Updated: November 7th, 2009
|
 |
| Kurt at age 18 |
"I was on Prozac. It's supposed to calm me down, and like level me out, but since I got on it, when something bothers me, it bothers me to [the] extreme. I just act differently. I don't have the energy or personality I used to. I spend half the time in a trance. I didn't realize I did it until after it was done, and then I realized it. This might sound weird, but it felt like I was left there holding a gun."
― Kurt Danysh, police confession
Kurt Danysh was an outgoing 18-year old boy, whose troubles began when he was prescribed Prozac by a doctor who performed no psychological testing. The teenager quickly became withdrawn, and his emotional instability tailspinned making him reckless and violent. His rapid drug-induced deterioration continued; placing him in a fight with his best friend, and later compelling him to intentionally crash his truck into a stone wall. He then attacked his truck, and vandalized it with graffiti in a manner reminiscent of the Manson Family. This era of Kurt's life ended with him fatally shooting his father, at only 17 days after his first dose of Prozac. There was no motive for the crime, and Kurt had no prior history of violence.
The Kangaroo Court of Kenneth Seamans
While being incarcerated for eighteen months awaiting trial, Kurt refused to plead guilty. He was cruelly taunted by the jail staff with newspaper clippings about him during that time. His attorney, Paul Ackourey, met with Kurt in the county jail, and implored him to plead guilty to third degree murder due to the apparent lack of evidence linking Prozac to violence. Mr. Ackourey produced graphically disturbing photographs of Kurt's father at the scene of the crime and the autopsy. Kurt was threatened that if he did not plead guilty, then his family would have to witness the grotesque images at the trial. Mr. Ackourey then left Kurt alone with the disturbing photos, and later returned to find Kurt crying. Kurt finally agreed to plead guilty, and was immediately driven to the court house to enter a formal guilty plea.
Despite the court having been informed that the state's doctors had drugged Kurt with two major psychogenic tranquilizers, which are usually reserved for schizophrenic patients, the guilty plea was nevertheless accepted. The court made this decision despite evidence that Prozac had dramatically altered both Kurt's thinking and behavior at the time of his crime, and despite the fact that the state itself was actually giving Kurt more mind-altering pharmaceuticals at the time of his confession. The Court of Common Pleas, of Susquehanna County, PA., accepted Kurt's "confession" for case number 132-1996 CR.. Judge Kenneth Seamans sentenced Kurt to 22.5 to 60 years inside a maximum security prison. Kurt has been incarcerated at SCI Frackville Prison in Frackville, Pennsylvania since 1996.
During his sentencing, Kurt addressed his family:
"First and most important, I never meant for this to happen. If I was in control that day, it never would have. I know that doesn't lessen the pain, or the loss, or the anger, but it's the truth. Even though I had no control, I know I did a terrible thing. Words can't begin to describe how I feel. I feel the same hate and anger you do towards myself. The pain I feel will never fade." ... "I am truly sorry for what I have done. I hope my sentence will bring some closure to the family... and to Dad, who I know is watching; I want you to know I always loved you and I never meant to hurt you."
|
 |
|
Judge Ken Seamans |
Kurt later received the expert opinion of Donald H. Marks, M.D., informing him that Prozac can cause violent behavior. Kurt appealed to the court with this newly discovered evidence including additional complaints about his unlawfully coerced guilty plea, and his being underrepresented by an attorney who was unable to uncover the scientific information pertaining to his case. On July 22nd, 2003, the same judge who originally sentenced Kurt, Judge Kenneth Seamans, denied his appeal and excused this by referring to Kurt's appeal as "untimely". The potential of Kurt having been innocent was irrelevant to the judge, because in his opinion, the evidence was delivered too late. Meanwhile, Kurt waits in prison due to his his lack of punctuality, and the court's unwillingness to admit its failures.
Eight years into Kurt's conviction, the FDA finally admitted that SSRI antidepressants such as Prozac cause psychotic suicidal episodes, particularly in adolescents and children. These drugs were never actually approved for pediatric use, and such use is termed as an "off label" use. The F.D.A. now requires that all such (S.S.R.I.) drugs carry a Black Box Warning, citing that they are to be considered dangerous for pediatric patients due to their unpredictable psychiatric effects. A Black Box Warning by the F.D.A. is the last step before an official ban is placed upon a substance, but the industry is actually prescribing S.S.R.I. drugs to young people more often in disregard of the F.D.A.'s warnings.
Since then, it has been revealed that Eli Lilly & Co. (the makers of Prozac) covered up its own data from 1988, which linked Prozac to violence. No disciplinary action was taken against the pharmaceutical.
