Anti-Depressant Defense for Murder

The case of a Chester County (South Carolina) teenager accused of killing his grandparents is gaining national attention, including a front page story Monday in The New York Times. The Times ran a lengthy story detailing the case of Christopher Pittman, who police say shot and killed his grandparents in 2001 at age 12. The story looks at the alleged link between the boy's behavior and an antidepressant he was taking at the time of the killings.

The newspaper cited Pittman's case because it will be among the first to be tried amid a debate over the safety of antidepressant use among children. Pittman is charged with killing his grandparents, Joe Frank Pittman and Joy Roberts Pittman, in November 2001. Each had been shot in the head while sleeping in their rural Chester County home, and their house was then set on fire. Pittman is being tried as an adult and could face up to life in prison if convicted.

Ocala Star Banner
Washington Times Report
New York Time via the International Herald Tribune

Psych Doctor Richard Boylan and your Space Alien Child

Dr. Richard Boylan is a former California psychologist who had his state psychology license revoked over allegations of improper sexual interaction with female patients in his hot tub (hydro 'therapy'?). He still uses the title doctor, even though he might not be legally licensed for mental therapy anymore.

He may have had gotten into trouble back on the old Art Bell late night radio show. He rode the American Indian 'Star People' mythos for several years and claims to know of secret government/UFO testing spots in Nevada desert. He has engaged in countless character assassinations against UFO researchers who disagree with him. Boylan has conveniently claimed to have been gifted with a brand new and, no surprise, anonymous 'inside source', and to have been the confidant of the late 'government MJ-12 insider' Michael Wolf (also not trusted in some quarters.)

He is now planning to hold a summer camp for "star kids" - children who are alleged to have been genetically-altered by aliens (aka: money-in-my-pocket).

Parents everywhere should beware...

Bell's successor George Noory might not have done his homework, as he is being featured on an upcoming show.

SEE: Full Transcript of California Board of Psychology revoking Boylan's license to practice in Nov 1996

Caution Urged on Antidepressants and Children

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced on Friday that it had revisited data regarding antidepressants and suicidal thinking and behavior in children, and said the data may have enough merit to warrant new labels. Specifically, an analysis by senior FDA epidemiologist Dr. Andrew Mosholder found that, overall, children using antidepressants were 1.8 times as likely to have suicidal tendencies as depressed children taking placebos.

This is just the latest chapter in a controversy dating back to last year, when British health officials declared that all antidepressants except Prozac should not be used in children and adolescents.

Regardless, earlier this year two expert advisory committees to the FDA recommended that labeling be changed to reflect the need to monitor all patients more closely. The agency then asked manufacturers to change the labels of 10 drugs.

'Psychiatric services failed me'

Many people who have used mental health services have been unhappy with the care they received, a British Healthcare commission survey has revealed.

This BBC Article details what it is like to be incarcerated in a modern psychiatric warehouse. To sum it up, there is no respect,and no results, or so it seems.

American Psychiatry and the Old Soviet Model of the Mind

As reported at Tech Central Station [by Irwin Savodnik]

The old Soviet psychiatry subscribed to a harsh biological determinism. The psychiatric physician was an absolute authority while the patient's words mattered little more than raindrops at sea. That the patient might have something to add to the doctor's assessment of him made little sense since the origin of his difficulties was thought to be a disordered biology that had to be set right. The idea of a person was quaint but irrelevant.

Part of Soviet psychiatry involved the well-known use of psychiatry as an instrument for political ends. Indeed, there were few other ends in the system. The brothers Zhores and Roy Medvedev offer a shocking, though typical, picture of what things were like in the Stalinist era. In the Soviet scheme of things, political dissent was interpreted as a psychiatric disorder, a difficulty in reality testing, which justified confinement in a mental hospital. Such niceties as due process, length of stay and an appeals process meant nothing. In a state where individual freedom was a bourgeois myth, there was no need to respect basic human rights.

