Reply #26: It's court-ordered ... more info ...

[RoyGBiv]

The website has what is apparently the one and only newspaper story on the case. Ray is called "Samuel" in the story. I looked through Lexis-Nexis and Newsbank and couldn't find anything else, but that seems partly explained by this story as Ray is distrustful of the media and asked to have a fake name used in the article. (That is, I wouldn't have found anything with a search using his name.) He gave his real name to the Mind Freedom organization who connected his case with the published story.

http://www.mindfreedom.org/campaign/media/mf/zenith-forced-electroshock

You have to follow the links in the FAQ. I missed it the first time around.

In summary, Sandford seems to have an extreme case of bi-polar disorder, and various drug therapies have not worked. He's been in and out of the hospital much of his life it seems, and his frequent manic episodes have been of the extreme variety that endanger himself and others:

During manic episodes, Samuel has cut his wrists, punched out a plate glass window, wrecked cars, lost his clothing, and sent flowers to everyone he knows. He had his nose broken once in a fight and his mother doesn’t believe he’s received adequate care when in jail.

It's not clear from the story what the specific reasons for this are. One thing that can lead to a court order for involuntary ECT involves a patient who does not or cannot regulate his medication outside a hospital environment or who has shown no positive response to medication and continues having severe manic episodes and depressive episodes that result in suicide attempts. I'm guessing, based on the information given, that his court-appointed guardian was left with a choice between permanent institutionalization or placement in what is basically a halfway house and radical treatment options.

The mother (80) was a nurse who herself administered the treatment to others when she was practicing and does not seem to be against it, per se. It's the frequency that has her concerned as they seem to extend well outside standard protocols for its use.

One problem we have here in determining what exactly is going on is that his court-appointed attorney cannot reveal any details about his case. So, all we have to go on are what those around him and he have said about it. His mother suggested the possibility that his contacting Mind Freedom may be the precursor to another manic episode, which could explain part of his motivation, but is also interesting because, if true, it would indicate this treatment is in fact not working.

Tough case ... I don't condone the idea of forced medical treatment at all, but I fear the alternative for him is long-term institutionalization.