school

School board votes to ban registered sex offenders from attending school: See all stories on this topic

Interrelationships of Depression and Anxiety to Insomnia

Headlines From Psychiatrymatters.md, July 15, 2004

Physical illness 'a heavy burden for PTSD women'

Personal impact of schizophrenia needs addressing

Donepezil's AD benefits questioned

Schizophrenia-like psychosis risk follows temporal lobectomy

Concerns over stigma puts soldier's mental health at risk

Depression linked to metabolic syndrome in women
posted by rick giombetti
12:11 PM - Permanent Link

Washington State Mental Health Headline Round-Up July 15, 2004

Dying mother describes fiery murder-suicide
Thursday, July 15, 2004
By JEFFREY M. BARKER AND VANESSA HO
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTERS

BONNEY LAKE -- It was past midnight when Antigone Allen and her three small children got into the Lincoln Towncar with Genaro Remigio Garcia for their last ride.

In back were Christine, who was 2 1/2; Christian, 1 1/2; and Adam, 6 months old. Garcia -- Allen's estranged boyfriend and the father of the three children -- was behind the wheel.

Allen, 18, and Garcia, 24, who spent much of their roughly three-year relationship yelling at each other, were going to talk things over. Garcia wanted to get back together.

Investigators don't know what the two talked about as they drove east onto the Sumner-Buckley Highway -- a trip that ended in a deadly, flaming crash at 1 a.m. yesterday. But amazingly, Allen survived long enough to tell detectives and family how it happened.

Garcia was snorting cocaine in the car, and the couple began arguing, Allen told her sister, LaVeda Allen, before she died hours later at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

Allen demanded that Garcia drive her home. Instead, he continued driving and stopped at a gas station. Allen was sleeping and didn't immediately notice that he had filled a can with gasoline and placed it in the back seat.

As he drove, he grabbed the can and began dousing the children and his girlfriend. He pulled out a lighter and pressed on the plastic lever.

Burning, the Towncar sped off the road and into a ditch, flipping onto its roof.

"She tried to save the kids, but they were in their car seats and their seat belts," LaVeda Allen said.

Allen ran from the car, through waist-high grass, on fire.

Garcia, also aflame, ran after her, shooting at her with a handgun.

Lisa Hansen, who lives nearby and heard the crash, drove down the road to see if she could help. She heard a voice in the pasture screaming: "Help! Help! Help me, please!"

She saw a woman standing, with her shirt burned off, but could not get to her because an electrified horse fence was between them. According to Hansen, the woman was screaming in pain, saying, "He did it! He did this on purpose!"

Other witnesses said Allen screamed, "My kids! My kids!" and repeatedly said, "I'm sorry," following the crash.

Deputies found the gun near where Garcia fell and died, about 50 yards from the car. Allen ran about 100 yards before she collapsed.

The three children died in the car, which exploded as the first sheriff's deputy on the scene tried to approach it.

Even though she knew the couple to fight constantly, Bobbi Fears was speechless yesterday when she heard what had happened to her neighbors. They lived beneath her in a four-unit apartment building in Puyallup's South Hill.

"They were always mad at each other," Fears said yesterday, adding that she and her husband could often hear Allen and Garcia arguing about "stupid things."

One day about two months ago, Fears noticed a trail of blood coming from the couple's front door. Allen had gotten mad at Garcia and punched her fist through a window, Fears said.

She remembered other things about the neighbors she lived near for six months.

Once, while talking about Fears' pregnancy, Allen showed pictures of her daughter.

"Her eyes just lit up," Fears remembered. "I had never seen her talk about her children that way. There was obvious joy in her."

Allen stayed at home most of the time, using the telephones of the other three people in the building. Garcia worked long hours. He had his own truck and tools for his job.

Yesterday afternoon, Allen's blue Ford Taurus sat in the driveway at the apartment building. Children's toys, including kid-sized cars and a playhouse, sat in the back yard.

The door jamb of the entrance to Apartment 2 was splintered, a reminder of another of many domestic arguments that a neighbor said took place there.

The most recent was June 15, after which Garcia was arrested on suspicion of fourth-degree domestic violence assault.

During an argument that day, Allen called 911. Deputies came, asked a few questions and left. But the argument escalated. Deputies returned and arrested Garcia.

