July 15, 2024 Update
1:00 PM CST Annie Singer has made a YouTube Video that can be shared on social media, Mayo Clinic is STILL torturing David Russell — You can help! She also has the video on TikTok.
8:00 AM CST. David has now been electroshocked ten times against his will.
| 1. June 13, 2024 2. June 14, 2024 3. June 17, 2024 4. June 19, 2024 5. June 24, 2024 |
6. July 1, 2024 7. July 3, 2024 8. July 5, 2024 9. July 9, 2024 10. July 12, 2024 |
David has been told they are going to reduce the frequency to once a week and then maybe to once a month. David thinks they are planning on moving him to a less restrictive setting and hoped that would mean no more electroshock, but both Charles Helmer and Ray Sandford were electroshocked against their will on an outpatient basis in Minnesota.
David was asked if he still wanted people advocating to stop electroshocking him against his will in light of the apparent lack of effect and he said yes. In fact, it took a sustained effort to stop the electroshocking of Charles Helmer and Ray Sandford before success was achieved.
Therefore we are asking people to continue to press the Mayo Clinic, especially Dr. Schak, and Catholic Charities of Southern Minnesota (Catholic Charities), which was granted dominion over David as guardian to stop the shock. David has not been told what they are trying to accomplish with the electroshock. The reason given in the Electroshock Order is that since David has “failed multiple neureleptic drug trials . . . [electroshock] is the next medical step.” As far as we know Schak.Kathryn@mayo.edu is still Schak’s e-mail address and the phone number of Schak’s Medical Secretary is 507-255-2326.
Bishop Barron, the head of the archdioces and president of Chatholic Charities, can be contacted and urged to intervene to stop the shock. We think Bishop Barron’s phone number is 507-858-1242, and his e-mail address bishop@dowr.org.
Bishop Barron’s X (Twitter) account has over 200,000 followers and posts and replies can be sent to .@BishopBarron asking that he intervene to stop David from being electroshocked. Bishop Barron’s YouTube Channel has over 525,000 followers and you can comment on the individual videos.
In addition, you can contact Governor Tim Walz and demand he look into the abuse of David Russel.
Additional contact information is available on David’s MindFreedom Shield Alert Page.
We are certainly open to suggestions for other actions that might be taken on David’s behalf. If you have any, please e-mail shield@mindfreedom.org.
Please comment below sharing the actions you have taken. The system requires us to approve comments so it may take a bit of time for it to show up.
July 1, 2024 Updates
11:30 AM Central Time
Jim Gottstein talked to David and he was electroshocked against his will this morning, making it number 6 by our count.
4:00 AM Central Time.
As we mentioned last time, the head of Catholic Charities of Southern Minnesota, Bishop Barron, is one of the most-followed Catholics in the world on social media. if we can get David’s Alert noticed on Bishop Barron’s social media that would be very good. The idea is to get him to intervene to stop the electroshocking of David Russell against his will.
Bishop Barron’s Facebook Page has over 3 million followers and while you can’t post on his main page, you can comment on his posts. It would not be surprising if these were deleted and people posting the comments were blocked, but we wonder how fast they can do that and how many of us will post there. That they remove the posts and block people over it, can be publicized as well. It will be interesting to see, and if you e-mail shield@mindfreedom.org about your experience with Bishop Barron’s social media we can post it on David’s MindFreedom Shield Alert Auxiliary Page.
Bishop Barron’s X (Twitter) account has over 200,000 followers and posts and replies can be sent to .@BishopBarron pleading that he stop David from being electroshocked. Susan Roger’s post on X can be reposted
Bishop Barron’s YouTube Channel has over 525,000 followers and you can comment on the individual videos. One has almost 2,000 comments, so it is hard to get noticed there, but if enough comments are made that can have an impact.
Jim Gottstein’s e-mail to Bishop Barron might serve to provide talking points for your own actions in support of David, as well as the e-mails posted on David’s MindFreedom Shield Alert Auxiliary Page.
Finally, you can share Annie Singer’s TikTok Video on your social media. It uses the F word a few times so that is a consideration of whether and where you might post it. It is focused on getting people to contact Bishop Barron to get him to stop the electroshocking of David.
Calls and e-mails to Bishop Barron should also be continued; 507-858-1242, bishop@dowr.org.
Until our comment function is working reliably, please e-mail us with the actions you take so we can post them in the auxiliary pages we have set up as a work-around. Especially if you tried to leave a comment and were stymied. Unless you tell us otherwise, when we post your e-mails, we will remove your e-mail address.
As always, remember that David and Jill are at risk of retaliation and you are supporting them under the MindFreedom banner. MindFreedom International does not condone threats of violence or harm. Our mission statement is:
In a spirit of mutual cooperation, MindFreedom International aims to lead a non-violent revolution of freedom, equality, truth, and human rights in mental health care by uniting psychiatric survivors, consumers, and allies through movements for justice everywhere.
This is the spirit we want to bring to this effort. MindFreedom thanks you for your support of David.
June 26, 2024, Update
4:30 PM Central Time. An Auxiliary page has been set up for additional information and as a workaround for the comments feature not working at the present time.
- Fabulous TikTok Post by Annie Singer
2:30 PM Central Time. The Mayo Clinic is electroshocking David against his will again in spite of it causing a potentially deadly blood clot last Wednesday. The callous disregard of David’s health, and even life, is stunning.
We understand David has been subjected to five electroshocks against his will:
- June 13, 2024
- June 14, 2024
- June 17, 2024
- June 19, 2024 (Blood Clot)
- June 24, 2024
They were going to shock him again this morning, but there was a mix-up and he ate breakfast so they didn’t subject him to it.
