If You Thought Barbaric Treatment of Psych Patients Was Over, Think Again

Before the advent of modern drugs and clinical programs to treat mental illnesses, there were lots of barbaric treatments given patients. Electro-shock, trepanation, and even lobotomies were routinely dished out at nightmarish facilities- facilities that often become the basis of horror stories and science fiction. So if you thought people don’t do that anymore, think again. For ten years, lawyers have wanted to show what one patient went through at the Judge Rotenberg Center in Massachusetts- and that video is below. Shocking both literally and figuratively.

Graphic video of teen being restrained, shocked played in court: MyFoxBOSTON.com

From MyFoxBoston:

Video of a student restrained and shocked for hours at the Judge Rotenberg Center was played in court on Tuesday after a years-long battle by the center to keep it from the public eye.

The video, which shows former resident Andre McCollins screaming, writhing in pain, and begging for help, was played at the start of McCollins’ trial against the Canton-based Judge Rotenberg Center.

The Rotenberg Center convinced a judge eight years ago to seal the video, and the battle continued up until Tuesday morning.

McCollins, then 18 years old, was shocked 31 times that day in 2002. Lawyers for the center and its clinicians say it was part of the treatment he needed to quell his aggressive behavior.

The center’s website is here. They tout the fact that they take problem patients that don’t respond to medication. So they torture them instead according to this lawsuit.