Such cover-ups by the industry are actually condoned by the F.D.A., and it allows companies to conceal negative findings under the guise of commercial "trade secrets". It has obstinately argued that corporations cannot be compelled to divulge such information, even when the lack of such disclosures could mean the death of patients, or their loved ones. Pharmaceutical corporations are actually allowed to cherry pick the scientific study results that they wish to be made public. This is business as usual. These greed driven policies of deception are what the pharmaceutical industry, and its business partner, the F.D.A., refer to as "science".
Kurt has gained a paralegal degree whilst incarcerated, and has launched the SAVE campaign (Stop Antidepressant Violence from Escalating) in the hope of saving other children from his fate.
When he is released from prison, he intends to help other victims of SSRI drugs. Kurt is not alone in his battle against these psychogenic medications, but in order for this sort of of injustice to be corrected, the first step is releasing Kurt from prison. While he found a lawyer to represent him, neither Kurt, nor his mother have the funds necessary for Kurt to obtain his rightful freedom. We need to raise a bare minimum of $7,500 in order for Kurt to retain a lawyer willing to begin the process.
If you are able to donate any amount into the Kurt Danysh Legal Aid Fund, please make the payee of checks and money orders to Martha Lacross, and mail them to:
Kurt's Legal Fund
c/o Naturally Good Magazine
142 Redwood Drive
Mocksville, NC 27028
You may also donate to Kurt's legal aid fund with the following link. Donations sent in this manner will go directly to his legal advocate, who is not an attorney.
This is the address to contact Kurt Danysh directly:
Kurt Danysh DL - 4879
1111 Altamont Blvd
Frackville, PA 17931
Kurt's official web site is at: KurtDanysh.com
Update: Kurt filed an appeal on October 11th, 2008, citing new DNA evidence exists, which supports that Prozac played a crucial role in his father's death. Genelex Corporation, a laboratory which tests for the liver enzyme CYP2D6, has positively identified Kurt as a poor metabolizer of S.S.R.I. medications such as Prozac. Kurt's inability to properly metabolize such drugs greatly increases his risk of having poor reactions and bizarre side-effects, because his body cannot properly process these drugs, and furthermore, they will also accumulate in his body, in massive dosages, over very short periods of time.
Kurt requested that his judge be excused from the hearing due his having committed glaring errors, and because he was biased when denying Kurt's 2003 appeal, as he did during the original sentencing, but Judge Kenneth Seamans refused to recuse himself.
 |
|
Good-Ole-Boy #2
D.A. Jason Legg |
Susquehanna County District Attorney, Jason Legg, has now filed an opposition to Kurt's right to even have an appeal hearing, because he likewise claims that Kurt was too 'untimely'. Mr. Legg alleges that since the DNA test has existed since the year 2000, Kurt should have discovered it before now (from his prison cell). Kurt is responding, based upon the obvious ridiculousness of expecting an inmate with extremely limited resources to have the ability to easily find such scarcely known, and cutting-edge medical research within 90 days of its existence, even though most practicing doctors are still unaware of it.
The facts of Kurt's increasingly questionable conviction may once again be ignored ― because of his punctuality. For the court of District Attorney, Jason Legg, and Judge Kenneth Seamans, destroying someone's life is given less consideration than their more important face-saving measures of political self-service. Neither are the basic facts important, regardless of how much these prove them to be wrong. Instead, they have repeatedly dismissed all of the facts that were presented by Kurt, and his counsel, because Kurt was too late. So, the Court of Susquehanna County, PA, obviously has what experts of the criminal justice system refer to as a "good-ole-boy network". It is a disgrace.
Our Strange Legal Encounters
Naturally Good Magazine was contacted by "a friend" of Judge Kenneth Seamans who was unsatisfied about our reporting of the judge. He notified us that his friend is such a heroic crusader that the prisoners who he locked away send piles of letters to him in thanks for his "tough love", and that the judge is flooded with more Christmas cards than even Santa himself, from these same grateful prisoners. Obviously, this friend is really close to the judge (if you know what we mean).
We really could not make this stuff up, folks.
An unknown individual impersonated one of our staff members (Sarah Cain), in order to ask a question of D.A. Jason Legg on his own blog, regarding the use of involuntary medications during confessions. In his reply, he incriminated himself further:
"I would estimate that well over half of all defendant's are on some form of medication -- and I have never seen a case where such medication caused a defendant to lack the capacity to enter a guilty plea. There have been occasions when defendant's have appeared in court intoxicated, and, on those occasions, the pleas were rescheduled."
