Update 19 November 2012: 

Read the victory message from Glen K.’s attorney, approved by Glen K.! Glen K. has been discharged from the institution where he was electroshocked, and he is living outside in the community. That walk elegantly disproves his psychiatrist’s dire and absurd predictions more than six months ago that Glen K. could not function without ongoing traumatizing involuntary electroshock. 

Update 18 April 2012: 

• Glen has been told. He is thrilled. 

  He won! Thank you to everyone who spoke out for Glen!

  Less than 48 hours after an emergency MindFreedom alert went out to contact Governor Cuomo (photo on right), the machinery that was delivering forced shocks to Glen as recently as Friday, has ground to a stop. 

  Glen’s attorneys got a call from the NY Attorney General earlier today. Under the guise that Glen is doing so well, the Attorney General will no longer defend the court order to give Glen electroshock, and they are withdrawing that order.

  Glen won’t be forcibly shocked any more under this order.

  Given this attorney general decision, Glen may be creating an advanced directive to help protect him in the future. 

  Today, MindFreedom contacted Mental Hygiene Legal Services, which has defended Glen and a number of other New York psychiatric survivors against forced shock. We spoke with Glen’s attorneys Dennis Feld and Arthur Baer, who made this public statement:

  “We feel that our client has been vindicated, and what we thought was one of the most onerous orders for forced treatments we ever saw has now been nullified.”

  And there’s no need to go to Brooklyn for Glen’s court hearing tomorrow, 19 April, because he won! 

  MFI director David Oaks said, “Thank you everyone for your quick response on this campaign… Keep contacting Governor Cuomo and ask him to issue a moratorium on all involuntary electroshock in New York.”

   

  Updates from 17 April 2012:

   

• You can now hear an MP3 audio of  a phone interview conducted today with Glen K., by MFI. You may also read the text notes of the interview.

• The first 24 hours of Glen’s campaign already had an impact. MFI received a call from John Allen, director of Consumer Affairs for NY State Office of Mental Health, who claimed: “While we can’t comment on this individual case, we have suspended and are reviewing policy and procedure that would lead to these kinds of circumstances in the future.” While this is positive news, MFI will wait until Glen or his representative declare victory. 

Update 16 April 2012: 

Glen K. has reasonable objections to on his forced electroshock, and states: “ECT causes profound memory loss, it causes universal brain damage , and it is a harsh, harsh treatment…” 

THANK YOU EVERYONE! CONGRATULATIONS GLEN! 

“No one is tired on victory day!” – ancient Persian expression

BELOW is Original MindFreedom Alert that Apparently Helped Glen Win His Campaign to Say “No!” to Forced Electroshock

MFI News Exclusive

April 16, 2012

 

Your Tax Dollars At Work:

Does Governor Cuomo Know His NY State Institution is Forcibly Electroshocking Glen K.?

 

by MindFreedom International 

 

It’s in the public record: 

Glen K. is being forcibly subjected twice a week to electroconsulvive therapy (ECT), also known as shock treatment, in a New York state mental health institution – Rockland Psychiatric Center photo on right – where he is being held involuntarily. These shocks are administered to Glen K. over his clear and consistent protest, under the authority of a court order which authorizes a series of 120 shock treatments over a period of 12 months. 

This order also authorizes the hospital to chemically restrain Glen K. with involuntary psychiatric drugs, when he refuses medical procedures in preparation for ECT. On many occasions, the hospital has also employed physical and chemical restraints to overcome his resistance to ECT. 

Ironically, this MindFreedom exclusive investigation is being distributed on “tax day.” Because the crusade to continue to forcibly electroshock Glen K. is all paid for by your precious federal and state taxpayer dollars. 

 

Glen K. Argues for His Right to Say “No” to Shock

 

At a court hearing, Glen K., who is in his 40’s, provided what an observer called an “eloquent expression” of why he was adamantly opposed to ECT. After all, Glen is an expert on electroshock, having received close to 100 shocks before. 

During this same court hearing, a court-appointed independent psychiatrist testified against subjecting Glen K. to continuing forced shock. The judge ignored this expert witness. In the end, the hospital prevailed and the judge issued the court order for involuntary electroshock.

This court order is being appealed and the shocks were temporary halted by an order of the appellate court. However, that order to halt was vacated. That means the forced shocks of Glen K. are being allowed to continue and will continue to the full extent under the hearing court’s order, unless Glen K. wins the appeal. 

Oral argument on this appeal will be heard this coming Thursday, 18 April 2012, before a panel of four judges of the Appellate Division, Second Judicial Department which sits in Brooklyn, New York.

 

Glen K. and the Court of Public Opinion

 

Glen K. is being represented by the Mental Hygiene Legal Service (MHLS). MHLS will likely emphasize that Glen K.’s objection to further shock treatment was and is a fully informed one, and that he does not lack the requisite ability to make a reasoned treatment decision — and thus should be free to decide what treatment he can be subjected to — just because he disagrees with the hospital’s recommendation. 

Further, the appellate court will be asked to accept that Glen K.’s complaint that the shock treatment is brain damaging is not a psychotic delusion but a complaint which echoes much recent scientific research and findings and one which cogently describes the ultimate effect of receiving hundreds of shock treatments. 

According to a legal expert, it is likely that if the appeal is defeated the hospital will apply for another order for 120 shocks once the challenged order expires, a practice the hospital has followed with other patients under its custody. Glen K. hopes the appellate court will understand that his expressed wish for an alternative treatment does not reflect an impairment in his judgment or thinking, but a sincere request for humane care and treatment.

The appellate court will likely issue its decision four to six weeks after the argument is heard.

No matter what the appellate court rules, it’s time for the court of public opinion to speak out about how their taxpayers dollars are being wasted in a crusade to force electroshock over the expressed wishes of some of the most powerless citizens in the USA. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

ACTION:

 

Does Governor of New York Andrew M. Cuomo know about his state’s administering forced electroshock over a citizen’s clear objections?

Ask him yourself! 

Please keep your question civil but strong:

Email via this handy web contact form: 

http://www.governor.ny.gov/contact/GovernorContactForm.php 

Or phone: (518) 474-8390 

 

Additional actions:

Please forward this news to appropriate sources on the Internet. The short link to this page is: 

http://bit.ly/cuomo-forced-ect

Do you live in New York State? 

MindFreedom New York State has a discussion list on this and other topics that current MFI members may join here:

http://bit.ly/mf-nystate-talk 

ISSUED BY MindFreedom International Initiative on Electroshock and Human Rights

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