A volunteer has been able to obtain some of the court filings in the commitment/electroshock case. They are very short on facts as to why all this is being done to David. The Electroshock Petition does state that David cannot breathe on his own during the procedure. There is also a recording of the hearing last October in the guardianship case on David’s motion for a new attorney. His supposed lawyer essentially testifyied against David, demonstrating why David should get a new lawyer. When David accurately says the lawyers assigned to him do nothing for him, that is attributed to the ravings of a lunatic. We hope to get transcripts of the psychiatric imprisonment, forced drugging, and forced electroshock hearings.
Catholic Charities of Southern Minnesota, which has been granted dominion over David as guardian has done nothing to protect David. They could almost certainly have the electroshocking of David stopped. We have asked you to contact people in its guardianship office without response, and now we are asking you to also contact the bishop of the diocese and higher ups at Catholic Charities. Mike Hanratty who we have asked you to contact in the past should continue to be urged to do the right thing and stop David from being electroshocked. He has the power to do so. E-mails are good, but phone calls are better.
Bishop Robert Barron, Diocese of Winona-Rochester.
507-858-1242
bishop@dowr.org, or contacted through his secretary, Leandra Hubka, at lhubka@dowr.org.John Meyers, Catholic Charities Executive Director
507-454-2270
jmeyers@ccsomn.orgIsaac Landsteiner, Catholic Charities Director of Parish Social Ministry
507-848-8303
ilandsteiner@ccsomn.orgMike Hanratty, Guardian/Conservator Program Director
507-454-2270 ext. 233
mhanratty@ccsomn.org
You might use their Catholic Social Teachings webpage and/or Jim Gottstein’s e-mail to Bishop Barron for talking points in your phone calls and e-mails .
Let’s also try to shame Catholic Charities of Southern Minnesota and the Mayo Clinic leadership and board of trustees on social media.
Bishop Barron’s bio says he is one of the most-followed Catholics in the world on social media. Thus, flooding his social media could have a big impact.
3.1 million Facebook fans (https://facebook.com/BishopRobertBarron)
529,000 YouTube subscribers (https://youtube.com/user/wordonfirevideo)
205,700 Twitter followers (https://twitter.com/BishopBarron)
The commenting function on David’s Alert Page is mostly not working at the moment so, if you could e-mail shield@mindfreedom.org to inform us of your social media posts that would be great. Or any other actions you take to support David. We will try to at least add the social media posts here so people can can repost them or otherwise use them to support David. Frankly, “liking” posts does not accomplish anything in our view. We want to shame Catholic Charities, the Catholic Church in Southern Minnesota and the Mayo Clinic as well as enlist the public in the effort to stop David from being electroshocked against his will.
Please remember that David is at risk of retaliation and you are supporting him under the MindFreedom banner. We ask you to take this into account in your social media posts, and when you call or write. MindFreedom’s Mission Statement is:
In a spirit of mutual cooperation, MindFreedom International aims to lead a non-violent revolution of freedom, equality, truth, and human rights in mental health care by uniting psychiatric survivors, consumers, and allies through movements for justice everywhere.
This is the spirit we want you to bring to this effort. MindFreedom thanks you for your support of David. David also always expresses his gratitude for you trying to help
June 22, 2024 Update
First, an update on David. When he woke up Wednesday after being electroshocked for the fourth time, he had a blood clot in his arm. This is a known effect of electroshock and can be fatal. Presumably for this reason he was not electroshocked Friday. It seems likely their plan is to resume the electroshock once the clot has dissolved so we don’t know how much of a reprieve this might be. Therefore, the pressure should be kept on.
However, it turns out the phone numbers we were provided for Schak and Zorn are their personal cell phones and people were calling in the middle of the night. Or, at least that is what Mayo’s lawyer wrote in his cease and desist letter. In our Alerts and Updates we say to to take into account you are advocating under the MindFreedom banner. We haven’t specified what that means exactly, but it doesn’t mean calling people in the middle of the night. While what Schak and Mayo are doing is reprehensible to say the least, constituting torture, MindFreedom chooses to take a higher road than Mayo. Not only do we think it is the right thing, we believe it is more effective, especially in the long run. We therefore ask that you stop calling those phone numbers. We have gotten Mayo’s attention. You might be interested in Jim Gottstein’s response to the cease and desist letter.
Over the weekend, let’s see if we can build a social media campaign focusing on Mayo’s Leadership and Board of Trustees. The idea is to draw their attention to what Mayo is doing and ask them to stop the Mayo Clinic from electroshocking David Russell against his will, as well invite others to join this effort. Are they pleased with being associated with an organization that is inflicting torture? “Liking” a post doesn’t accomplish this. The goal is to get wide exposure of what the Mayo Clinic is doing, garnering support, sympathy, and empathy for David. Sarah Price Hancock’s e-mail to Governor Waltz and people at the Mayo Clinic can be used to make points. So can PsychRights’ 2011 letter to the FDA.
Please put a link to your social media posts in the comments below so others can repost. Our system requires approval so it might take a bit before it shows up.
Also, again, please remember that David is at risk of retaliation and you are supporting him under the MindFreedom banner. We ask you to take this into account in your social media posts, and when you call or write. MindFreedom’s Mission Statement is:
In a spirit of mutual cooperation, MindFreedom International aims to lead a non-violent revolution of freedom, equality, truth, and human rights in mental health care by uniting psychiatric survivors, consumers, and allies through movements for justice everywhere.