After Garcia was taken away, Allen called someone on the phone, yelling, "I've got a gun. You better come pick me up before I go off on everybody," Fears recalled.

That was the last Fears saw of Garcia. She saw Allen and her children for the last time July 6. They spoke only briefly.

Allen had been served an eviction notice because she hadn't been paying rent, according to apartment manager Dick Johnson.

When she was 16, Allen gave birth to her first child and enrolled in the teen parent program at GATES alternative high school in Tacoma. Teacher Shirley Berg remembered Allen as a quiet girl who had a tough time attending class.

"She was just there a couple of months, and bless her heart, she was not into being at school, but she did enroll," said Berg, who knew Allen as "Mona." She said Allen didn't socialize much with the other girls and appeared to live off and on with her mother.

She was staying with her mother again yesterday when Garcia came to visit, said Pierce County Sheriff's Detective Ed Troyer.

Both Garcia and Allen were taken to Harborview. Garcia was pronounced dead when he arrived. Allen hung on to say goodbye to her loved ones and make funeral arrangements for herself and her children.

"She said she was ready to go, so she could be with her kids. She wanted to say goodbye to all of us first," LaVeda Allen said. "She kept saying, 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry.' She was sorry that we had to go through burying her, and having to put the family through this."

She said her sister had met Garcia in a grocery store, when she was almost 15. She became pregnant soon after, as her life echoed the paths of LaVeda and her mother, who were also teenage mothers.

"She was the best mom. She took damn good care of her kids, with what she had," LaVeda said. She said the oldest son was "a mama's boy," her daughter was "lovable" and her youngest liked to be bounced. She said Garcia was also a good parent.

"He was a good person. He loved her. He was good to his kids," she said, adding that he must have "lost it" when he killed himself and his family. "He didn't want his kids cared for by another man," she said.

She said Garcia was an illegal immigrant and a roofing contractor who provided for his family so that they didn't receive public aid. But he had been controlling in his relationship, forbidding Allen to use the phone or drive the car to contact her family, LaVeda said. She said she never saw him physically abuse his family, but acknowledged she might not have known if he did.

"We, as a family, never, ever, ever thought he would have the potential in any way shape or form to kill her," she said.

She said there are two funds for anyone who wishes to make a donation. The first, the Allen Memorial Fund, through U.S. Bank, is to help bury Allen and her children.

The second, the Allen Family Fund, through Columbia Bank, is to bury Garcia.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. P-I reporter Jeffrey M. Barker can be reached at 206-870-7852 or jeffreybarker@seattlepi.com

FAIR USE NOTICE: This may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Such material is made available to advance understanding of ecological, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc. It is believed that this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior general interest in receiving similar information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml If you wish to use copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

"Horrific agony" in Pierce County killings

Violent relationship ends in fiery tragedy

Experts to study case, look for lessons, clues

Dying mother describes fiery murder-suicide: See all stories on this topic

Five die after family set on fire: Parents, three children killed in horrific murder-suicide: Man shoots at woman as she flees from burning wreck

Schools may test restroom faucets for lead content: Earlier checks were limited to drinking fountains

Wheelchair users to protest as governors gather: Hundreds expected on the streets for Seattle meeting

Man who died in pool had history of seizures

Spokane man gets 15 years for killing girlfriend's son

Man gets 15 years for murder of girlfriend's 2-year-old son: He hit toddler on head when boy cried, refused to take nap

Two men held in beating outside gay bar

Two arrested in beating, stabbing of Seattle gay

46th civil suit filed against physician

Hippotherapy vs. therapeutic riding

School board decides against materials on homosexuality: Panel splits vote after listening to almost two hours of testimony

Judge to rule in arson case: Firefighter's confessions should be suppressed, lawyer says
posted by rick giombetti
12:10 PM - Permanent Link

International Mental Health Headline Round-Up July 15, 2004

Rapist avoids jail due to Asperger's
July 15, 2004

A 27-year-old Adelaide man who pleaded guilty to rape has avoided prison, after a judge ruled jail would be too harsh for him because of his mental condition.

Kym Andrew Parsons was diagnosed as suffering from Asperger's disorder, a mild variant of autism that causes a severe impairment in social interaction and difficulties in interpreting social cues.

