Saturday, August 27, 2011

Judge Allows Forced Medication for Arizona Shooting Suspect, Jared Loughner

Jami and I disagreed about this decision - and we had a fairly good discussion.

Jami feels it's okay to force him to take medications, with the assumption that he is suffering and the meds will ease the suffering, and that he may be dangerous to himself or others if not medicated. She also believes he should stand trial.

On the other hand, I do not feel right about forcing him to take medications if he does not want to do so. I also do not believe he should stand trial - in my opinion, he is severely mentally ill (SMI) and should be placed in a secured facility where he can receive treatment and not be sent to prison (where he would also be forced to take medications). Barring some break-through in treatment approaches, he would never be free again.

My sense is that the prosecutors want to medicate him so that he can stand trial, be convicted, and be sentenced to death. On the other hand, they won't let him commit suicide. Our legal system is all about retribution and punishment, not justice.

Judge Allows Forced Medication for Arizona Shooting Suspect


By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: August 27, 2011
Read the whole article.

1 comment:

Sage said...

i agree with every single word you say here Bill.