This is the spirit we want you to bring to this effort. MindFreedom thanks you for your support of David. David also always expresses his gratitude for you trying to help.
June 20, 2024 Update
David Russell has been electroshocked against his will four times now: Thursday, June 13th, the very next day on Friday, June 14th, Monday June 17th, and Wednesday, June 19th. They won’t tell him how many times they are going to electroshock him, but it is likely he will be shocked again on Friday, June 21st, unless we can get it stopped. We need to keep the pressure on.
It would be great if you would call them and demand that the Mayo Clinic quit electroshocking David Russell against his will. It is believed Dr. Schak can have the shock stopped on her order.
Also, Catholic Charities, the guardian granted dominion over David, should not be let off the hook. The legal rationale for overriding David’s choice not to take electroshock is he lacks capacity (is imcomptent) to make such a choice. As his guardian, Catholic Charities is almost certainly allowed to choose that David not be electroshocked. However, instead of exercising independent judgment, Catholic Charities is just accepting what Mayo wants to do to David. There is a new person assigned to David by Catholic Charities, Lydia Stiehl. Ms. Stiehl’s e-mail address is lstiehl@ccsomn.org and her phone number is 507-454-2270. It would be great if you could contact her and demand she have the shock stopped. We don’t have her extension so you will have to ask to be transferred to her. The head of Catholic Charities guardianship program is Mike Hanratty and he should be called as well. He is at extension 233 of the same phone number, 507-454-2270, and his e-mail address is mhanratty@ccsomn.org.
Jim Gottstein wrote Ms. Stiehl an e-mail that you can look at for ideas about what to say or write. Also, Sarah Price Hancock wrote an especially excellent e-mail to Governor Waltz and people at the Mayo Clinic that can also be used for talking points.
We will appreciate it if you let us know about e-mails you send or about calls you make in the comments below. Our system requires approval so it might take a bit before it shows up. If you have any problems, please e-mail shield@mindfreedom.org.
Also, please remember that David is at risk of retaliation and you are supporting him under the MindFreedom banner. We ask you to take this into account when you call or write.
David always expresses appreciation for what you are doing to try to stop him from being electroshocked. As do we at MindFreedom.
June 16, 2024, Update:
David Is Getting Electroshocked Repeatedly
Jim Gottstein has been speaking with David most days since April 29th . Before he was electroshocked on Thursday, June 13th, David did not exhibit any memory deficits. David did complain about the drugging affecting his thinking. After he was electroshocked against his will on Thursday David said it took him 30 minutes to remember where he was and had a splitting headache. It is believed David was electroshocked against his will again the next day, Friday. Normally, electroshock is not given two days in a row. David was very disoriented, he couldn’t remember what day it was and was unclear on when he had been electroshocked. He was sure he had been electroshocked twice. When I talked to him later in the day, he didn’t remember he had talked to me earlier in the day. On Saturday, June 15th, David was feeling a little better, but was still having problems with his memory. Today, Sunday, June 16th, David says his memory has come back some, he is groggy and sore all over.
He understands they are going to continue to electroshock him against his will this coming week. Throughout this whole time David has said he is “scared shitless” as he saw someone being electroshocked to the point where they couldn’t talk and needed help eating. The brain damage from electroshock is cumulative, so the fewer electroshocks the better. David is a software engineer and he is legitimately worried the electroshock will make him unable to do that any more.
In addition to continuing to urge Dr. Schak to stop having David electroshocked against his will, you can contact Gianrico Farrugia, MD, Mayo’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) by e-mail mailing him at Farrugia.gianrico@mayo.edu. Christina Zorn is Mayo’s Chief Administrative Officer and her e-mail address might be zorn.christina@mayo.org. Jim Gottstein e-mailed her, requesting a delivery receipt, which he has not received, nor has he received a bounce message.
Also, please contact Minnesota Governor, Tim Walz and ask him to have the forcible electroshocking of David Russell stopped.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz
130 State Capitol
St. Paul, MN 55155
Fax:(612)296-2089
Tel:(612)296-3391
email: tim.walz@state.mn.us
web: http://www.state.mn.us
Alternate Telephone Numbers
Telephone: 651-201-3400
Toll Free: 800-657-3717
Minnesota Relay: 800-627-3529
Even though it is hard to imagine things getting worse for David, please recognize that he is at risk of retaliation and you are supporting David under the MindFreedom banner, so we ask you to take these into account when you call or write.
We will appreciate it if you leave a comment below with a copy of your e-mail and/or a description of your phone call or whatever else you might have done on David’s behalf and the response, if any. Our system requires approval of comments so it will take a bit for it to show up.
June 13, 2024, Updates
Tell Dr. Schak and Others to Stop the Shock
Noon Central Time. Another volunteer has identified the following Mayo Trustees’ e-mail addresses.
- Dr. Katherine Baicker kbaicker@uchicago.edu
- Dr. Matthew R. Callstrom callstrom.matthew@mayo.edu
- Dr. Rafael Fonseca fonseca.rafael@mayo.edu
- Dr. Charanjit S. Rihal rihal@mayo.edu
Jim Gottstein’s e-mail to Michael Powell, the chair of the Mayo Clinic’s Board of Trustees, might be useful in drafting e-mails to these trustees. It might also be useful to keep in mind these are all MDs.
10:40 AM Central Time. Jim Gottstein talked to David and he was electroshocked. He said it took him 30 minutes to remember where he was, has a splitting headache and other typical electroshock negative effects.
10:20 AM Central Time. It appears Dr. Schak changed her e-mail address and it is now Schak.Kathryn@mayo.edu.