Parsons admitted to raping a woman at her home in December 2002, after they had been on an outing together and then engaged in mutually consensual kissing and fondling.

After the incident, the woman sat on her bed crying while Parson walked into another room of the house and apologised to her via an SMS message on his mobile phone.

Judge Patricia Kelly noted this was symptomatic of Parsons' mental disorder, with the court having heard that Asperger's sufferers often had a greater capacity to interact with inanimate objects than with people.

"In Mr Parsons' case his obsessions appear to be to do with examining and marking street directories and his mobile phone, which it is noted he chose to use within minutes after the rape," Judge Kelly said.

Judge Kelly sentenced Parsons to three years imprisonment with a 15-month non-parole period, but suspended the sentence and ordered him to serve a 12-month period of home detention.

"It could only ever be a rare and exceptional case that would result in a suspension of a term of imprisonment for a person convicted of the crime of rape," she said.

"Ill health cannot be allowed to become a licence to commit crime, nor can offenders generally expect to escape punishment because of the condition of their health.

"Taking into account all of those matters, I am nevertheless satisfied that by reason of the unusual combination of circumstances in this case, which arise by virtue of the defendant's disability, that it would be unduly harsh for the defendant to have to serve any of the sentence which I impose in a prison environment.

"The deterrent aspect of the penalty will be met by the imposition of a condition of home detention for a period of 12 months."

Parsons was also ordered to attend psychological therapy sessions and any sexual offenders treatment programs deemed appropriate by a correctional services supervisor.

FAIR USE NOTICE: This may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Such material is made available to advance understanding of ecological, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc. It is believed that this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior general interest in receiving similar information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml If you wish to use copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Eli Pimstein gets life in prison for killing infant daughter
Last Update: 15/07/2004 19:08
By Yuval Yoaz, Haaretz Correspondent

The Jerusalem District Court on Thursday convicted Eli Pimstein of killing his 22-month-old daughter, Hodaya Kedem, in 2002. The court sentenced him to life in prison.

Pimstein had previously confessed to the murder, but testified in March that he had been driven to killing his daughter by the effects of the anti-depressant medication Cipramil, which he began taking three months earlier as part of psychiatric treatment he was undergoing.

Pimstein's attorney, Amir Dahan, argued that in some cases, the drug causes "the loss of control over one's urges" and "murderous aggression."

However, the court ruled that Pimstein's premeditation and the cold-blooded behavior he exhibited from the murder through the discovery of his daughter's body indicated that the medication did not override his free will, Israel Radio reported.

In the indictment filed in December 2002, Pimstein was charged with drowning his daughter in a bathtub while she stayed at his Jerusalem house.

After the murder, Pimstein buried his daughter in a forest near Jerusalem and even assisted in searches for the missing girl conducted by security and rescue forces over several days.

The state is suing Pimstein for the NIS 1,425,000 it spent on searching for his daughter.

Pimstein described in March to the Jerusalem District Court how he killed his daughter: "Hodaya was sitting in the water in the bath. I sat down on the toilet opposite her, and looked at her. I had already made my decision three days earlier, and I stood by my decision. I didn't plan what I would do afterward because plans go wrong. I got up, put my two hands on her and laid her down under the water. I wanted to do it with all my being, but I didn't know if I was capable of it. And I was capable."

Pimstein gave the court a lengthy account of how, as a result of the tension between himself and Hodaya's mother, Roni Kedem, he fell into "a deep depression," which led to the psychiatric treatment and the course of drugs.

"I was in a terrible state," Pimstein told the court. "I was having suicidal thoughts 50-60 times an hour, including making precise plans on how exactly to kill myself; it's an indescribable nightmare."

Pimstein went on to tell the court how the drug had initially helped him, and how after a few weeks on it, his suicidal tendencies disappeared. But following further tension and conflict with Hodaya's mother, he related, things turned bad again and the depression returned.

"Roni used me," he said. "She deliberately drove me to that point. So it was clear to me that in order not to fall back into the depression, there was a need to resolve the conflict between us; and instead of continuing with confidence-building steps, I decided that for every one-sided step on the part of Roni, I would take a one-sided step in response.

"I started thinking of various courses of action, and this is when the idea of doing what I did came into mind ... One day, I woke up with the solution in my head. It's like waking up in the morning with the solution to the Rubik's cube puzzle. It was totally clear to me that this was the right thing to do to stop me from falling back into the depression."

