It's a shame that absolutely nobody is willing to stand up against these big drug companies. From personal experience with these antidepressants, I would have not left deliberations until this poor kid walked.

Pardon my language but this sucks. I attended Chris's trial, and met and corresponded with several of his family members and even him a couple of times. The original trial was a travesty of justice. All sorts of damning evidence against Zoloft and Pfizer were not even allowed in by the judge for reasons that were very arcane as far as I could tell. Then the instructions to the jury about the grounds by which they were supposed to judge the evidence were over their heads. They didn't get it. And man, if you ever commit a crime as a minor, don't do it in South Carolina. Probably one of the only states in the union that would allow a 12 year old to be tried as an adult after his rights had been violated by encouraging a confession without explaining to him the consequences of doing so without a lawyer.

Still -- let's face it -- there are hundreds of people (maybe even thousands) in prison for life or extended sentences for crimes they committed while "involuntarily intoxicated" on a prescription psych drug that they were taking according to a doctor's instructions. How do we bring justice to this situation? Probably not by letting one or two of them go free. It's very tragic that this isn't being stopped at the source, by not giving these drugs without telling people what to expect and what can go wrong and, in fact, by not giving them to little kids at all.

People on anti-depressants do not have a rampant side effects of suicide or murder. This kid needs to face the consequences of his actions. I don't care how whacked out you are on Zoloft or Paxil, you know damn well what you are doing when you not only pull the trigger on one, but two grandparents, but then set fire to the house and then take off.

As much as I generally support what you do, I'm not with you on this one. The statement "12 years olds don't just murder their grandparents" is simply a logical fallacy. As much as it would be nice to have a reason for something so tragic and senseless, the science is just not there to blame this on zoloft. Sadly, this is not the first time this has ever happened, and it won't be the last.

Drugs aren't always involved.

I'm sure I won't be alive to see the psychiatrist who prescribed Zoloft to this boy doing his sentence.
It hurts like hell!
In Brazil we don't have trials like this.
Not a single tragedy under antidepressants is reported by the media; side effects are denied; withdrawal symptoms are "psychological".
Chemical imbalance theory is still valid.
Antidepressants are miracle pills.....

Chris did NOT know what he was doing when he murdered his grandparents. He says he was having command hallucinations, a side effect which has been mentioned by others. I say he did not have the free will to stop this and that it was entirely caused by his reaction to antidepressants. Does this mean I think he should go free? I'm not sure. Chris was not only under the influence of Zoloft, free samples of which had been given to him in a brown paper bag because the physician thought he'd be helpful. but also Paxil, that mother of all evil antidepressants especially in withdrawal. Chris had been on Paxil (which he had obtained in FL) and ran out when he came to SC. His grandma brought him into the doc (a real hare brained idiot on the stand anyway) and because they didn't have health insurance and the doc didn't have any free Paxil he thought, "Okay, let's just give him some of this here Zoloft that I've got lying around, free samples that that cute drug rep gave me the other day ." (or something along those lines.) Furthermore he didn't make the dosage very clear -- remember he gave it to them in a blister pack inside of a brown paper bag -- and it's possible grandma was confused and gave Chris a double dose. At the time Chris was a skinny 12 year old and weighed maybe 90 lbs. He was a nice kid too that had been through some bloody tough times with his ma and pa. You know what? I think you guys that say people (especially 12 year olds) have control over the situation when they're in withdrawal from Paxil and stoked up on Zoloft do not have a bloody clue what you're talking about.

gotta agree with Philip and Sara on this one...I've followed the story and this child---get that CHILD---has been sorely mistreated. It's a tragedy. That the Supreme Court would even consider a review is terribly frightening to me. What 12 year old who is simply not fully developed should be given 30 years in prison --- add to that extenuating circumstances and you've got a really screwed up justice system.

One of the experts to testify for the defense in this case was Dr. Richard Kapit, a former FDA official who studied the effects of Zoloft while he was at the FDA. He had warned at the time of the study that the mania involved in Zoloft as a side effect could cause homicide. However, he felt that it was rare and so the drug was approved.

Dr. Kapit testified in the Chris Pittman trial that Chris was involuntarily intoxicated by the Zoloft and did not know "right from wrong".

All of this information from a FDA official must have gone right over the heads of the jury.

The strangest part of this whole case was that Chris Pittman killed his grandparents who were the two people he loved most in the world. The setting of the fire by Chris Pittman in this case is normal in these homicides and is a mania known as "pyromania".