10:00 AM Central Time. One of our volunteers tells us the phone number of the Medical Secretary to Dr. Schak is 507-255-2326. Calls could be made to Dr. Schak there.
3:00 AM Central Time. David Russell is scheduled to be electroshocked against his will in a few hours, presumably on the order of the psychiatrist assigned to him, Kate Schak. It is believed Schak testified in court to obtain the court order and then in the face of our efforts to stop it told David she had decided against it. On May 8th, Jim Gottstein wrote to Schak asking her to get the court order revoked (vacated) because David was concerned Dr. Schak or someone else might change their mind. That certainly proved prescient.
Jim Gottstein just wrote Dr. Schak again, demanding that she stop the shock. She can almost certainly still stop the shock as of the time this is posted. Please e-mail or call Dr. Schak to stop the shock. Her e-mail address is schak.kate@mayo.org. [Note: This is a bad address. Use Schak.Kathryn@mayo.edu instead] You can also try calling her at (507) 255-5555. This is where the Mayo Clinic has locked David up. If you can’t get through to her, please leave a message for her to stop the electroshocking of David Russell.
Please leave a comment below with a copy of your e-mail and/or a description of your phone call or whatever else you might have done on David’s behalf. Our system requires approval of comments so it will take a bit for it to show up.
Thank you for your support of David.
June 12; 2024, Update
Betrayal: David to be Electroshocked Tomorrow
Today, June 12th, around 2:00 PM, David was informed they are going to start electroshocking him against his will tomorrow. They wouldn’t answer any of his questions, such as how many times they plan to electroshock him, what they expect to accomplish, or even why they decided to subject him to electroshock when they had previously informed him they were not going to. David suspects it is because he has been telling them about the corruption he has knowledge of. Even if David is incorrect about the corruption, it is no justification for electroshocking him. If it is true, which probably at least some of it is, the electroshock could erase his memory about it. Electroshock is sometimes used for just this sort of purpose. David witnessed another patient who was rendered unable to talk by electroshock and is terrified of that happening to him. Whether it gets that bad or not, Electroshock always causes brain damage, usually causing at least some memory loss. It is unpredictable, but many people are brain damaged so much they can no longer engage in their profession or are otherwise disabled.
It is unlikely Mayo Clinic executives and especially trustees know about the despicable actions of their employees and this should be brought to their attention. The Chair of the Board of Trustees is Michael Powell. Powell is the President & CEO of NCTA – The Internet & Television Association, and is the former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The e-mail address we have found for him is mpowell@ncta.commpowell@ncta.com
You can look at the e-mail Jim Gottstein sent Mr. Powell. Please let us know what you do on David’s behalf by putting it in the comments. Copying and pasting e-mails work. The system requires us to review comments so it might take a bit of time before it shows up.
We expect to be updating this page frequently in the next day or so with additional people to contact to try and stop the Mayo Clinic from electroshocking David. It is hoped Mr. Powell, or Eric Schmidt for that matter, who ran Google for ten years and is now the executive chairman of its parent company, would not be happy about bad publicity over this. If you find information on how to contact Mr. Schmidt, or other members of the board of trustees, please let us know. It also seems like a social media campaign could be good–if we got some reach with it. We could use some help with that, too. If you initiate or participate in a social media campaign to stop David from being electroshocked, please also put that in the comments or otherwise let us know.
May 8, 2024 Update:
Success!!!–At Least for Now
David just informed us he has been told they are no longer planning to electroshock him and going to work on discharge planning to a theoretically slightly less restrictive environment. YOU HAVE DONE IT!!! There is no doubt David would have been electroshocked against his will without your efforts on his behalf. David wants everyone to know how appreciative he is. David said he called many agencies supposedly standing up for people’s rights and no one cared until he reached MindFreedom. He said he can’t believe people who don’t even know him have tried to help him. When he has a chance, he plans to thank us in the comments section.
The court order will likely still be hanging over David’s head so that is of some concern, but for now we should stand down from the advocacy. If they change their minds again David will try to let us know and we can start the advocacy again. We will also try to keep in touch with David just to make sure.
David is still trapped by the guardianship imposed on him and it would be great if he could get out from under that.
May 7, 2024, David Russell Alert Update:
Progress?
This evening David informed us his new psychiatrist, Kate Schak, who testified in favor of electroshocking David against his will on Monday, told him today they were thinking about not going forward with the electroshock. While not definitive, it does seem hopeful. We had asking the president/CEO of the Mayo Clinic to stop his organization from electroshocking David against his will on deck as the next action to take and Mr. Gottstein’s e-mail to Dr. Farrugia is in the comments below. It is still okay to e-mail Dr. Farrugia, but with the thrust being they should indeed decide not to electroshock Mr. Russell and inform him so. Dr. Farrugia’s e-mail address is probably Farrugia.gianrico@mayo.edu.
May 6, 2024, David Russell Alert Update:
Forced Electroshock Authorized
The court authorized the forced electroshocking of David Russell today. We understand the lawyer did not present any evidence against electroshock to rebut the untruthful testimony of the doctor. David’s statements about the harms were ignored, presumably as a product of his “mental illness,” i.e., that he was delusional in believing electroshock is harmful. There were at least eight people from MindFreedom who tried to attend the Zoom hearing, told they had been changed to observers but not let in. There were probably more who haven’t informed Jim Gottstein. If you are one of those people, you might drop in a comment below. We are not giving up.
May 5, 2024, Update — Zoom Into Hearing?