When asked by the judges why, if he wanted to avoid the suffering, he hadn't simply killed himself rather than murder his daughter, Pimstein replied: "I was very angry with Roni and I wanted to kill her. But I understood that if I harm Roni and leave Hodaya, she will suffer. Someone who dies doesn't suffer, so I decided to kill Hodaya."

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posted by rick giombetti
12:09 PM - Permanent Link

Kangaroo Court, July 14, 2004: Suicidal Asian Farmers
While reading one of the many interviews of Noam Chomsky by David Barsamian, Barsamian asked Chomsky what he thought of Ghandi's suggestion that the Jews of Europe living in concentration camps in Nazi Germany commit suicides in large numbers as a form of protest against their persecution by the Nazis. In typical Western fashion, Chomsky expressed his own strong disapproval of such a protest tactic in response to Barsamian's question.

Perhaps no issue reflects the differences between Western and non-Western cultures than how they view suicide. This is something for people in Western cultures who are involved in globalization activism to think about when they see farmers in Kerala, India making headlines for committing suicide as a protest for more government aid to farmers threatened with losing their livelihoods. In Asian cultures committing suicide is considered a legitimate form of protest against something the person committing suicide sees as an intolerable injustice. In the United States we are often reminded of the images of Bhuddist monks burning themselves alive on television in protest against the U.S. invasion and occupation of South Vietnam in the '60s. In Western cultures committing suicide is seen as a manifestation of a "disease," a.k.a. "mental illness," that either went untreated or was not successfully treated. Doctors we call psychiatrists are empowered by states to stop people from committing suicide and treat people who attempt, or might attempt, to kill themselves of their mental disorders. Said treatment usually involves forcing the person accused of being suicidal to take drugs involuntarily.

This Western view of suicide as a manifestation of a pathology wasn't always so. In pre-modern times, when the Church was the dominant political institution of the Western world, suicide was considered a crime, or a sin in religious language, and severely punished. The person who committed suicide was not allowed to have a Christian burial and the property of this person was confiscated. Today, suicide is no longer considered a crime and no longer punished criminally. Instead, Western societies have basically criminalized attempting, or simply contemplating, suicide. This is done by empowering local and state governments to involuntarily detain and "treat" people in hospitals, who might be a danger to themselves, and the creation of government sponsored "suicide prevention" programs. One aspect of "suicide prevention" is setting up government empowered and supported "suicide hotlines," which can be used to trace and detain potentially suicidal persons.

Try to find an American anywhere who knows what secularism is really about, and would argue against government mandated and funded "suicide prevention" on the grounds that it is government sponsored enforcement of a Church doctrine in the modern garb of promoting mental health. You're certainly not going to find it among most civil libertarians or civil libertarian organizations like the ACLU. The ACLU will sue governments for posting the Ten Commandments on or in public buildings and places. When it comes time to deploy the police with an ambulance to detain an innocent person in his/her home suspected of wanting to commit suicide, the ACLU can be found on board with the police and ambulance, not defending the bodily integrity and privacy of the innocent person whose door is about to get knocked down by the authorities.

Meanwhile, support for what is badly misnamed as "physician assisted" suicide is growing. The term "physician assisted" suicide is an oxymoron, for suicide is the act of an individual without the help of another person. Physician coerced suicide is what I call it. Support for "physician assisted" suicide in the Western world demonstrates that we do recognize that life can become so intolerable that a person will seek relief from life's hardships by wanting to commit suicide. However, "physician assisted" suicide only allows for such a measure in the case of a terminal illness and a permission slip, i.e. a prescription of a lethal dose of a drug, from a doctor. Perhaps nothing better exemplifies the growing medicalization of life in the Western world than the combination of the broadly accepted policy of "suicide prevention" and the growing acceptance for the policy of "physician assisted" suicide.

