{"id":129441,"date":"2025-09-22T06:00:20","date_gmt":"2025-09-22T10:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/?p=129441"},"modified":"2025-09-19T17:54:14","modified_gmt":"2025-09-19T21:54:14","slug":"cchr-psychiatric-treatment-fails-to-protect-communities-often-fuels-tragedy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/cchr-psychiatric-treatment-fails-to-protect-communities-often-fuels-tragedy\/","title":{"rendered":"CCHR: Psychiatric Treatment Fails to Protect Communities, Often Fuels Tragedy"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>LOS ANGELES, Calif., Sept. 22, 2025 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) &#8212; When violent tragedies like mass shootings strike, media have quoted family members or friends who assert perpetrators were \u201cschizophrenic\u201d or \u201coff medication.\u201d The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cchrint.org\/2025\/09\/19\/why-psychiatric-detainment-and-drugging-cannot-deliver-public-safety\/\">Citizens Commission on Human Rights International (CCHR)<\/a> says this inadvertently implies that psychiatric intervention could have prevented the acts, but psychiatrists themselves admit they cannot predict violent behavior. And psychiatric treatment \u2014 even involuntary hospitalization and drugging \u2014 often coincides with, or worsens, violent outcomes.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/images\/25-0922-s2p-cchr-occur-800x600.webp\" alt=\"Psychiatrists claim violent tragedies occur because perpetrators miss a mental health evaluation or stop taking drugs. (CCHR)\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-129439\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/images\/25-0922-s2p-cchr-occur-800x600.webp 800w, https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/images\/25-0922-s2p-cchr-occur-800x600-400x300.webp 400w, https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/images\/25-0922-s2p-cchr-occur-800x600-200x150.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><br \/><em>Image caption: Psychiatrists claim violent tragedies occur because perpetrators miss a mental health evaluation or stop taking drugs. The reality: psychiatric intervention often precedes harm, and psychiatrists cannot predict violent behavior.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>CCHR analyzed 132 acts of senseless violence between the 1980s and 2022. Of these, 43 perpetrators had been psychiatrically hospitalized \u2014 often involuntarily\u2014and at least 106 were prescribed psychotropic drugs prior to or at the time of their crimes. The true number would be higher, CCHR says, since toxicology results and treatment histories are often withheld. One perpetrator, treated long-term before shooting and wounding 10 and injuring 19 others, admitted: \u201cThey made me worse. They made me more dangerous than anybody could f\u2014 imagine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Recent case in point: Charlotte, North Carolina (August 2025). A 34-year-old man fatally stabbed a 23-year-old girl on a light rail train. Authorities described it as a \u201cmissed opportunity\u201d for evaluation and medication. But the alleged perpetrator had already been involuntarily hospitalized, prescribed drugs, and cycled through prison, where psychiatric treatment is routine.[1]<\/p>\n<p><strong>Linking violence to \u201cschizophrenia\u201d reinforces a stereotype disproven by research.<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A National Institutes of Health-funded CATIE trial found that 19 of 20 people diagnosed with schizophrenia exhibited <em>no violent behavior<\/em> during two years of follow-up.[2]<\/li>\n<li>People given the label are 14 times more likely to be victims of violence than perpetrators.[3]<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>CCHR stresses that the real risk comes not from an unproven illness, for which there are no medical tests to confirm, but from the powerful drugs or other therapies imposed to treat it. When headlines state a perpetrator \u201cstopped taking medication,\u201d the implication is blame. But antipsychotics\u2014literally \u201cnerve-seizing\u201d chemicals\u2014can cause agitation, aggression, excitability, paranoia, diabetes, heart failure, and even brain shrinkage. Stopping is often a rational act of self-preservation.<\/p>\n<p>Clozapine, widely forced on inmates, can cause lethal blood disorders, seizures, irritability, confusion, weight gain, hallucinations, sexual dysfunction, heart arrhythmias, and irreversible movement disorders.[4] A review of six major antipsychotics found treatment failure or relapse rates up to 93%, with widespread harm to multiple body systems.[5]<\/p>\n<p>Withdrawal itself poses dangers, causing agitation, psychosis, or suicidality that never existed before and are mistaken for relapse.[6] Psychiatrist Joanna Moncrieff emphasizes that people who want to stop \u201cshould not be deemed irrational if they wish to try for a better quality of life free of the burdens of these drugs.