Ray Sandford, Advocates Speak Out Against Forced Electroshocks

tc.indymedia.org | Twin Cities - Every two or three weeks on a Wednesday morning, Raymond Sandford of Columbia Heights is woken up early in his group home. He is involuntarily escorted 15 miles north to Mercy Hospital, where he receives another round of forced, court-ordered electroshocks to the brain. Though Sandford, 54, is not charged with any crime, he has received over 40 such rounds of shocks on an outpatient basis so far--even after his original mental problems have long since subsided and he has repeatedly asked for the shocks to stop.

Over the objections of Sandford, his mother and friends, his legal conservator at Lutheran Social Service of MN (LSSMN) has gone to court and succeeded in mandating a continuation of the procedure. Last year, Sandford went to a public library trying to find a human rights organization that could help, and found the Eugene, Oregon based MindFreedom International, which has helped him wage a campaign to stop the shocks and draw attention to widespread injustices in the mental health system. From May 1 to 3, MindFreedom will organize peaceful protests, news conferences and other actions in Minneapolis/St. Paul as the next step in the campaign.

In this five-minute video produced by Twin Cities Indymedia, Ray Sandford, his mother Marilyn, and friend Daryl speak about the issues in their own words.

For more info on the campaign: http://mindfreedom.org/ray

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• tcindymedia
• indymedia
• electroshock
• ECT
• mental health
• ray sandford
• mindfreedom
• raymond sandford

[maryellen728]

This is torture not medicine.

I just watched a video with an "expert" on electro shock explaining how wonderful it was for him. He'd probably love a baseball bat slammed against his skull, too.

Amnesty International should step up to the plate on Ray's behalf.

[witness4justice]

Sign the petition to stop the forced electroshock of Ray Sandford

[dcs002]

I'd kinda like to know the rest of the story. How did a judge become involved in this patient's medical decisions? I don't like what I see in this video, but I don't like half truths either. I particularly dislike organizations with an agenda using psych patients as mascots. If this is torture, then tell the whole story. It will stand up. If not, then stop using Ray for your cause.

[Makron5]

@maryellen728 Sorry to tell you but Amnesty International is sometimes used as a tool by the capitalists. Look at the ' unreported' Darfur and how that was overblown and the most reported thing meanwhile there was no genocide.

[pillowbugg]

Raymond,

What do you have for this to continue?

PMD?

Catatonic, which doesn't appear to be, or

Schizoaffective with psychotic features?

Their is a reason the liberal judges in Minnesota are approving this...

[sag4985]

lot of the people posting negative comments here have no idea how many people are cured by ECT!

their opinion is merely based on some videos or movies rather than firm evidences..

[rapidpossumsex]

i cant even watch this... this is so fucked up. after 50 years of negative results why are we still fucking doing this

[AnaLimaLuiza]

@maryellen728 Thank the Lord Amnesty International is not paying attention to the crimes committed to the "mentally ill".

It's been a long time Amnesty International works for the US government and the corporations and surely they would not help and make more people take drugs and electroshock.

[MrPetey1001]

Dr. Dean Knudsen who prescribed the ect has opened his own practice:

Lakes Consultation Group

1155 Ford Rd

St. Louis Park, MN 55426

Ph: 952 378 1800

Fax: 952 378 1714

[BenjPhotoDotCom]

@stopHAARP This should in now way mark me as a supporter of what's being discussed here. I just think it's important to point out logical fallacies when something important is at stake.