Life is no picnic. Life is hard. From the day we are born we struggle to stay alive and in the end we all die. Asian cultures accept this reality and see a suicide as a protest against the hardships of human existence. The fact that suicide as a form of protest is done so brazenly and publicly by Asian farmers, like the suicide of South Korean farmer Lee Kyung-hae on top of a police barricade at a World Trade Organization (WTO) protest in Cancun last September, shocks Western sensibilities. In Western countries it can be difficult to count the number of suicides because of the cultural taboo against the act, and fear of being detained by the suicide prevention evangelists. One can only react in laughter at the Kerala government's suggestion that they can't be sure if the farmer suicides are actually suicides. The media in Kerala reports these deaths as "suicides due to debt," not "mental illness." In other words, they attribute the actions of the farmers to rational motives, a heretical notion in the modern Western world. In the Western world try to find an account of a suicide that doesn't identify the person committing the act to be "irrational," i.e. "mentally ill." Thus, we rob the person who commits suicide of his/her voice and ourselves of the ability to understand the person's fatal actions. In Kerala, they aren't reacting to the current rash of farmer suicides by introducing new suicide prevention programs, as we would do in the Western world. They're reacting to farmer suicides by attempting to provide financial aid for debt and drought stricken farmers. In other words, they're actually listening to the protests of the farmers committing suicide.

Many of the farmer suicides are being done in protest against Western imposed restrictions against aiding and subsidizing farmers, as was the case of Lee Kyung-hae. While Western countries lavish their corporate dominated farming systems with ample aid and subsidy, these restrictions on aiding and subsidizing Third World farmers are being imposed by U.S.-dominated financial institutions, like the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, as conditions for adjustments in old loans and reception of new loans. As U.S. citizens we have an obligation to not wave our collective fingers in disapproval of the protest tactics of Third World farmers who commit suicide. We should accept these acts as legitimate forms of protest and listen to what these people are saying when they take their own lives.

When one listens to or reads Martin Luther King's last speech before his assassination on April 3, 1968, it comes across almost as a suicide letter in the end. At the end of his speech King mentions the security measures being taken to protect him in response to the constant death threats he received. Then King goes on to basically say that he doesn't want these security measures anymore and he doesn't fear anybody who is plotting to kill him. King was expressing acceptance of the strong possibility he was going to be assassinated and, sure enough, he was the day after his speech. In short, King was saying to his would be assassin, "I'm not going to shut up so bring it on!"

In his last speech King expressed a lack of concern for his own safety in a manner that could have led to his own involuntary commitment. What if King's family reacted to his last speech by calling up the local psychiatric hospital in the Memphis area and telling them they thought their family member was "a danger to himself" and had him detained and permanently committed, and, hence, protected from any would be assassin? Which would we rather have if we had it to do all over again? Would we want King to bravely accept his fate, and live out what was basically a suicidal wish at the end of his life, or would we rather see King live to a ripe old age and permanently robbed of his rights, and his voice, in a mental institution? For me the choice is a no brainer. Give me the King who bravely accepts his own fate over an involuntarily committed King any day. Picking and choosing the time and manner of our own deaths will always be a fundamental freedom and right. Now why I do I suspect most Americans, progressive activists included, are in complete disagreement with my views on this?
posted by rick giombetti
10:33 PM - Permanent Link

National Mental Health Headline Round-Up July 14, 2004

Suicide and Mental Health Association International Announces New Organization and Comprehensive Website

SMHAI, founded in February 2004, is dedicated to suicide and mental health related issues. Our main goal is to prevent suicidal behavior and to relieve its effects on all who maybe affected by it. We also promote and advocate education, awareness and treatment in regards to mental health. Our membership is comprised of and we provide this service to mental health professionals, public health professionals, researchers, medical doctors, crisis workers, volunteers, caretakers, suicide prevention and crisis intervention staff , school districts, suicide survivors, and others who may have a general interest.

(PRWEB) July 15, 2004 -- Location of Website:
http://suicideandmentalhealthassociationinternational.org

Reaching Across Miles And Other Barriers For The Betterment Of Suicidal Individuals And Those Who Suffer Mental Illness.

This is an enormous task but we believe that together, we can make a difference.

**There have been many advances in suicide and mental health awareness, education and prevention, through individual organizational efforts. This is to be commended and applauded BUT, we believe, that if all organizations and groups throughout the world, unite with SMHAI as an organized movement, more attention will be focused on suicide and mental health related efforts.

Until SMHAI was formed, all organizations and groups were beating to their own drums, for the most part.

As one large organization, overseeing the efforts of individual organizations who are partnerin