Cedu Documentary Clip 14 – Cults and Confession Attorney and cult expert Paul Morantz (paulmorantz.com) outlines the practical methods of bringing someone into a cult.
Camera for this segment by Caudill Pictures (caudillpictures.com) Cedu Documentary by Liam Scheff 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, all rights
Posted by Digby, Hullabaloo at 6:30 AM on December 30, 2009.
The next stop could be the Supreme Court.
The 9th Circuit issued what may be a landmark ruling on tasers, and not a moment too soon:
A federal appeals court on Monday issued one of the most comprehensive rulings yet limiting police use of Tasers against low-level offenders who seem to pose little threat and may be mentally ill.
In a case out of San Diego County, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals criticized an officer who, without warning, shot an emotionally troubled man with a Taser when he was unarmed, yards away, and neither fleeing nor advancing on the officer.
[...]
As lawsuits have proliferated against police and Taser International, which manufactures the weapons, the nation’s appellate courts have been trying to define what constitutes appropriate Taser use.
The San Diego County case is the latest ruling to address the issue.
A three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit affirmed the trial judge’s ruling on Monday, concluding that the level of force used by the officer was excessive.
McPherson could have waited for backup or tried to talk the man down, the judges said. If Bryan was mentally ill, as the officer contended, then there was even more reason to use “less intrusive means,” the judges said.
“Officer McPherson’s desire to quickly and decisively end an unusual and tense situation is understandable,” Judge Kim McLane Wardlaw wrote for the court. “His chosen method for doing so violated Bryan’s constitutional right to be free from excessive force.”
Some lawyers called it a landmark decision.
Eugene Iredale, a San Diego lawyer who argued the case, said it was one of the clearest and most complete statements yet from an appellate court about the limits of Taser use.
He said after Monday’s decision that courts will consider all circumstances, including whether someone poses a threat, has committed a serious crime or is mentally troubled.
“In an era where everybody understands ‘don’t tase me, bro,’ courts are going to look more closely at the use of Tasers, and they’re going to try to deter the promiscuous oversue of that tool,” he said.
[...]
“Certainly the officer should be able to articulate the reason the force (was used), and a mere resistance to comply may not be enough,” said Sheriff John McGinness.
It’s not. The idea that police can use it to subdue people at their discretion in order to make their difficult jobs easier is just wrong. The police can’t hit people over the head with a baton if they smart mouth them or refuse to immediately comply and they shouldn’t be able to shoot them full of electricity either. Just because it doesn’t leave marks doesn’t mean it isn’t cruel and brutal.
This issue will wend itself through the courts for some time. I would imagine we’ll see a Supreme Court ruling. Considering the current court, I’m sure Taser International hopes so.
NATIONAL CALL-IN DAY (Thurs. Jan. 21st) TO PREVENT HARMFUL USE OF RESTRAINT AND SECLUSION IN SCHOOLS
Thursday, January 21st, Call and tell your members of Congress to support the Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act (H.R. 4247/S. 2860) introduced last month by Representatives George Miller (D-CA) and Cathy McMorris-Rodgers (R-WA) and by Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT).
This legislation would provide students with and without disabilities vital protections against abuse in schools.
Please call your Representative this Thursday, January 21st, and ask him orher to co-sponsor H.R. 4247. Then, call on your Senators to co-sponsor S. 2860.
Please encourage your friends, family and coworkers to participate, as well.
Find out the names of your US Senators and Representative.
On Thursday, call the US Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121.
Ask for the offices of your US Senators and Representative. You can also email them.
Ask to speak to the legislative aide working on education issues.
Identify yourself as a constituent and the organization that you represent (if any).
Message: “I am calling to urge (Senator ) to co-sponsor S. 2860,
legislation preventing harmful use of restraint and seclusion in schools.”
Message: “I am calling to urge (Representative) to co-sponsor H.R. 4247,legislation preventing harmful use of restraint and seclusion in schools.”
Important Points to Stress:
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) found widespread incidents of significant injury and even death as a result of harmful restraint and seclusion in schools.
Research confirms that restraint and seclusion are not therapeutic, nor are these practices effective means to calm or teach children, and may have an opposite effect while simultaneously decreasing a child’s ability to learn.
