Call Governor to Stop Torture at Judge Rotenberg Center in Canton

SOMETHING ‘ROTEN’ at Rotenberg Center IN CANTON, Mass.

Teen Shocked 31 Times: Lively Calls Out Gov. Baker for Approving Torture of Disabled Children

BOSTONBROADSIDE.COM

July 12, 2018

By Dr. Scott Lively – Governor’s Candidate

Baker Administration Approves
Torture of Disabled Children

Video Shown at Trial: Teen Being Shocked 31 Times – Over 2 Hours!

Warning: Video linked in this article is extremely disturbing

Dr. Scott Lively Implores Governor Baker and HHS
Commissioner Marylou Sudders to Appeal the Recent Bristol County Court
Decision Allowing the Judge Rotenberg Center in Canton to “Treat”
Children with Powerful Electric Shocks the United Nations Defines as
Torture.

Warning: Video linked in this article is extremely disturbing

So far, this issue has been championed mostly by people and media on
the political left, but as a strong full-spectrum conservative
Republican, I argue this should concern all Bay-Staters regardless of
their political leanings.

As a human rights lawyer and pastoral caregiver for the mentally ill I
was deeply disturbed to learn recently that Massachusetts is home to an
extremely controversial medical treatment facility for children: the Judge Rotenberg Center
(JRC) in Canton, MA. It is the only facility in the nation that uses
very powerful electric shocks as part of a treatment plan to change
undesired behavior in children: two-second-long shocks so powerful that
they leave marks on the skin and cause children to scream in terror and
agony.

To be sure, the JRC argues forcefully that torture of children is a
lesser evil than the harm severely disturbed children inflict on
themselves, but the United Nations has investigated their defense and declared JRC’s shock therapy
to be torture. I strongly agree with the United Nations on this.
There are other ways besides the false choice of torture or drug-induced
catatonia to treat extreme self-destructive behavior.

Why, except for the arrogance of our medical “elites” and their political allies (as seen in the Justina Pelletier case), is Massachusetts the only state to decide torture is the best solution?

Many medical professionals and patient advocacy groups are taking action: 231 organizations signed a petition to the FDA to ban JRC’s shock, nearly 300,000 people signed a petition
to the FDA to ban their shock, and in 2011 under the previous state
administration, the Department of Developmental Services [DDS] passed a
state regulation to ban shock and other torturous actions like food
deprivation and slapping of clients, etc. This CNN report shows a reporter shocking herself while this one lets you see the fear the disabled have at JRC due to the shocks.

Commendably, a few years ago the Massachusetts Attorney General’s
office under Governor Deval Patrick filed suit to stop the use of
electric shock and other tortures by attempting to regain state control
over the JRC, but Judge Katherine Field of Bristol County Family and
Probate Court recently ruled in favor of the Rotenberg Center, which
will allow its abusive practices to continue.

Alarmingly, Governor Baker’s Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders stated in this Boston TV5 report that she approves of the use of torture at JRC.

The last hope of stopping the torture of children in Massachusetts is
to convince Governor Baker to appeal Judge Field’s unfortunate ruling.
I issue this open appeal to him today in the hope that the public and
the media will bring pressure to bear on Mr. Baker to reverse course on
his administration’s support for torture of children.

The deadline for filing an appeal is July 18th, so the Governor must act now!

Should this letter fail to achieve that result, I promise to end this
inhumane and frankly barbaric practice in Massachusetts if elected
Governor.

Sincerely,

Dr. Scott Lively