When this all comes out some day - and I believe it will come out - probably in 10 to 15 years, we will be astounded at the number of people who were on these drugs and now in prison - good, ordinary citizens who were involuntarily intoxicated.

As for trying a 12 year old in adult court, it is ludicrous but not as ludicrous as giving a 12 year old samples of Zoloft and pulling him off Paxil, thus putting him in Paxil withdrawal. The time that most of these homicides occur is when starting or stopping the SSRI, increasing or decreasing the dose or SWITCHING SSRIs.

This is not the twinky defense. We are talking about powerful drugs which change the neurotransmitters of the brain. If an FDA Official can't convince a jury then I don't know who can. In regard to this case, there was "something rotten in Denmark".

Chris never should have been on trial as an adult; he was a child, and that right there was and still is a criminal injustice, and the fact his case was denied a review is another one.

People are "chemically violent" on antidepressants.
I must remind that Tracy Johnson, a 19 year old healthy girl, hanged herself in Eli-Lilly's facilities during Cymbalta test trial.

http://drugawareness.org/home.html
http://www.antidepressantsfacts.com/duloxetine-cymbalta.htm
http://www.teenscreentruth.com/psychiatry_drugs_suicide.html

I also want to remind that the UK Parliament review "The Influence of Pharmaceutical Industry"
reports:

"Almost from the outset,there was concern about two main problems with SSRIs.First, there was suspicion (initially centred on Prozac)that these drugs could induce suicidal and violent behaviour – infrequently,,but independently of the suicidal thoughts that are linked to depression itself. p. 85

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200405/cmselect/cmhealth/42/42.pdf

I don't know about this one...From everything I have read, this kid clearly fits the profile for antisocial personality disorder and his criminal sentence is unjust but his crime itself was well thought out, and he even had a "Susan Smith" type cover story about being kidnapped. I am not sure we can blame this one on the meds and maybe just file it under the pathology of the child.

Unfortunately, he needs treatment, not prison.

Angie, You are out of your mind. Chris Pittman does not "need" treatment. He is a fine, upstanding young man, doing a lot of good work in prison. He finished his GED and the last I knew he was working in the prison hospital. Many people in the prison system are looking out for him. Soon after he was withdrawn from those bloody drugs within his first year in prison he returned to being the kind boy he was before this nightmare started. He hasn't been on any meds for years, thank the lord, and he certainly doesn't need them now. His crime was not "well thought out" -- it was a manic psychotic episode induced by the drugs and any tales he told the next morning were all part of the whole dreamlike dissociative experience that characterized the whole crime. Honestly my blood boils when people who do not know this boy at all or even the circumstances of what happened make statements like you have.

Sara, with all due respect, not many commenters here personally know Chris as you appear to know him;not sure how you can expect anyone commenting here to see anything other than the perspective that we have. Maybe you should write in one comment your personal knowledge and explain Chris' story from that perspective, which might help the rest of us get to know Chris and then, come to conclusions based on emotion rather than how it looks, which is the fact that he shot his grandparents and committed a crime and is in prison for it.

Sara, I also want to make it clear that in my opinion, Chris never should have been tried as an adult; and years ago, I signed petitions, etc. and have followed his "case".

It is sad, and all around horrible story as are so many others.

Stephany, I agree I reacted in a rather emotional knee jerk way to some of these comments. I'm sorry I do this on this blog more than I like and am working to stop it. I am truly sorry to those of you I may have offended. I have included a number of important details though about Chris in my comments on this post. Not sure what else to add. One of the most important things about Chris's story from my point of view is that it's an example of the challenge, de-challenge theory of antidepressants and bizarre violent behavior. His behavior changed drastically after treatment commenced and returned to a base line of "normal" and stable after it was removed. There have been at least a few clinical trials, not well publicized, that also demonstrate this. And as I've indicated above even though I believe profoundly that these changes are caused by drugs I still think it is difficult to free offenders on this basis. Although in Chris's case, as you say, because he was such a young child, I do not think he should have to spend 30 years in prison with no possibility of parole.

Sara-
You should have read my post more clearly. I do believe this child deserves a NGRI sentence and needs to be in a proper treatment facility, not in an adult prison. From personal experience working not only in a jail but from 10 years in the criminal justice system, children are used as errands boys and exploited by lifelong inmates. Trust me, the inmates are looking out for themselves in there, not him, and that comes from real life knowledge.