The court hearing to authorize electroshocking David against his will is scheduled for 10:00 AM Central Time, Monday, May 6th. We have found out it is going to be held by Zoom that one can join using ID Number 1613247575 and Pass Code 246968. We don’t know if you will be thrown out if you join the Zoom, but it could have a salutary effect on the participants to know that people are watching what they are doing. Court rules will generally not allow you to speak. We don’t know if chat will be enabled. If it is enabled, we know it will be hard to be civil in light of what they plan to do to David, but please be courteous and respectful in spite of that. You can comment about your experience of and observations about the hearing at the bottom of this page. Our system requires approval of comments so it may take a little while before it shows up.
It is conceivable they will cancel or postpone the court hearing at the last minute. That is what happened Thursday when there was a retention hearing scheduled on whether to continue locking up David. The last we heard, David has not been told of the reason for the delay. Maybe his appointed lawyer just agreed to have David continued to be locked up? However, we don’t see anything to that effect on the docket sheet.
May 2, 2024, Update
David signed a release of information to provide information to James B. Gottstein, Esq., of the Law Project for Psychiatric Rights (PsychRights), but they won’t honor it, saying only his guardian can. This is another reason to contact Mike Hanratty at Catholic Charities, David’s Guardian. His phone number is 507-454-2270, and his e-mail address is mhanratty@ccsomn.org. Jim Gottstein e-mailed Mr. Hanratty asking him to send him the Electroshock Petition and sign an Authorization for Release of Information to communicate with Jim. This e-mail is in the comments below. So, today’s action is to contact Mr. Hanratty and demand (respectfully) that he send Mr. Gottstein the Electroshock Petition and sign an Authorization for Release of Information. His phone number is 507-454-2270, and his e-mail address is mhanratty@ccsomn.org. You can post your e-mail and/or describe your phone conversation or voice mail in the comment section below. Our system requires moderation so it may take a bit for your comment to show up.
May 1, 2024 Update
May 1, 2024. At this point, the prime suspect for who filed the Electroshock Petition is Rob Morgan, the psychiatrist in charge of David where he is locked up at the Mayo Clinic. His e-mail address is Morgan.Robert@mayo.edu. We don’t have his direct phone number, but Jim Gottstein was able to reach him by calling the Unit at (507) 255-5555 and asking for Dr. Morgan. Dr. Morgan didn’t deny he had filed the Electroshock Petition and Jim asked him to withdraw it. Jim then e-mailed him, which is posted in the comments below.
Please e-mail and/or call Dr. Morgan and ask him to withdraw or dismiss the Electroshock Petition. While it is good to be firm and direct about the harm inflicted by Electroshock, please be respectful and courteous,. You can then post what you e-mailed, or describe your phone call or voicemail, in the comments. If you previously contacted Catholic Charities and have yet to post what you did in the comments, you still can. Speaking of Catholic Charities, as David’s Guardian, it should vehemently oppose the Electroshock Petition. They should not be let off the hook even if they didn’t file the Electroshock Petition. Mike Hanratty is the Program Director of the Catholic Charities guardianship program, his phone number is 507-454-2270, and his e-mail address is mhanratty@ccsomn.org.
April 30, 2024 Update
Catholic Charities denies it filed the Electroshock Petition and has been asked to vehemently oppose it and to identify who did. See, the exchange in the comment by Jim Gottstein below.
Shield Alert: Stop David Russell
from being forcibly electroshocked
April 29, 2024. David Russel is terrified. He is currently a psychiatric prisoner at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota and there is a court hearing scheduled for this coming Monday, May 6th, where they are on track to get a court order through a sham legal process to electroshock him against his will. David is terrified because he saw another patient who was electroshocked who now can’t even talk.
They really have David boxed in, taking his rights away through a guardianship/conservatorship and assigning him the same lawyer in both cases, who does nothing on his behalf according to David and as far as we can tell. Having a guardian means David is not allowed to make his own decisions, essentially putting him in the position of a small child with the guardian taking the place of his parents. The Conservator has control of David’s assets, including his income and bank account. David is an employed software engineer and the guardianship/conservatorship is absurd, bud sadly we see this all the time.
He is currently forced to take Zyprexa and has experienced the typical large weight gain associated with it. Zyprexa also dramatically increases the risk of diabetes. Previously, he was forced to take Risperdal, which has caused his breasts to swell up and lactate. This is called gynecomastia and is a well-established consequence of taking Risperdal.
This is all terrible and it would be great for David to be freed, both physically from psychiatric incarceration and forced drugging, and from the guardianship, but right now he desperately wants to avoid being electroshocked. We are still trying to find contact information for some of the people we would like to influence, but we do know Catholic Charities has been appointed guardian over David. The person there who is making decisions about David’s life is Brittany Dannehy whose phone number is 507-454-2270 ext. 241 and e-mail address is bdannehy@ccsomn.org. Mike Hanratty, is the Program Director of Catholic Charities’ euphemistically named Adult Advocacy Program and his phone number is 507-454-2270 and e-mail address is mhanratty@ccsomn.org.
David says he has not been given the electroshock petition, even though it is almost certainly legally required that he be given it. We can’t know for sure, but the Minnesota statute about the Guardian’s Power (see § (c)(4)(ii)) says it is the Guardian who is to file a petition for electroshock, so it seems good to call and e-mail Ms. Dannehy and Mr. Hanratty demanding that they withdraw the petition for electroshocking David against his will. Information on Electroshock is available here that might be useful in crafting e-mails or for phone calls. What they are planning on doing to David is truly barbarous and the United Nations has determined it can constitute torture (see ¶ 14) so it is right to be angry, but still please be courteous and respectful. If Catholic Charities did not file the Forced Electroshock Petition they can deny it and if so, should be asked who did. :Please let us know.
