Via Mind Freedom comes the news that Simone D has been able to stop her forced electric shock treatment.
Excerpt:
Simone D. is a psychiatric inmate in the Creedmoor psychiatric institution in New York State.
New York State’s Office of Mental Health (OMH) aggressively pursued obtaining a court order to give Simone D. forced electroshock over her expressed wishes.
Simone D. had clearly said electroshock caused her pain and suffering. She knew that she was talking about. Simone D. had previously had 200 electroshocks.
Making it worse, Simone D. speaks only Spanish, but for years she’s been denied counseling or even staff fluent in Spanish, except for a few week period.
Today, Simone D.’s attorneys announced that she won!
This morning a court ruled that the two-year-old order to give her forced electroshock had been set aside.
Said Kim Darrow, one of her attorneys, “I was able to get the original judge to order a hearing, on the ground that his main reason for granting the shock order — that Simone might not eat and starve — no longer applies.”
Kim explained, “The hearing was held this morning before a different judge. He ruled that Creedmoor failed to carry its burden of proof.” The judge canceled out RMH’s court order for Simone D.’s forced electroshock, that has hung over her head these past two years since 2005.
This is the second person to win a victory in one month over forced
electroshock by the New York State Office of Mental Health following a campaign of public alerts and court battles.
David Oaks, director of MindFreedom International said, “Thank you to Simone D. and her great attorneys, Dennis Feld and Kim Darrow. And thank you to the many people who spoke out against her forced electroshock. The fact that John Kelly and now Simone D. have both been able to stop their planned forced electroshock shows there is hope! Keep up the pressure. Let’s end all forced electroshock!”