The poor kid. Society accepts the idea that alcohol loosens inhibitions to the point that one can become violent but of course since such intoxication is usually voluntary and the hazards of alcohol generally well known, involuntary intoxication isn't a defense there. Here however, the kid was lied to and drugged, made a killer and now will be punished the rest of his life for the crimes of a pharmaceutical company and his prescribing physician.

Right, everyone, I agree Chris is at risk being in an adult prison for 20 odd more years, even though up until recently as far as I know everyone was bending over backwards to try and protect him from the hardcore offenders. He actually aspires to be a prison chaplain I believe. But well meaning people in the system can probably only do so much. It's very sad and I know his family is heartbroken. And of course he will be incredibly challenged getting out of prison at the age of 42 having been in there from the age of 12 on. If he isn't murdered by other inmates. Anyway I hope to follow his progress one way or another. He does have a lot of fans. It is so true that there are others that should be paying for this crime, not just the poor boy, and they are out there scot free continuing to ply their trade (pharma and doctors).

To Sara, just a side note; me too. we are passionate women and we have places in our lives where our typing precedes us! i want you to know that i have also tried, and i mean tried, to tone my comments down here, and just want you to know i'm in it w you on that!

Chris, well like I said, it is an all around sad situation, and he was on Zoloft and/at the same age/year my daughter was, and his story breaks my heart.

Sincerely,
Stephany

In regards to Christopher Pittman who is in prison in South Carolina serving 30 years for a crime he committed at age 12. He was tried as an adult, which he very clearly was not.

There is a lot of arrogance that goes along with being a prosecutor, they would rather send an innocent person to prison for life if necessary rather than admit they were wrong.

A 12-year-old kid does not think like a 40-year old adult, and neither should he be penalized like an adult. Think about it.
The sight of a 12-year-old "adult" holding out his hands for handcuffing as he is led away as an "adult" is appalling; it may bring satisfaction to a prosecutor who is basing his next election success on being "tough," but it is a sight that should cause all who call themselves Christians to shout in protest. Nothing good can come from locking children up for the rest of their lives and pretending that they, like bad adults, got what they "deserved."

To retain any honor at all, the justice system in this punishment-obsessed country must acknowledge that children are not adults and its laws must be made flexible enough to treat people in an age-appropriate manner.

A prosecutor will prosecute a 12 year old and send him to adult prison to be raped, beaten and or murdered by adult prisoners - and then he'll probably go out and prosecute some other adult for putting a child of 12 in danger of sexual abuse. ( double standard.)

In other areas of the law minors are viewed as mentally incompetent, something our justice system takes very seriously when deliberating the guilt or innocence of adult criminals. Society (rightly, in my opinion) denies minors the right to vote, drink, run for office, adopt children, buy property, sit on a jury and so forth. It recognizes that our grasp of right and wrong is not fully developed for most of our minority, and thus establishes 18 as the legal age at which we are fully responsible for our choices.
Trying minors as adults, therefore, represents a double standard in the legal system: a 12 year-old is too young and stupid to decide for himself whether cigarettes are something he should buy, but he is of sound adult mind when firing a gun.

The United States is one of the harshest countries in the world when it comes to juvenile sentencing. Reverse certification is the norm for children between 12 and 18, and a handful of states, including Florida, South Carolina and Pennsylvania set no minimum age limits for prosecution of children as adults for homicide.

Why is it that the justice system will do every thing in is power to protect the adult from the child but nothing to protect the child from the adult?

When Doctor Nauman from South Carolina gave Christopher Pittman's Grandmother samples of Zoloft that he got from a sales person from Pfizer, he gave them to Mrs.Pittman in a brown paper bag, She got no instructions except how much to take and when, nothing about the side affects. yet, the doctor was well protected at trial. According to the prosecutor the Doctor did nothing wrong, according to Pfizer, no one did anything wrong except the 12 year old, certainly not there mind altering drugs that have been proven to cause people to commit suicide and or be homicidal. This was proven by the Mayo Clinic, A.M.A. & Harvard. I mean really what do they know?

But, Christopher who took the pills as he was told, got no protection from the justice system. We must change the law, If a Doctor doesn't tell his patient what harm can come from these drugs then he should be held responsible for the out come. The law has to be changed as far as children go. THERE CHILDREN NOT ADULTS.

A 12 year old is as close to being an adult as he is being an infant. Think about it.