You can leave comments below about steps you have taken and things you have learned and check back for updates.
I sent the following two emails this morning:
Dear Mr. Mike Hanratty,
I am emailing you as a concerned Minnesotan to request you do everything in your power to prevent Mr. David Russell from being subjected to ECT by force. It is beyond horrifying that Mayo Clinic is planning to force Mr. Russell to undergo ECT against his will, which amounts to torture, and as Mr. Russell’s guardian you must oppose this appalling violation of his human rights.
Please immediately sign an Authorization for Release of Information
for Mr. James B. Gottstein, Esq. and send the Electroshock Petition to him, in alignment with Mr. Russell’s wishes.
This is incredibly urgent as the court hearing is on Monday.
Thank you,
Ruby Cromer
________________________________________________
Dear Dr. Morgan,
I am emailing you as a concerned Minnesotan to request you immediately withdraw or dismiss the Electroshock Petition filed against your patient Mr. David Russell. It is beyond horrifying that you and Mayo Clinic are planning to force Mr. Russell to undergo ECT against his will, which amounts to torture, in an appalling violation of his human rights.
Please withdraw or dismiss the petition before the scheduled hearing on Monday. Do not subject Mr. David Russell to ECT by force.
Thank you,
Ruby Cromer
Dear Mr. Hanratty and Ms. Dannehy:
As you are, respectively, the Program Director of the Catholic Charities guardianship program, and the person who is making decisions about David Russell’s life, you have dominion over David Russell. So I strongly urge you both to put an end to the effort to force David Russell to undergo ECT.
I am the Director of the National Mental Health Consumers’ Self-Help Clearinghouse, and I work to provide accurate information to people with mental health conditions. And, since 1984, I have learned a great deal about the terrible impact that this controversial procedure can have on those who experience it, whether by force or with their (rarely truly informed) consent.
I emailed Dr. Morgan about this, and cc’d you both, but I will add that, in Matthew 7:12, Jesus says, “In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you.” (This is summed up as the Golden Rule, and appears elsewhere in the Bible too.) I believe you would not want to be forced to undergo a controversial and potentially extremely harmful procedure, so forcing David Russell to do so is against the teachings of Jesus.
Again, I urge you to protect David Russell, as your guardianship gives you the obligation to do.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Susan Rogers, Director
National Mental Health Consumers’ Self-Help Clearinghouse
https://www.mhselfhelp.org/
I’m going to send this email in a few hours when Minnesota starts work.
Dear Mr. Hanratty and Mrs. Dannehy, I am writing this morning concerning David Russell. I am told You have been appointed his Guardian. I’m asking You to send Mr. Gottstein the Electroshock Petition and sign an Authorization for Release of Information. From what I hear Mr. Russell’s wishes and even his rights have been denied. The first rule of medicine or healing is “do no harm.” Don’t make the situation worse by making Mr. Russell’s situation worse. Am I, or is anyone, expected to believe that this grown man who has functioned in society successfully for most of his life as a professional engineer, no less, is no longer able to speak for himself? Why not? I find it more likely someone is trying to silence him. Is that criminal? I’ve had my rights to speak arrested unjustifiably. A lot of people do. It doesn’t make it right or OK. His requests seem simple and completely reasonable. Be on the right side of history, even if that side loses. One of the world’s great religions says something about doing what is right over what is easy, and how self sacrifice in the name of truth and justice is more important than success.
Electroshock, really? Why? I accidentally touched an electrical outlet once, and only once. That hurt bad enough to knock me backward onto my butt. I think the electroshock to the head might feel, at least slightly more, uncomfortable? As I said, an electrical outlet hurt. How many times exponentially more powerful is the shock they’re going to give this man? This is inhumane and amounts to torture. I do not advocate torture. Certainly not under these ridiculously unnecessary circumstances. Everybody everywhere knows in their gut this is true. How much time have they spent on his case(?) to understand a lifetime of lived experience. If you’re not going to do the work and spend the time to help this man, the decent thing is to respect his wishes. Do you feel qualified to make these decisions for this man? Is anyone? Why can’t he make his own? Please send Mr. Gottstein the peitition if that is what Mr. Russell wants. thank you, John
Dr Mike Hanratty
Please dismiss electroshock and action a withdrawal of Petition for Electroshock for David Russell
Please provide on respectful demand Mr Jim Gottstein the Authorisation for Release of Information which already David Russell had signed and was summarily had his rights ignored with no consent given for the ElectroShocking.
Please provide the Petition for Electroshock to Jim Gottstein Esq. This maltreatment is otherwise known incorrectly as ECT amongst practitioners of this Geneva Convention recognised method of torture and Jim Gottstein Esq. has spoken to you and to my knowledge provided you with the relevant information on this issue regarding taking into account David’s wishes regarding his own consent not given for this position and vouching for David’s psychiatric rights.
Electroshocking is still used to subdue remove and modify a person’s natural process of grief and thinking feeling and responding and physically harms and distresses, damages, is not therapeutic and damages the brain , unlawful and unethical without consent. It is simply a choice to utilise power and control in institutions and for psychiatry’s benefit to ensure a compliant passive patient who can no longer communicate think feel and be themselves nor have restorative effect to their previously functional self. In David’s case this included employment and maintaining full personhood without being terrified of electric shock and incarcerated in chemical bondage in harmful drugs also non consented to and affecting his decision making and not being treated as any patient with choices as an adult human being. A supportive voluntary model of supports with directed supports by patience without drugging would enable David to once again live a life without brain damage and with freedom as a citizen with full rights he is entitled to.