Today in Russia, there are patient protections against involuntary psychiatric hospitalization similar to those in the United States. While some may argue that unwilling confinement is always wrong, such hard-core legislation recognizes the freedom of the individual, which represents a radical change from the pre-Gorbachev era. [...] The great irony is that American psychiatry is moving in exactly the opposite direction. In the past 30 years, the overriding ideology of American psychiatry has shifted to a biological model. Psychopharmacology has become its therapeutic backbone.

The problem, however, is that this model doesn't tolerate free agency. It views psychiatric problems -- moral problems, really -- as medical ones, just as Soviet psychiatry did. It has become more prominent in the courts as the hefty influence of medical diagnoses has replaced the literary-like "assessments" of psychoanalysts. Always, the emphasis is on relieving the individual of moral responsibility. Interpersonal problems, family conflicts, sexual malaise, even shyness, have become medical problems.

So, as the Soviet system came undone and its psychiatrists freed themselves from the confines of a strangulating ideology, American psychiatrists have embraced uncritically the same narrow vision. But as the Soviet example demonstrates with distressing clarity, a conception of people as little more than biochemical bundles fails to address those aspects of ourselves that make us human -- the moral and esthetic dimensions of our lives about which chemical equations have little to say.

[Edited from a longer article]

Health Canada advises of potential adverse effects of SSRIs and other anti-depressants on newborns

Women who take some anti-depressant drugs during late pregnancy may be putting their babies at risk, Health Canada is warning. The department issued an advisory Monday about the following SSRI anti-depressants: bupropion (used for depression or for smoking cessation), citalopram, fluoxetine, fluvoxamine, mirtazapine, paroxetine, sertraline and venlafaxine.

International and Canadian reports reveal that some newborns whose mothers took medications containing Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors or other newer anti-depressants during late pregnancy developed complications at birth requiring prolonged hospitalization, breathing support and tube feeding.

Reported symptoms include feeding and/or breathing difficulties, seizures, muscle rigidity, jitters and constant crying. In most cases, the anti-depressant was taken during the last three months of pregnancy. The symptoms could indicate a direct adverse effect on the baby, or possibly a discontinuation syndrome caused by sudden withdrawal from the drug.

Health Canada said it issued the advisory to increase awareness so symptoms can be recognized and addressed quickly. The agency is working with drug manufacturers to update labelling with new warnings. To report an adverse reaction, consumers and health professionals may call 1-866-234-2345 or fax 1-866-678-6789.

Psych Boondoggle Looms Large in Illinois

It looks like the psychs are looking for a bunch of government handouts in the form of mandatory screening for all children through age 18. See these related columns and letters:

"Children's Mental Health task force hearings continue through Friday," July 21, 2004
"Eroding parental rights in IL - 2 lettters," July 21, 2004
"GUEST OPINION: Maybe legislators should be mentally evaluated, too," July 23, 2004
"Mental health screening - six letters," July 23, 2004
"Leader readers express outrage with mental health screening plan for expectant mothers and children 18 yrs and younger," July 26, 2004
"GUEST OPINION: Universal mental health screenings: a call to rally," July 27, 2004
"GUEST OPINION: Universal mental health screening would be a waste of resources," July 28, 2004
"Some doctors weigh in on mental health screening," July 30, 2004
"Leader readers continue to respond to mental health screening - 17 letters," August 3, 2004
"GUEST OPINION: Illinois Legislators are nuts," August 3, 2004
"Ten more letters in opposition to mental health screening" August 4, 2004

Thanks to Jim S. for the heads up and links - If it were not for government funding, could the psychs survive on their own?

Prozac in Britain's Drinking Water

Environmentalists are deeply alarmed: Prozac, the anti-depression drug, is being taken in such large quantities that it can now be found in Britain's drinking water. Environmentalists are calling for an urgent investigation into the revelations, describing the build-up of the antidepressant as 'hidden mass medication'.

