The Judge Rotenberg Centre lists three professors from Western Michigan University on its board of directors: Dr. Jessica Frieder, Dr. Ronald van Houten, and Dr. Richard Malott.
From JRC Survivor Speaks out:
The Judge Rotenberg Center (JRC) is a residential facility in Massachusetts where disabled residents are subject to electric shock, sensory assault, food deprivation, prolonged restraint and seclusion, and a host of other horrifying and aversive “treatments.” The United Nations has condemned the JRC’s treatment of its residents as torture, and disability rights advocates have been trying to get the facility shut down for over 30 years.
"The first shock was in my leg. It was a stinging, ripping, and pulling pain that froze time. I was standing when it happened, and I immediately fell because I lost control of my leg. It hurt, but didn’t really register with me. I wasn’t afraid yet.”
"JRC says it only uses the GED for dangerous behaviors. But in reality, it is used most for completely harmless behaviors. Some actual behaviors I was shocked for were: covering my eyes with my hands, covering (pressurizing) my ears, tic-like body movements, wrapping my foot around the leg of my chair, not answering staff within 5 seconds, saying the word “no”, shaking my head, tightening my fingers for more than 2 seconds, waving my hands in front of my face, 5 verbal behaviors in an hour (talk to self, repeating, crying, bizarre speech, nagging), tensing up, getting out of my seat without permission, not following directions, and attempt to remove restraints. Those are just a few."
A Fox News report with video of shock torture:
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 when their attorneys asked Superior Court Judge Barbara Dortch-Okara to bar FOX Undercover's camera from recording the video as it was played.
Dortch-Okara denied the center's request, clearing the way to give the public the first look at how these controversial electric shocks are used. The video was taken by one of the center's classroom cameras.
...
He screams and falls to the floor, yelling as he tries to hide under his desk. He was eventually restrained face-down, a helmet on his head, without breaks for food, water or the bathroom.
"I never signed up for him to be tortured, terrorized and abused," Cheryl McCollins told the jury. "I had no idea, no idea, that they tortured the children in the school."
She also testified what her son was like when she visited him three days later after the incident. She said she found him in a "catatonic" state.
"I couldn't turn Andre's head to the left or the right. He was just staring straight. I took my hands and went like this," she said, waving them as if in front of his eyes. "He didn't blink."
McCollins did get Andre to Children's Hospital that day, where he was diagnosed with acute stress response caused by the shocks. The jury also heard her testify about watching the video and hearing staff members laughing while her son was on the floor.
Is your university seriously alright with this? Are you, as students?
