Use of ECT For Death Row Inmates: Rare and Ethically Complicated

Out on PubMed, from authors in San Francisco, is this article:

The Use of Electroconvulsive Therapy on Death Row.

Shah A, Morris NP, McNiel DE, Binder RL.J Am Acad Psychiatry Law. 2023 Aug 17:JAAPL.230053-23. doi: 10.29158/JAAPL.230053-23. Online ahead of print.PMID: 37591602


Despite high rates of mental illness among incarcerated people in the United States, use of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) remains limited in jails and prisons. There are some published guidelines regarding the provision of mental health care, including ECT, in U.S. correctional facilities, but little attention has been paid to the use of ECT for individuals sentenced to death. This article examines ECT within the context of the death penalty, including court consideration of ECT in capital cases and historic uses of ECT to facilitate execution of people on death row. Given the unique clinical, legal, and ethics considerations in the use of ECT for people sentenced to death, the authors call for greater attention to these practices and propose general guidelines regarding the use of ECT in this population.

Keywords: correctional psychiatry; death penalty; electroconvulsive therapy.

The article is here.
And from the text:


This is a thoughtful and well presented review.

These are very complex ethical issues, easy to misunderstand, hard to explain clearly; the authors largely succeed in doing the latter.

And yes, this is the same Renee Binder who was APA President.

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