The Environment Agency has revealed that Prozac is building up both in river systems and groundwater used for drinking supplies. The government's chief environment watchdog recently held a series of meetings with the pharmaceutical industry to discuss any repercussions for human health or the ecosystem. The discovery raises fresh fears that GPs are overprescribing Prozac, Britain's antidepressant of choice. In the decade up to 2001, overall prescriptions of antidepressants rose from nine million to 24 million a year.
<>A recent report by the Environment Agency concluded Prozac could be potentially toxic in the water table and said the drug was a 'potential concern'. However, the precise quantity of Prozac in the nation's water supplies remains unknown. The government's Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) said Prozac was likely to be found in a considerably 'watered down' form that was unlikely to pose a health risk.

Dr Andy Croxford, the Environment's Agency's policy manager for pesticides, told The Observer: 'We need to determine the effects of this low-level, almost continuous discharge.' Norman Baker, the Liberal Democrat's environment spokesman, said the revelations exposed a failing by the government on an important public health issue. He added that the public should be told if they were inadvertently taking drugs like Prozac. 'This looks like a case of hidden mass medication upon the unsuspecting public,' Baker said. 'It is alarming that there is no monitoring of levels of Prozac and other pharmacy residues in our drinking water.'

Experts say that Prozac finds its way into rivers and water systems from treated sewage water. Some believe the drugs could affect their reproductive ability. European studies have also expressed disquiet over the impact of pharmaceuticals building up in the environment, warning that an effect on wildlife and human health 'cannot be excluded'.

'It is extremely unlikely that there is a risk, as such drugs are excreted in very low concentrations,' a DWI spokesman said. 'Advanced treatment processes installed for pesticide removal are effective in removing drug residues,' he added.

Disgraced Paediatrician faces ‘child experiments’ rap

 Here we have a case from the BBC involving a paediatrition

Leading paediatrician Professor David Southall was been found guilty of serious professional misconduct after accusing solicitor Sally Clark's husband of murdering their children. [...] During the GMC hearing, Richard Tyson, counsel for Mr Clark said Professor Southall was an arrogant, dogmatic and "very dangerous doctor" who did not deserve his place in the medical profession.

Murder by Psychiatry?

An article by Arianna Huffington, worth reading again

After Littleton: Antidepressants In The Bloodstream.
Filed May 6, 1999 by ARIANNA HUFFINGTON
(Los Angeles Times)

In the aftermath of the Littleton massacre, President Clinton has already proposed new laws to restrict the marketing of guns to children, and on Monday (May 10) he will host a conference to examine the entertainment industry's marketing of violence to children. But no one is planning a conference or introducing laws to deal with a third problem -- the marketing of mood-altering prescription drugs to children.

Despite disturbing evidence of drug-induced manic reactions, the number of antidepressant prescriptions for children continues to soar, reaching 1,664,000 in 1998. And buried in the Littleton coverage was the announcement this week that traces of Luvox, a sibling of Prozac, were found in Eric Harris' bloodstream. The presence of Luvox, the coroner said, ``does not change the cause and manner of death.'' Yes, but did it change the cause and manner of Eric's life?

Luvox was approved by the FDA in 1997 for the treatment of obsessive-compulsive dis- orders (OCD) in children, but not for the treatment of depression. Indeed, no antidepress -ant -- Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil or Luvox -- has been approved for pediatric use. Solvay, Luvox' manufacturer, declares it ``safe and effective.'' Yet the Physicians' Desk Reference reports that during controlled clinical trials manic reactions developed in 4 percent of children on Luvox. Another clinical trial found that Prozac caused mania in 6 percent of the children studied.

Mania is defined as ``a form of psychosis characterized by exalted feelings, delusions of grandeur ... and overproduction of ideas.'' There were plenty of delusional statements on Harris' Web site. ``My belief,'' he wrote, ``is that if I say something, it goes. I am the law. If you don't like it, you die.'' This should have troubled any doctor who was following Harris after he was put on Luvox. Or was Harris one of the tens of thousands of children cavalierly put on antidepressants without either a proper psychiatric evaluation or ongoing monitoring of side effects? The news that Harris had been on Luvox came on the heels of the revelation last summer that Kip Kinkel, the Oregon school shooter, had been on Prozac. These antidepressants clearly did not exorcise the teenagers' demons. The question we should be urgently asking is: did they embolden them?

