Teen Blames Zoloft for Murder

[AgentSun]

Teen Claims Antidepressant Led to Murder (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=519&ncid=519&e=4&u=/ap/20050201/ap_on_re_us/zoloft_defense)

1 hour, 43 minutes ago

By BRUCE SMITH, Associated Press Writer

CHARLESTON, S.C. - A teenager who shot and killed his grandparents as they slept is "a shy, decent boy" who was led to kill by the antidepressant Zoloft, his attorney said as the boy went on trial.

Christopher Pittman, now 15, is being tried as an adult for two counts of murder in the November 2001 slayings of Joe and Joy Pittman with a pump-action shotgun. Their house was set ablaze and the youth, then 12, drove off in the family car.

Defense attorney Andy Vickery said Monday that Zoloft was to blame.

"This is a case about one drug that has taken three lives. When you hear the case, you will have the power and opportunity to give one back," he said. "A shy, decent boy was acting under the influence of a mind-altering drug."

Prosecutors contend Pittman shot his grandparents because they disciplined him for fighting on a school bus.

"This is not a case about Zoloft. This is not a case about Pfizer," prosecutor Barney Giese told the jury in opening statements. "This is a case about Chris Pittman."

Pittman, who had threatened suicide, was put on Zoloft three weeks before the slayings, and his dose was doubled just two days earlier.

In October, the Food and Drug Administration (news - web sites) ordered Zoloft and other antidepressants to carry "black box" warnings — the government's strongest warning short of a ban — about increasing the risk of suicidal behavior in children.

Pfizer has vigorously fought cases claiming antidepressants cause violent or suicidal behavior.

Pittman could be sentenced to 30 years to life in prison if convicted.



i don't know a huge amount about the affects of zoloft and/or other antidepressents, but i tend to operate on the logic that if you do something wrong you get punished for it. he fought on the bus, got disciplined. it doesn't look like the grandparents did anything wrong. it looks very much like the kid was on a bend to snap and do something to his grandparents.

i don't believe in overmedicating and diagnosing a drug if all avenues have not been exhausted already. the story doesn't go over much having to do with the kid's history but it seems to me that he was being put on zoloft because of his suicidal tendancies. does that cause enough violence to kill? did he resent being put on zoloft?

[AyuRocks]

I was on Zoloft for years, and from my personal experience I couldn't imagine the drug having anything to do with that.

I personally think the warning is crap as well, but that's another issue entirely.

[kechara420]

Interesting. First of all, I don't believe that minors should be on such medications except as an absolute last resort, and only then under VERY close supervision.

I've heard that in some rare cases, Zoloft and other such drugs can cause/increase suicidal tendicies. However, it sounds a lot like this kid's lawyer is just trying to create reasonable doubt. :shrug: It's hard to say without knowing more about the kid's history.

[zahncrelnik]

Aren't we taught right from wrong anymore?
Take responsibility for your own actions.

[kechara420]

I was on Zoloft for years, and from my personal experience I couldn't imagine the drug having anything to do with that.I was on Zoloft for a few months, but switched to something else because it didn't seem to work well for me. I certainly didn't have any problems like this!! But I suppose every person's body is different, and there have been a couple of reported cases (I think in Europe?) similar to this one.

[AyuRocks]

Interesting. First of all, I don't believe that minors should be on such medications except as an absolute last resort, and only then under VERY close supervision.

I was on put on it when I was sixteen as a first resort and then wasn't really monitored at all. I personally was fine, but I also had a long long dicussion with a doctor about which medicine I should be on and what was right for me. Being medicated or not is dependent on the situation, I have a long family history of anxiety and depression on both sides of the family, and me being in counseling alone wouldn't have been enough.

Of course, like all things, it varies from person to person. Personally though I feel that I couldn't have felt better at all without the medication.

As far as the warning, I don't know what research they did to warrant putting it on the label, but I'm just wondering how much of it is causation and much of it is just correllation. With anti-depressants being prescribed to people who may already be suicidal (and that may not necessarily be know to begin with, I didn't tell my doctor or the counselor that I've had suicidal thoughts, and I've never done anything to harm myself) it may be hard to tell.

[el-halo]

There always has to be consequences for your actions.

[Clarsax]

I've been on Zoloft and while it's worked fairly well for me, I haven't noticed any mind altering tendencies. If this kid was so bad that he would burn his grandparents' house down, it's pretty clear he needed a lot more help than just a little medication. I don't know his history, but I don't see how this could be a result of the drugs.

[bummer23]

I had read somewhere, and a psychologist at work agreed, that some drugs work differently on adults than kids and have about the opposite effect than intended. Seems when we were discussing the issue we were discussing ADHD drugs, though. Zoloft wasn't one of the drugs he mentioned.

I did have a friend try to kill herself while on Effexor, before they put the warnings on the boxes. I guess it's a bit difficult to say what caused the suicidal intent, since these people were put on the drugs in the first place for depressive symptoms....

In this case, though....I see a lack of SUICIDAL intent. This was HOMICIDE. If he were suicidal, he had the perfect weapon to take care of himself as well. Instead, he drove off in the family car...WAIT, yet another way to kill himself. Poor grandparents......

