Torture not Treatment - Disability Rights International

TORTURE NOT TREATMENT
same arguments over and over again. The only time I ever prevailed against JRC was
when my client was transferred to Mass General Hospital and I brought the case to a
court that had never before heard from JRC. – MDRI interview with an attorney
formerly involved with JRC litigation 193
Despite each person being awarded a public counsel to protect their best interest and civil rights,
the court rarely denies JRC permission to use punishment as treatment. The procedural
protections seem impressive on paper, but they have proved ineffective and futile.
When the JRC settlement agreement was first executed, a small cadre of defense
attorneys handled all the JRC cases. However, after a few years of frustration and
disappointment, all the original attorneys opted out. – MDRI interview with an attorney,
formerly involved with the JRC substituted judgment cases 194
In theory, shock cannot be authorized by the court until all other avenues of treatment have
failed. In practice, as described above, JRC appears to be able to create the behavior patterns that
can justify the court to order shock. One mother of a new student reported to MDRI that her son
was permanently restrained in a chair for several months, alone in a room, upon his admission to
JRC. During that time, according to her, her son was understandably upset and angry – inducing
him to exhibit bad behaviors. These behaviors were documented by JRC staff, and they give
them the ammunition they needed to get judicial authorization to use the electric shocks on her
son. 195
Deaths and subsequent legal challenges
From the outset, Israel‘s treatment for children with disabilities was controversial and the focus
of much media attention. This was especially true when the magnitude and severity of
punishments being perpetrated against children came to light or when an unexplained death
occurred at the facility, of which there have been six. As previously described, it was a death at
the facility in 1980 that resulted in the virtual ban on the use of aversives in California.
In 1990, the Massachusetts DMR conducted an exhaustive investigation on the horrific death of
a 19 year old, a young woman diagnosed with severe mental retardation, who also died at the
facility. The report states that the staff and administration committed acts against her that were
―egregious‖ and ―inhumane beyond all reason‖ and violated ―universal standards of human
decency.‖ 196 The young woman, who was unable to speak, became ill and refused to eat,
attempted to vomit and made sounds and noises that were not usual for her. For this she was
punished repeatedly as the staff translated her actions as misbehaviors. In the hours leading up to
her death from a perforated stomach and ulcers, the investigation found that she endured ―8
spankings, 27 finger pinches, 14 muscle squeezes‖ and was forced to smell ammonia and eat
―either vinegar mix, or jalapeno peppers or hot sauce.‖ 197
35