Judge rules prison can forcibly medicate Loughner

slimvictor

slimvictor

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(Reuters) - A federal judge on Wednesday refused to order prison officials to stop forcibly medicating Tucson shooting suspect Jared Lee Loughner with psychotropic drugs, saying he would defer to the judgment of doctors.

U.S. District Judge Larry Burns rejected an emergency petition to halt the procedure filed by lawyers for Loughner, 22, who argued that it violated his constitutional rights.

Defense lawyers also argued during a hearing in U.S. District Court in San Diego that the college dropout, who Burns has found mentally incompetent to stand trial, was being given more potent medication than was required.

Loughner (...) is accused of opening fire on U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords and a crowd of bystanders attending a political gathering outside a Tucson supermarket on January 8.

(...)

"I agree its an anathema to free people to have narcotics and heavy drugs forced on them, it takes a powerful justification for government to do that," Burns said.

cont at
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/30/us-shooting-loughner-medication-idUSTRE75S85P20110630
 
Do you happen to know what kind of drugs there feeding him? I would think probably Thorazine or some other shitty anti psychotic, in high doses.
 
My guess would be definitely Thorazine, probably Haldol/Resperidal and likely a heavy doze of a benzo to slow down his thinking, put him to sleep. I think that stuff is pretty standard for Schizophrenia and people that are disconnected with reality.

I'm really surprised that they can force him to take medication. It was always my understanding that if you're considered "a danger to yourself or to other people" (as he most certainly is) that you can be forcibly committed, but you still reserved the right to refuse the cocktail of chemicals they want to pump into you.

Does anyone know the law pertaining to this? I don't think it's right that they can force him to take meds. Don't get me wrong, i think he needs them, will benefit from them and should he stay on them for a while and be stabilized would agree that taking them was a good idea...but the ends don't justify the means.

It's interesting philosophically when you think about it like that.
 
article said:
In court filings, prosecutors said that during an interview with a court-appointed psychologist in March, Loughner became enraged and twice threw a plastic chair at her.

"Mr Loughner is passive-aggressive," Assistant U.S. Attorney Wallace Kleindienst said during the hearing.

"He was thankful to the peace officer who gave him a ticket that morning (of the shooting). He was thankful to the clerk at Safeway who sold him a bottle of water. And then he killed six people and injured 13 others. He had enough bullets to kill 40 more people," Kleindienst said.
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they're not using "passive-aggressive" correctly. The term doesn't mean calm one moment and violent the next. There's a word for that, but I can't remember it now.
 
NomNomNom said:
Does anyone know the law pertaining to this? I don't think it's right that they can force him to take meds. Don't get me wrong, i think he needs them, will benefit from them and should he stay on them for a while and be stabilized would agree that taking them was a good idea...but the ends don't justify the means.
Click to expand...

I always thought that mental condition at the time of the crime is what really matters. Isn't temporary insanity a typical defense against the death penalty? Making him stable enough to be prosecuted in court doesn't really change the fact that he was unstable at the time of the crime.
 
He's schizophrenic and has a mood disorder. He has a very low IQ and is probably retarded. That's got to be torture for him. I never thought I'd argue in favor of medication, but without it his symptoms will get worse and he'll suffer. I'm around people who can only function and interact because they're on psychotropics. If it were me, I know I'd want drugs to take things down a notch. It really is better this way........... The problem is, neuroleptics have significant side effects: wt gain, diabetes, sleep disorder characterized by cycles of insomnia, excessive sleep, daily fatigue, sluggishness and narcolepsy. These all will reverse without medication. But consensus among recipients is that these side effects are worth living with, for symptom control is essential to a meaningful life. Loughner's not psychotic by choice, he fell through the cracks, and he needs help. Honestly, it's just humane to treat him with medication.
 
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Not if he doesn't want it it's not. I guess they're doing it to make things easier on the guards/other inmates, rather than out of concern for his well-being. Which is ok, I guess, maybe...
 
Court: Jared Loughner can refuse anti-psychotic medication

new update

(CNN) -- A three-judge federal appeals panel has ruled that Tucson shooting suspect, Jared Lee Loughner, can refuse anti-psychotic medication.
Tuesday's ruling comes days after the court said they would review an appeal by attorneys for the government who argued the alleged gunman should take anti-psychotic drugs for his behavior.
The federal appeals court last week temporarily halted the medication.
"Since Loughner has not been convicted of a crime, he is presumptively innocent and is therefore entitled to greater constitutional protections than a convicted inmate," court documents said.
"While both interests are significant, we conclude that preserving the dignity and bodily integrity of an individual who has not been convicted of a crime is the stronger interest, especially when the government has demonstrated that it is able to prevent that individual from harming himself or others."
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http://edition.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/07/13/loughner.forced.medication/
 
^ Fuck that, either inject him and kill him or release him, and I know the last one isn't happening. SO FUCKING KILL HIM ALREADY.
 
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