\u201d[7]<\/p>\n<p>The Tarasoff ruling (California, 1976) gave psychiatry a \u201cduty to warn\u201d of dangerous behavior. Yet a psychiatrist admitted, \u201cViolence by an individual is almost impossible to predict,\u201d and the ruling demanded abilities \u201cwell beyond the professional powers of any therapist.\u201d[8]<\/p>\n<p>Even the American Psychiatric Association admits its <em>Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders<\/em> (DSM) cannot establish mental disorder in relation to competency or criminal responsibility.[9] Yet, there are more than 200 \u201cviolence risk assessments\u201d based on such unreliable tools. These can justify involuntary detention\u2014raising serious concerns under the United Nations\u2019 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which calls for an end to forced detainment and treatment.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Case Reports of Treatment Failure:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Buffalo, NY (2022): An 18-year-old killed 10 and injured 3 after psychiatric hospitalization.[10]<\/li>\n<li>Houston, TX (2024): A perpetrator, 36, shot and injured two\u2014including a child\u2014after at least four involuntary commitments.[11]<\/li>\n<li>Duxbury, MA (2023): A mother strangled her 3 children after discharge from a psychiatric hospital and being prescribed 13 psychiatric drugs for eight months prior.[12] Her lawyer said the drugs caused homicidal and suicidal ideation.[13]<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cCases like these exemplify that the problem isn\u2019t early release or missed medication,\u201d said Jan Eastgate, president of CCHR International. \u201cThe real issue is psychiatric incarceration and treatment itself often fails and worsens conditions. There should be a full review of this and the poor and dangerous outcomes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>U.S. taxpayers have poured billions into violence-prevention schemes rooted in psychiatry.<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Safe Schools Act (1994): promised violence-free schools by 2000.<\/li>\n<li>Safe Schools\/Healthy Students Initiative (1999\u20132009): spent $2.1 billion.<\/li>\n<li>Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (2022): added over $2 billion for mental health in schools and nearly $190 million in DOJ safety grants.<\/li>\n<li>2024 White House report detailed $1 billion to hire 14,000 school-based mental health staff, and $240 million for school-based programs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Yet school shootings <em>increased<\/em> nearly 60% since the Safer Act\u2019s passage\u2014rising from 52 in 2019 to 83 in 2024.[14]<\/p>\n<p>CCHR urges policymakers to confront that psychiatry\u2019s model of detainment and drugging has failed to protect society. \u201cInvoluntary commitment and psychiatric drugging are not safeguards\u2014they are risks,\u201d Eastgate stated. \u201cPsychiatrists admit they cannot predict violence, yet billions more are spent on programs built on a false promise that they can. It is time for accountability.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cchrint.org\/about-us\/\">About CCHR<\/a>: It was founded in 1969 by the Church of Scientology and psychiatrist Dr. Thomas Szasz. CCHR is a nonprofit mental health watchdog exposing human rights abuses in psychiatry.<\/p>\n<p>To learn more, visit: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cchrint.org\/2025\/09\/19\/why-psychiatric-detainment-and-drugging-cannot-deliver-public-safety\/\">https:\/\/www.cchrint.org\/2025\/09\/19\/why-psychiatric-detainment-and-drugging-cannot-deliver-public-safety\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Sources:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>[1] <a href=\"https:\/\/sfg.media\/en\/a\/police-released-full-footage-of-iryna-zarutska-killing-in-the-us\/\">https:\/\/sfg.media\/en\/a\/police-released-full-footage-of-iryna-zarutska-killing-in-the-us\/<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/sfg.media\/en\/a\/who-is-decarlos-brown-jr-and-why-was-he-free-after-14-arrests\/\">https:\/\/sfg.media\/en\/a\/who-is-decarlos-brown-jr-and-why-was-he-free-after-14-arrests\/<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/US\/mother-sister-charlotte-stabbing-suspect-describe-history-mental\/story?id=125451590\">https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/US\/mother-sister-charlotte-stabbing-suspect-describe-history-mental\/story?id=125451590<\/a><\/p>\n<p>[2] <a href=\"https:\/\/www.medpagetoday.com\/resource-centers\/mental-health-focus\/predicting-violence-schizophrenia\/2645\">https:\/\/www.medpagetoday.com\/resource-centers\/mental-health-focus\/predicting-violence-schizophrenia\/2645<\/a><\/p>\n<p>[3] <a href=\"https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC3160236\/\">https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC3160236\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p>[4] <a href=\"https:\/\/www.drugs.com\/sfx\/clozapine-side-effects.html\">https:\/\/www.drugs.com\/sfx\/clozapine-side-effects.html<\/a><\/p>\n<p>[5] <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/27864791\/\">https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/27864791\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p>[6] <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ijfmr.com\/papers\/2024\/4\/25984.pdf\">https:\/\/www.ijfmr.com\/papers\/2024\/4\/25984.