Please withdraw the Petition for Electroshock as reasonable and necessary to David Russell’s welfare and future and hope.
Kind regards
Claire Gaudry
Correction spoken with Dr Morgan re previous email
Please STOP 🛑 a miscarriage of justice
Dear Dr Robert Morgan
As a matter of urgency
Please dismiss electroshock and action a withdrawal of Petition for Electroshock for David Russell
Please provide on respectful demand Mr Jim Gottstein the Authorisation for Release of Information which already David Russell had signed and was summarily had his rights ignored with no consent given for the ElectroShocking.
Please provide the Petition for Electroshock to Jim Gottstein Esq. This maltreatment is otherwise known incorrectly as ECT amongst practitioners of this Geneva Convention recognised method of torture and Jim Gottstein Esq. has spoken to you and to my knowledge provided you with the relevant information on this issue regarding taking into account David’s wishes regarding his own consent not given for this position and vouching for David’s psychiatric rights.
Electroshocking is still used to subdue remove and modify a person’s natural process of grief and thinking feeling and responding and physically harms and distresses, damages, is not therapeutic and damages the brain , unlawful and unethical without consent. It is simply a choice to utilise power and control in institutions and for psychiatry’s benefit to ensure a compliant passive patient who can no longer communicate think feel and be themselves nor have restorative effect to their previously functional self. In David’s case this included employment and maintaining full personhood without being terrified of electric shock and incarcerated in chemical bondage in harmful drugs also non consented to and affecting his decision making and not being treated as any patient with choices as an adult human being. A supportive voluntary model of supports with directed supports by patience without drugging would enable David to once again live a life without brain damage and with freedom as a citizen with full rights he is entitled to.
Please withdraw the Petition for Electroshock as reasonable and necessary to David Russell’s welfare and future and hope.
Kind regards
Claire Gaudry
To Dr. Morgan, Ms. Dannehy, Mr. Hanratty, et al.,
I understand that your patient, David Russell, may be forced to endure electroshock treatment and neuroleptic drugging against his will.
To introduce myself, I am a neuroscientist with special expertise in forensics, both criminology and criminalistics. And I am very concerned about your involvement in Mr. Russell’s situation. With urgency, I ask that you immediately withdrawal your electroshock petition.
Electroshock treatment causes irreparable physical damage to the brain at the neuronal level, adversely impacting cognition and mentation.
Neuroleptics are known to be ineffectual in treating mental disorders and side effects can be dangerous, as described in multitudes of modern scientific literature. Further, your forced therapeutics are a civil rights violation and may meet the criteria for torture.
Dr. Morgan, if you should damage Mr. Russell’s brain, then you could be held accountable for your decisions, especially noting that receive financial compensation for such violations. Would you be prepared for such consequences? How can you reconcile harming your patient?
Withdraw your electroshock petition.
Sincerely,
I sent this email
Dear Mr. Hanratty,
Everyone has a right to personal legal counsel, no matter their medical state.
Please let Mr. Russel have his own attorney?
This can only serve to help Mr Russel’s self confidence and sense of safety which is crucial to good mental health.
If he really does need ECT letting this happen after the presentation of all the facts.
Isn’t that what we all ultimately want—what’s best for Mr Russel?
Thank you for your attention
Dear Dr. Morgan and Mr. Hanratty:
I am writing as a MindFreedom International volunteer on behalf of David Russell to ask you to honor Jim Gottstein’s requests to sign a release/s of information and disclose the origin of the petition to forcibly use electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) on Mr. Russell. I also implore you to abandon the effort to impose this on him. As a former psychiatric pharmacist as well as someone who has personally experienced ECT and other psychiatric interventions, I believe that this course of action is very likely to produce more harm than good and I want to encourage you to consider alternatives in collaboration with the patient.
Most people diagnosed with mental disorders have experienced significant trauma in their lives and a large component of trauma is a feeling of powerlessness. Inflicting unwanted treatment on such people only reinforces that sense of powerlessness and exacerbates their trauma and mental distress. The 2018 Report on Mental Health and Human Rights of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights says that such forced treatment should be “recognize[d]…as constituting torture.” Please see page 14, paragraph 46:
https://psychrights.org/Countries/UN/180724UNMentalHealthAndRightsReport.pdf
I underwent ECT voluntarily and I would still certainly consider it torture. The body pain and headache following the first application were incredible, and while I did not personally have significant memory loss, I did experience a very frightening “switching” phenomenon, requiring re-hospitalization for mania. I have no knowledge of Mr. Russell’s personal diagnoses or symptoms, but I do believe that ECT should probably be retired as a treatment option—or only used as a last resort— especially with there being TMS and other non-pharmacologic alternatives available. I definitely believe that it should NEVER be used without the informed consent of the patient.
Thank you for considering my requests and honoring Mr. Gottstein’s.
Sincerely,
Eddy Zuber
I sent this
Dear Dr. Morgan:
I am writing to urge you to withdraw the petition to administer electroconvulsive therapy to Mr. .Robert Russell.
Mr.Russell strongly objects to this controversial and dangerous procedure. He has requested the assistance of
Mr .James Gottstein,Esq of the Legal Project for Psychiatric Rights to assert his objection.
Dr. Peter Breggin ,MD a well known psychiatrist who has supervised electroconvulsant therapy has found its
questionable benefits to be outweighed by the serious risks his affidavit is fund below:
https://psychrights.org/Research/Digest/Electroshock/210413PBregginRieraExpertReport.pdf
The serious adverse consequences can make Mr. Russell unable to continue his career as a software engineer
who must be able to keep up with technical developments in computer technology.