[Owlman]

People react to drugs differently. Its the same with booze. Some people get freindly, others get mean or depressed and others just fall asleep. The same is true with drugs. They are 99.9% safe, but there are always a few that are effected wrongly. It sounds to me like the kid had probelms with suicide and violence before the drugs, so I don't think he can pawn it off on them.

[kechara420]

In this case, though....I see a lack of SUICIDAL intent. This was HOMICIDE. If he were suicidal, he had the perfect weapon to take care of himself as well. Instead, he drove off in the family car...A very good point, and one I'm sure the prosecution will argue.

[DRD2001]

I think with the legal system these days, lawyers will blame a mass murder on aspirin if they can. They've already blamed Twinkies.

Due to certain things in my life, I slipped into a depression. My counselor suggested Zoloft for a few months to help my body get back in balance. I never had any issues with it. I know things affect people differently, but I still can't see this murder happening due to the Zoloft.

[AgentSun]

Teen Gets 30 Years in Zoloft Murder Case

50 minutes ago

By BRUCE SMITH, Associated Press Writer

CHARLESTON, S.C. - A 15-year-old boy who claimed the antidepressant Zoloft drove him to kill his grandparents was found guilty of murder Tuesday and sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Photo
AP Photo

AP Photo Photo
AP Photo
Slideshow Slideshow: Teen Found Guilty of Murder in Zoloft Trial



Christopher Pittman hung his head as the verdict was read after about six hours of deliberations. He spoke briefly to the court before the sentence was handed down.

"I know it's in the hands of God. Whatever he decides is what it's going to be," Pittman said quietly.

The trial was the first case involving a youngster who says an antidepressant caused him to kill, Pittman's lawyer said. It came at a time of heightened scrutiny over the use of antidepressants among children.

Pittman cried Tuesday as his father and other family members asked for leniency.

"I love my son with all of my heart," said Joe Pittman, whose parents were the victims. "And if my mom and dad were here, I know they would be begging you for mercy."

Defense attorneys had urged the jury to send a message to the nation by blaming Zoloft for the killings. They said the negative effects of Zoloft are more pronounced in youngsters, and the drug affected Pittman so he did not know right from wrong.

"We do not convict children for murder when they have been ambushed by chemicals that destroy their ability to reason," attorney Paul Waldner said.

But prosecutors called the Zoloft defense a smoke screen, saying the then-12-year-old Pittman knew exactly what he was doing three years ago when he shot his grandparents, torched their house and then drove off in their car.

Prosecutor Barney Giese said the real motivation for the crime was the boy's anger at his grandparents for disciplining him for choking a younger student on a school bus. And he reminded jurors how the boy carried out the killings — shooting his grandfather in the mouth and his grandmother in her head while both lay sleeping.

"I don't care how old he is. That is as malicious a killing — a murder — as you are ever going to find," the prosecutor said. He pointed to Pittman's statement to police in which he said his grandparents "deserved it."

Pittman was charged as an adult in the November 2001 murders of Joe Pittman, 66, and his wife Joy, 62.

Zoloft is the most widely prescribed antidepressant in the United States, with 32.7 million prescriptions written in 2003. Last October, the Food and Drug Administration (news - web sites) ordered Zoloft and other antidepressants to carry "black box" warnings — the government's strongest warning short of a ban — about an increased risk of suicidal behavior in children.

the kid got 30 years in prison....wow. just wow. this case sets a precedent.

[Judith]

I'm torn about this decision and it's not over the zoloft.

It's the fact that he was 12 years old when he did it. Can you really make a rational decision at 12? I don't know what the answer is.

[AgentSun]

i think you can make a rational enough decision when it comes to murder. i think even at a younger age than 12, one can distinguish that hurting others (no matter what the degree) is wrong, so by the age of 12, certainly one would know that killing and murder is the most wrong of hurts.

[Owlman]

The kid won't survive jail. Probably kill himself most likely.

[kechara420]

The kid obviously had/has problems. Of course, 30 years in prison isn't likely to change that. Of course, I have no idea what a fair punishment would be. I certainly don't believe that he should be set free.

[Jul]

I've heard that in some rare cases, Zoloft and other such drugs can cause/increase suicidal tendicies. However, it sounds a lot like this kid's lawyer is just trying to create reasonable doubt. :shrug: It's hard to say without knowing more about the kid's history.

Actually, the thing about antidepressants is that it doesn't cause or increase the suicidal ideations, it just gives the person more energy, and they might act out what their ideation is. that's why, as a professional, we keep a close eye in the first 4-6 weeks, because energy levels go up, but the depression is still a bit low. that's the curve they work on. That's why it's important to do both counseling and medication at the beginning of any treatment, because we monitor for those behaviors and ideas.

[Antrobus]

I'm picturing little tiny pills running around with guns!

Seriously though, I don't know how one sorts that kind of thing out. How does one figure out if the actions were related to the effects of the pills or not. Unless one can see inside (and understand) the mind of the killer at the moment they killed, how can you tell?