The whole point is that defendants do have the capacity to make guilty pleas while being given (forcefully at times) mind-altering drugs that make getting "confessions" easy. D.A. Jason Legg is not only okay with this, but is openly boasting about it in public. If a prisoner appears intoxicated, then the court appearance is rescheduled to a time when it doesn't make people like Jason look so bad. Isn't that noble? How is it that a prisoner in-custody may appear intoxicated at times from the medications that the state gives to him, but is yet considered of sound mind enough to plead guilty to serious crimes while on these same medications - so long as they do not look intoxicated?
Update #2:
The Public Record Documents Show That Kurt Was Not Responsible for His Actions -- Even the Prosecution's Expert Agreed That Kurt Was Not "Conscious" of His Actions.
Despite the well-deserved criticism that we have leveled at District Attorney Jason Legg, he has maintained a high degree of professionalism in his contacts with us. It is confusingly rare to find someone so gentlemanly, and yet so morally-ambiguous in relation to the ethics which determine the fate of other human beings. While on one hand we appreciate Mr. Legg's generosity and his professional courtesy, there is nevertheless a machine-like coldness that seems borderline sociopathic.
Thanks to Mr. Legg's generosity, we were presented with documents from the public records that virtually prove the innocence of Kurt Danysh. The documents Mr. Legg submitted were actually intended to convince us of Kurt's legal responsibility, but the documents had the opposite effect. As has happened in the past, Legg's defense only incriminated him further. We're amazed that it happened again, in fact.
In official documents and letters, the prosecution's expert stated that Kurt's criminal actions were based on insanity, which they should have allowed as a defense; but moreover, Kurt's "insanity" was caused by mind-altering drugs -- and the State itself was forcing Kurt to take even more of these drugs, even as its "experts" evaluated his mental health. This is F.D.A. science -- getting the results they want by stacking the testing to yield the desired results. It is so much easier to get "confessions" this way.
One doctor who evaluated Kurt prior to trial made the following judgment:
"With regard to his legal dilemmas I find that Kurt Danysh is competent to proceed with his defense. He has killed his father, he has admitted and confessed to the killing of his father. Kurt is severely mentally ill. He has experienced hallucinations, delusions, distortions and illusions. He has been depressed and at least hypomanic. At the time of the crime it is not clear that he was fully conscious of his behavior. There certainly did not appear to be any clear cut motive. Nevertheless he was generally aware of what he was doing.
"In spite of overwhelming mental illness I do not believe that Kurt Danysh meets the specific criteria for insanity as set forth in M'Naghten. It is clear, however, that his mental illness was the causative factor in the shooting death of his father, and were it not for his mental illness that has chronically impaired his judgment, this crime would not have occurred."
-- Gary M. Glass, M.D.
Such "impaired judgment" -- not being able to discern right from wrong -- is the very basis of Innocence by Reason of Insanity as explicitly spelled out by the U.S. Supreme Court, and one would expect a District Attorney to know this. In documents we obtained, the court agents admitted that Kurt Danysh was not responsible for his crime (i.e. psychiatric drug induced insanity), but then the court appointed doctor conveniently proceeded to hold Kurt accountable for his crime nonetheless -- awhile law-enforcement extracted a "confession" during a time that the court was forcing Kurt to continue taking the same sort of mind-altering drugs. There is obviously no need to torture people into confessing toward having committed crimes anymore, because we now have court mandated druggings to make forced confessions even easier; and with no suspicious bruising to explain to the press either!
Is this what we call 'justice' in the United States? Is this why the prisons are so full?
The two paragraphs of the citation above contradict each other in numerous areas, but the most important sentences have been underlined. This is not an isolated instance, either. We have dozens of court (and court-related) documents clearly showing a policy of side-stepping the mind-altering drugs, Kurt's state of mind, and Kurt's rights as someone who was not responsible for his behavior.
In the reports, the doctor questioned whether Kurt was even fully conscious during the murder of his father, and furthermore admitted that Kurt's lack of mental stability was the reason for the death of his father. In other words, even the prosecution's expert tacitly admitted that the incident was completely without malice, without intent, without motive, and without criminal guilt. Most reasonable people would look at the cited paragraphs and realize that the defendant was mentally impaired at the time of the crime, and perhaps even criminally insane. Nevertheless, Kurt was charged as if he held full responsibility, and was given the maximum sentence for third degree murder. All of this was done willfully, methodologically, and was discussed as openly as if it were ethical.
We have come to know Kurt Danysh personally, and he's not only sane, but he's brilliant whenever he is free of mind poisons. We are willing to share the records in our possession with any interested parties.
Related Articles
The Health Wyze Report - Episode 6 (audio edition)
Antidepressants Produce Plenty of Side-Effects, But Don't Reduce Depression
Antidepressant Intoxication Legal Defenses
The gunman was described as a loner and was being treated by a psychiatrist for...
|