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n<p>[7] <a href=\"https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC7338640\/\">https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC7338640\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p>[8] <a href=\"https:\/\/scocal.stanford.edu\/opinion\/tarasoff-v-regents-university-california-30278\">https:\/\/scocal.stanford.edu\/opinion\/tarasoff-v-regents-university-california-30278<\/a>; \u201cOnce A Killer; A Gunman Convicted of Shooting Nine People and Killing Four of Them is Trying To Be Released from a Mental Hospital,\u201d CBS 48 Hours, July 12, 1999<\/p>\n<p>[9] <em>DSM Fourth Edition-TR<\/em> (APA, 2000), p. xxxiii; Nancy Haydt, \u201cThe DSM-5 and Criminal Defense: When Does a Diagnosis Make a Difference?\u201d <em>Utah Law Review<\/em>, Vol. 2015, Article 13<\/p>\n<p>[10] <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/buffalo-supermarket-shooting-government-and-politics-race-ethnicity-978bddfec22344fe73e30ca34f491784\">https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/buffalo-supermarket-shooting-government-and-politics-race-ethnicity-978bddfec22344fe73e30ca34f491784<\/a><\/p>\n<p>[11] <a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/US\/suspected-lakewood-church-shooter-criminal-history-mental-health\/story?id=107179259\">https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/US\/suspected-lakewood-church-shooter-criminal-history-mental-health\/story?id=107179259<\/a><\/p>\n<p>[12] <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-11728009\/Lindsay-Clancy-psychiatrist-says-flat-board-wondering-whats-going-on.html\">https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-11728009\/Lindsay-Clancy-psychiatrist-says-flat-board-wondering-whats-going-on.html<\/a><\/p>\n<p>[13] <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-11710075\/Midwife-mother-strangled-three-children-death-overmedicated-prescription-drugs.html\">https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-11710075\/Midwife-mother-strangled-three-children-death-overmedicated-prescription-drugs.html<\/a><\/p>\n<p>[14] <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/us\/school-shootings-fast-facts-dg\">https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/us\/school-shootings-fast-facts-dg<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>MULTIMEDIA:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Image link for media: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.Send2Press.com\/300dpi\/25-0922-s2p-cchr-occur-300dpi.webp\">https:\/\/www.Send2Press.com\/300dpi\/25-0922-s2p-cchr-occur-300dpi.webp<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Image caption: Psychiatrists claim violent tragedies occur because perpetrators miss a mental health evaluation or stop taking drugs. The reality: psychiatric intervention often precedes harm, and psychiatrists cannot predict violent behavior.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>LOS ANGELES, Calif., Sept. 22, 2025 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) &#8212; When violent tragedies like mass shootings strike, media have quoted family members or friends who assert perpetrators were &#8220;schizophrenic&#8221; or &#8220;off medication.&#8221; The Citizens Commission on Human Rights International (CCHR) says this inadvertently implies that psychiatric intervention could have prevented the acts, but psychiatrists themselves admit they cannot predict violent behavior.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9788,"featured_media":129440,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[491,12804,10,134,187],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-129441","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion-commentary","category-ap","category-california-news","category-general-editorial-news","category-los-angeles-news","has-post-title","has-post-date","no-post-category","no-post-tag","no-post-comment","has-post-author"],"acf":[],"views":3768,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129441","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9788"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=129441"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129441\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":129444,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129441\/revisions\/129444"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/129440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=129441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=129441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=129441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}