Zoloft Made Him Do It

Bonnie

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Jun 30, 2004
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Zoloft-made-me-kill teenager found guilty of murder



THE ASSOCIATED PRESS


CHARLESTON, S.C. — A 15-year-old boy who claimed the antidepressant Zoloft drove him to kill his grandparents was found guilty Tuesday of murder.
Christopher Pittman hung his head as the verdict was read after about six hours of deliberations. He faces 30 years to life in prison at sentencing Tuesday afternoon.

The trial was the first case involving a youngster who says an antidepressant caused him to kill, Pittman’s lawyer said. It came at a time of heightened scrutiny over the use of antidepressants among children.

Defense attorneys had urged the jury to send a message to the nation by blaming Zoloft for the killings. They said the negative effects of Zoloft are more pronounced in youngsters, and the drug affected Pittman so he did not know right from wrong.

“We do not convict children for murder when they have been ambushed by chemicals that destroy their ability to reason,” attorney Paul Waldner said.

But prosecutors called the Zoloft defense a smoke screen, saying the then-12-year-old Pittman knew exactly what he was doing three years ago when he shot his grandparents, torched their house and then drove off in their car.

Prosecutor Barney Giese said the real motivation for the crime was the boy’s anger at his grandparents for disciplining him for choking a younger student on a school bus. And he reminded jurors how the boy carried out the killings — shooting his grandfather in the mouth and his grandmother in her head while both lay sleeping.

“I don’t care how old he is. That is as malicious a killing — a murder — as you are ever going to find,” the prosecutor said. He pointed to Pittman’s statement to police in which he said his grandparents “deserved it.” Pittman was charged as an adult in the November 2001 murders of Joe Pittman, 66, and his wife Joy, 62.

Zoloft is the most widely prescribed antidepressant in the United States, with 32.7 million prescriptions written in 2003. Last October, the Food and Drug Administration ordered Zoloft and other antidepressants to carry “black box” warnings — the government’s strongest warning short of a ban — about an increased risk of suicidal behavior in children.

Originally published on February 15, 2005



http://www.nydailynews.com/front/breaking_news/story/281118p-240912c.html


Im wondering if this is going spark real studies about the effects anti-depressants have on kids or if this is just a made up defense??
 
[sarcasm]

Poor kid! How terrible that they couldn't see that Zoloft is the evil pill that causes murderous intent! This just shows that Judges need more power in order to overrule juries and simply discharge the youth to a new doctor!

[/sarcasm]
 
no1tovote4 said:
[sarcasm]

Poor kid! How terrible that they couldn't see that Zoloft is the evil pill that causes murderous intent! This just shows that Judges need more power in order to overrule juries and simply discharge the youth to a new doctor!

[/sarcasm]

You should be a defense attorney :D You have that kind of mind
 
freeandfun1 said:
I am glad that wisdom prevailed over emotions and bunk science.

I agree with you, simply because a lot of that verdict hinged on the fact that after killing them he set the house on fire in an attempt to cover up what happened, which indicates planning and a conscious knowing of right and wrong.
 
Bonnie said:
I agree with you, simply because a lot of that verdict hinged on the fact that after killing them he set the house on fire in an attempt to cover up what happened, which indicates planning and a conscious knowing of right and wrong.

Exactly! He knew what he was doing. No doubt about it in my mind.
 
no1tovote4 said:
Wha?!!!! :eek:

Do you really think so little of me?! j/k

:teeth:


You know the devious mind can be a powerful force :) Depends on how you use it right?? LOL
 
no1tovote4 said:
[sarcasm]

Poor kid! How terrible that they couldn't see that Zoloft is the evil pill that causes murderous intent! This just shows that Judges need more power in order to overrule juries and simply discharge the youth to a new doctor!

[/sarcasm]

Nah. they just need to get a new trial with an actual jury of his peers: Juvinile criminals.
 

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