Children are protected from inappropriate restraint and seclusion in other settings, such as hospitals, health facilities, and non-medical community-based facilities.
Restraint and seclusion are ineffective at managing behavior in students with and without disabilities in comparison to more positive approaches, such as school-wide positive behavior supports (PBS).
Thanks for your advocacy! We can’t do it without you!
Therapists get 16 years
Women plan to appeal convictions in death of 10-year-old Candace in rebirthing therapy
Peggy Lowe, News Staff Writer
Published June 19, 2001 at midnight
GOLDEN — One therapist told of “the dark night of my soul” and another wished she could rewrite history as each woman was sentenced Monday to 16 years in prison for the rebirthing death of a 10-year-old girl.
Connell Watkins, 54, and Julie Ponder, 40, who both said Candace Newmaker’s death was a tragic accident, will serve at least six years before becoming eligible for parole. Both plan to appeal their April 20 convictions for child abuse resulting in death.
Jefferson County District Court Judge Jane Tidball said she believed neither woman intended to hurt Candace.
While saying she didn’t have much discretion on the 16-to-48 year mandatory sentence, Tidball said it will send “a powerful message” to other mental health practitioners who might consider the controversial therapy.
Still, Tidball called the crime “horrific,” and mentioned the “unrelenting intensity” of the three-week trial where the videotaped procedure was played several times.
“As the mother of a 10-year-old, I can’t fathom the loss of a child at that age or any age,” said Tidball, who added that she also couldn’t bear the “heavy weight that a child died while under my care.”
Candace died April 19, 1999, a day after the rebirthing session in Watkins’ Evergreen home. Candace was wrapped in a sheet and placed under several large pillows. Watkins, Ponder and two other adults then pushed against the child to simulate contractions, urging Candace to be “reborn” to her adoptive mother, Jeane Newmaker of Durham, N.C.
Candace screamed and begged for air, telling them she would die, to which the therapists replied: “Go ahead and die.” The therapy was supposed to help cure Candace’s attachment disorder, characterized by violent behavior towards her adopted mother.
Both Watkins and Ponder made tearful appeals Monday to Tidball, pleading for the more lenient sentence. Watkins, in a 10-minute dramatic statement, told Tidball that she had experienced “the dark night of my soul” since Candace’s death.
Watkins said she has “profound sorrow and regret and remorse” over the child’s death.
“I failed Candace and I failed her mother and I failed to keep Candace out of harm’s way,” Watkins said.
Watkins has hired former Colorado Supreme Court Justice Jean Dubofsky for her appeal.
Ponder said she retraces the rebirthing in her head every day, wondering where she went wrong.
“If I had only stopped five minutes sooner or checked on her one more time,” Ponder said. “I was trying to help her and something unexpected happened.”
Four of the jurors who convicted Ponder and Watkins, who said they fell in love with the little brown-haired girl while watching the videotapes of her therapy, cried again Monday during the sentencing.
“I think 16 years was perfect,” said juror Marcia Hagan. “(Watkin is) not a hard criminal, but she needs to pay for what she’s done.”
Prosecutors urged Tidball to give Watkins and Ponder the maximum sentence, calling the rebirthing “torturous cruelty of a sickening and depraved nature.” Watkins ridiculed, belittled, physically abused and finally smothered the child, said Steve Jensen of the Jefferson County District Attorney’s office.
“The defendant literally tortured Candace Newmaker before killing her,” Jensen said.
Laura Dunbar, another Jefferson County prosecutor, said Ponder was the lead therapist for Candace’s rebirthing and is the most culpable for her death.
“She was the one who could have stopped this procedure at any time,” Dunbar said. “It was her call.”
Tidball also sentenced Watkins to another year and four months in jail for three lesser charges, including criminal impersonation, unlawful practice of psychotherapy and using another’s signature for deception. Those sentences will run concurrently with the longer time.
Three other people are scheduled to stand trial in Candace’s death: her adopted mother, Jeane Newmaker, who witnessed the rebirthing session and is charged with criminally negligent child abuse resulting in death; and Brita St. Clair and her husband, Jack McDaniel, who participated in the therapy and who are charged with child abuse resulting in death.
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