Christopher Pittman, who gained much notoriety after killing his grandparents and raising the use of Zoloft as part of his defense, had his conviction affirmed by the state Supreme Court. The opinion can be found here.
CNN has this story.
I'll post more on the case later today or in the morning.
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2 comments:
My name is Clare O'Keefe,
For the past two years I have been an advocate for Juvenile Justice.
I wake up each morning and I thank God that I was born and
raised in this country, I would think how blessed I am or at least I used
to think that way until I realized that our government sponsors child
abuse.
Children as young as 12 years of age are now being tried in adult courts
and sentenced to adult prisons where they are routinely brutalized by
hardened criminals. The heartache these kids endure and why?
Because the prosecutors know that they will win these cases, that's why.
Politicians have destroyed the juvenile justice system, Prosecutors have
destroyed the Juvenile justice system and some Judges have destroyed it.
If we don't stand up for children, then we don't stand for much.
The Supreme Court of South Carolina just made a very big mistake when
they upheld the Christopher Pittman appeal.
Chief Justice Toal said there was not enough scientific evidence to prove Zoloft
could alter someone's behavior. I wonder where she checked,
I should send that part of her opinion to Dr. Jeffery Drazen, editor of the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine, or Doctor John Abramson who wrote the book
Overdo$ed America.
I'm sure they could fill her in. Them and a thousand others.
Scientists found the region of the brain that inhibits
risky behavior isn't fully formed until age 25 and is seriously
underdeveloped at 16. This was found on a MRI. It was verified.
That is only a fraction of the information that is available to the public.
So how in the world can we compare 12 year olds with let's say 30 year
olds? We cannot. A 12 year old is in the sixth grade which means he has
had five complete years of schooling. Now we all know what we are taught
in the first and second grade of school, so that leaves us three years of
learning compared to a 30 year old with a college education, he could be a
Rhodes Scholar, or at least at 30 he still could have a lot of street
smarts. Most importantly he can help in his own defense. However, at 12
you are a child who cannot drive, vote, marry, drink or sit on a jury.
In this country a 12 year old can give up his Miranda Rights without a
lawyer present. He can be questioned for hours and hours with no lawyer or
family member present. He can confess without it being taped or videoed
and no lawyer or family member with him. He will be tried as an adult,
sentenced as an adult to an adult prison for years or even life without
parole. This would never happen to an adult.
I don't think there is another country that treats there children like we
do. We have had 10 year olds tried as adults, Babies. When a child is
held over for trial he is locked up in an adult jail, he spends 23 out of
24 hours locked away, alone, for his own safety. Imagine the heartache he
is feeling and all the tears he will shed.
Something has to be done, laws have to change, we have to stop and take
off the blinders and send our children back to the juvenile courts, let
the prosecutors fight with the big people, and let the Juvenile Judges
handle the children.
I am sure that there has to be something you can do. We have to do something for Christopher Pittman who is in prison in South Carolina because the State will not take responsibility for all the wrong that they did young Chris. We need to change the laws.
Juveniles in the juvenile system and adults in the adult system.
Sincerely,
Clare O'Keefe
claremok@aol.com
My name is Clare O'Keefe
For the past two years I have been an advocate for Juvenile Justice.
I wake up each morning and I thank God that I was born and
raised in this country, I would think how blessed I am or at least I used
to think that way until I realized that our government sponsors child
abuse.
Children as young as 12 years of age are now being tried in adult courts
and sentenced to adult prisons where they are routinely brutalized by
hardened criminals. The heartache these kids endure and why?
Because the prosecutors know that they will win these cases, that's why.
Politicians have destroyed the juvenile justice system, Prosecutors have
destroyed the Juvenile justice system and some Judges have destroyed it.
If we don't stand up for children, then we don't stand for much.
The Supreme Court of South Carolina just made a very big mistake when
they upheld the Christopher Pittman appeal.
Chief Justice Toal said there was not enough scientific evidence to prove Zoloft
could alter someone's behavior. I wonder where she checked,
I should send that part of her opinion to Dr. Jeffery Drazen, editor of the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine, or Doctor John Abramson who wrote the book
Overdo$ed America.
I'm sure they could fill her in. Them and a thousand others.
Scientists found the region of the brain that inhibits
risky behavior isn't fully formed until age 25 and is seriously
underdeveloped at 16. This was found on a MRI. It was verified.
That is only a fraction of the information that is available to the public.
So how in the world can we compare 12 year olds with let's say 30 year
olds? We cannot. A 12 year old is in the sixth grade which means he has
had five complete years of schooling. Now we all know what we are taught
in the first and second grade of school, so that leaves us three years of
learning compared to a 30 year old with a college education, he could be a
Rhodes Scholar, or at least at 30 he still could have a lot of street
smarts. Most importantly he can help in his own defense. However, at 12
you are a child who cannot drive, vote, marry, drink or sit on a jury.
In this country a 12 year old can give up his Miranda Rights without a
lawyer present. He can be questioned for hours and hours with no lawyer or
family member present. He can confess without it being taped or videoed
and no lawyer or family member with him. He will be tried as an adult,
sentenced as an adult to an adult prison for years or even life without
parole. This would never happen to an adult.
I don't think there is another country that treats there children like we
do. We have had 10 year olds tried as adults, Babies. When a child is
held over for trial he is locked up in an adult jail, he spends 23 out of
24 hours locked away, alone, for his own safety. Imagine the heartache he
is feeling and all the tears he will shed.
Something has to be done, laws have to change, we have to stop and take
off the blinders and send our children back to the juvenile courts, let
the prosecutors fight with the big people, and let the Juvenile Judges
handle the children.
I do not know what you can do to help me or better still, help the children?
But I am sure that there has to be something you can do. We have to do something for Christopher Pittman who is in prison in South Carolina because the State will not take responsibility for all the wrong that they did young Chris. We need to change the laws.
Juveniles in the juvenile system and adults in the adult system.
Sincerely,
Clare O'Keefe
claremok@aol.com
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