In Landmark Case, Judge Rules Prozac Was To Blame for Murder

Subject:     In Landmark Case, Judge Rules Prozac Was To Blame for Murder
Date:     Wed, 9 Nov 2011 12:25:03 -0500
From:     veracare <veracare@ahrp.org>
To:     Infomail1@ahrp. org <Infomail1@ahrp.org>

Alliance for Human Research Protection
A Catalyst for Debate
www.ahrp.org

FYI

A Canadian judge ruled that Prozac was the cause that led a teenage high school student-- with no prior history of violence--to inexplicably murder his friend by stabbing him with a single wound to the chest.

Judge Robert Heinrichs sentenced the boy a three-year sentence, less time already served--which means he will serve 10 months remaining in jail. Additionally he is required to be under community supervision for four years.

The judge based his determination largely on the compelling expert testimony by US psychiatrist, Peter Breggin, MD who submitted scientific evidence showing the risk of drug-induced violence posed by antidepressants such as Prozac.

According to court documents,  "The boy had been taking Prozac for three months, during which time his behavior deteriorated. He became impulsive and unpredictable, and suicidal. He also began to talk at times as if fantasizing about violence. He seemed to become a different person to his distraught parents."

The judge was also persuaded by the fact that when Prozac was withdrawn from the boy, his behavior returned to normal. "His basic normalcy now further confirms he no longer poses a risk of violence to anyone and that his mental deterioration and resulting violence would not have taken place without exposure to Prozac." 

Dr. Breggin testified that his primary care physician and his parents alerted the prescribing psychiatric clinic to the boy's deteriorating condition, but the clinic continued the Prozac and then doubled it. Seventeen days after the increase in dosage, the teen committed the violence." Dr. Breggin further testified that "the teen's use of Prozac likely meant he wasn't in full control of his actions."

The court heard how the boy changed from a loving, happy-go-lucky kid to a dark, depressed drug abuser. In sentencing the boy Judge Heinrichs noted that the boy "began to act out violently and even tried to harm himself on several occasions....it's clear the boy's parents did the right thing in taking their concerns to his various doctors, but they were largely ignored."

At sentencing, last Friday, Judge Heinrichs said: "(Prozac) clearly affected his behaviour in an alarming way. He was simply not the same person."

This is the first criminal case in North America where a judge has specifically found that an antidepressant was the cause of a murder.

Dr. Breggin noted that: "This is a landmark legal confirmation of the scientific fact that the newer antidepressants like Prozac, including the SSRI and SNRI antidepressants, can cause violence and even murder."

Read Winnipeg Free Press:
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/10-more-months-for-teen-who-cited-prozac-in-killing-133288373.html

 more: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2011/11/prweb8941528.htm

Contact: Vera Hassner Sharav
veracare@ahrp.org
212-595-8974