More recent reports have not changed the riisk profile of this procedure.
Please withdraw the petition.
Sincerely,
Arnold Gore
Mike Hanratty
Dear Michael
Mr Hanratty
I am writing as matter of urgency
I’m not on a high horse I’m appealing to your best nature if I can at all despite everything
As guardian contactable as a matter of fact at all times for Mr David Russell as matter of urgency fully knowing what is at stake here by proof of prior reply..please listen.
If making self uncontactable on any reason then surely by law and duty of care legal and moral and ethical and by common sense and decency there is someone accountable to respond urgently to the multiple requests as below demanding actually what is required of you as someone respecting David Russell’s life liberty mind body and heart in his own best interests.
Any collaborative intent of the organisation to dismiss ignore or deflect argument that is entrenched as don’t ask don’t tell culture of educated indifference is not accepted or acceptable as a “corporate” response as your apparent personal guardianship and responsibility is required to stand up. This guardianship which is bogus in the first place but hae been undertaken by Catholic Charities at a very vulnerable time in David Russell”s life implies responsibility to protect David from harm which should be enabling those that do stand up for his right to say no to a profiteering clinics decisions that are endeavouring to destroy his brain health, joy decision making and livelihood effectively placing more assets in the hands of the Catholic” Church” posing as charity. Please respond as duty if nothing else in time to prevent the harm of the ECT petition you have not even moved to prevent or seem to care about being made on this young man. Is Dr Morgan also Catholic and is this just a big boys club like the Masons ? Why are you not separating you own social professional and religious interests from what David actually needs .his self agency and life back ? His dare anybody take this from him ? A guardian should be doing everything possible to reinstate his freedom.
A true guardian should be vehemently opposing as guardian a petition to Electrocute his God given brain.
Would you be prepared yourself to stand in his place and take the things being inflicted in his life by your non intervention.
David Russell’s interests are not for his property or for the organisations conflict of interest or indifference to just be ignored . His wishes must be respected.
I could try to say till the cows come home what is right here but all of you will live with the consequences of inaction or pretending you don’t know what you are doing feigning ignorance or passing the buck. Literally
David Russell has himself signed a release of information with consent to provide James B. Gottstein, Esq., of the Law Project for Psychiatric Rights (Psych rights) however in typical collusion for the Mayo clinics own research and financial interests to keep people powerless and under forced drugging and incarceration they are not honouring this man’s best interests to provide the informed consent of release of information to David’s legal services.
Jim Gottstein has emailed you directly to send him the Electroshock Petition and sign an Authorisation for Release of Information to communicate with Jim.
I demand along with others respectfully that you immediately as your duty send Mr Gottstein the Electroshock Petition and sign an Authorization for Release of Information so at least Jim Gottstein can support David’s wishes please.
Anything less is surely i ask you a matter of negligence not due diligence and care?
Your job should be to support David in his decision making and not in place of him as he is a grown adult with capacity you are condoning impairment of with allowing pharmaceutical company backed facility to lock him up give him chemicals that are effecting his brain by depleting already it’s capacity and making him put on weight and as part of this escalating everything towards poor quality of life and statistically a terrible earthly existence by further assault on his personality and personhood..allowing others to decide he cannot grieve and be able to be supported by a non religious non psychiatric pert support and legal assistance to get back to his life and functional capacity pre this entire unnecessary and stupid incarceration enabled to continue by you.”Catholic Charities”…really?
Bureaucratic systems also set up blockades to justice and mercy so I send this also to Bridget and again reiterate that if either hae taken a long weekend to avoid response that it is legally still a guardian who should me responding being Michael Hanratty yo my knowledge.
Respectfully as can be
Sincerely
Sorry for any actual offence but I’m really offended when people take others lives and property into their own hands under coercion of powers that seem to be in the name of being a guardian or just don’t seem to care about the big picture of incremental bureaucracy,psychiatric abuse and torture.
I hope I am incorrect and this is not a collusive act of arrogance to just table tennis with indignance by delay to obstruct justice, save face and based in pride. This bungle? can be at least attempted to be rectified from this point with the immediate provision of what Jim Gottstein Esq. has requested of you because David has signed an Authorisation for Release of Information and the Mayo clinic is illegally ignoring his legal right to do so. Therefore please provide this immediately as they require this according to them so Jim Gottstein with PsychRights can do his job to see the Petition to Electroshock that you also would have to send him with the Authorisation for Release of Information so he can act for David Russell with all of us that want to see ECT stopped and de-escalate this appalling situation.
I stand with Mind Freedom International in seeking to free David Russell from drugging and electroshock and freedom from enforced torture, imprisonment and disregard of his rights and humanity by the state or whoever allows it to happen by neglect.
In a personal capacity I also stand up for psychiatric rights anyway as a person of faith and with knowing myself that this other label by man of “neurodiverse” is that people feel deeply and can shut down especially in personal circumstances of loss and reset but in any case I know what’s right is that often this is incorrectly assumed illness when it’s just not, it’s a transition to adjust to the changes life demands and drugging is not the answer nor ECT not lockup . Trust understanding and space with kind people away from clinical trials and lies. .the opportunity to work ,live life on own terns. I believe that living a life worthy of saying I believe in Jesus Christ means saying no to injustice and yes to both mercy and righteousness of Jesus and to be oneself..all unique people. Mercy triumphs over Judgement.
Kind regards
I’ve not cc’d Bridget in the end but will hope heard
Claire Gaudry
I have emailed Mr. Hanratty and Dr. Morgan and left a voicemail message for Mr. Hanratty.