At a congressional hearing on media violence this week, we were reminded that 95 percent of children are never involved in a violent crime. Most children whose parents own guns do not steal them; most children who watch ``Natural Born Killers'' do not go on shooting rampages; and most children on antidepressants do not kill their schoolmates. But while there is saturation coverage about the dangers of guns and media violence, there is no debate about the dangers of antidepressants on our most vulnerable children's growing brains.

Dr. Leon Eisenberg of the Harvard Medical School described the Prozac/Luvox family of antidepressants as ``potent medications that change nerve transmission.'' ``What happens,'' he asks, ``after two to three years of that?'' But even mildly skeptical voices from within the medical community are routinely ignored as if they were attacks on scientific progress itself.

We are in desperate need of more information -- not just more clinical studies but more data released to the public about the medical histories of children charged with acts of violence. For starters, in the same way that kids are examined for the presence of illegal drugs and alcohol in their bloodstream, they should be routinely examined for mood-altering legal drugs. ``I have testified as a medical expert,'' Dr. Peter Breggin, author of ``Talking Back to Prozac,'' told me, ``in three teenage cases of murder in which antidepressants were implicated in playing a role. In one case where a 16-year-old committed murder and tried to set off multiple bombs at the same time, the comparisons with Littleton are obvious and ominous.''

The response from drug manufacturers echoes that of gun manufacturers: ``Prozac and Luvox don't kill people, people kill people.'' And like gun manufacturers, drug manufacturers are facing growing legal challenges. Littleton was followed by other shootings and bomb threats that closed schools and evacuated students across the country. Were any of the adolescents involved on antidepressants, and was that information made available to the authorities? Did, for example, the probation officer who wrote a glowing report on Harris after his arrest for breaking into a van know if he had been diagnosed with OCD before he was put on Luvox? And wouldn't it have been useful for him then and for us now to know what he was obsessive and compulsive about?

Following the news about Harris being on Luvox, Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), who sits on the Government Oversight Committee, sent a letter to the FDA calling for ``comprehensive clinical trials by the pharmaceutical companies'' to establish ``the behavioral effects of antidepressants on our youth.'' How much Luvox and Prozac have to be found in the bloodstreams of our child-killers before the FDA takes action -- and the rest of us take notice?

Police are Taking too long to Investigate Criminal Complaints Against Shrink

New Zealand police are taking too long to investigate criminal complaints against psychiatrist Selwyn Leeks, say supporters of patients behind the claims. The Weekend Herald revealed that the Government had paid a further $4.2 million in compensation to former psychiatric patients at Lake Alice Hospital, in addition to the $6.5 million paid to 95 others in 2001. More than 30 former Lake Alice patients are still waiting after two years for police to decide whether to prosecute former staff, including Dr Leeks.

Three years ago, the Government began compensating and apologising to numerous former patients of Lake Alice Hospital's child and adolescent unit who claimed they were tortured and sexually abused. The unit closed in 1978. The scale of their mistreatment at the hospital near Wanganui was unveiled in a report for the Government by retired High Court judge Sir Rodney Gallen.

The document revealed allegations of electric-shock therapy being used to punish children, youngsters being locked away with insane adult patients, sexual abuse and painful injections of paraldehyde, a sedative-hypnotic drug.

"I am satisfied that in the main the allegations which have been made are true and reveal an appalling situation," Sir Rodney wrote. More than 30 complaints have subsequently been sent to police by Christchurch lawyer Grant Cameron and the Citizens Commission on Human Rights.

Ex-psychiatry prof guilty in slaying

A former college psychiatry professor has been found guilty in the shooting death of the Portsmouth's development director.

John M. Adams, 60, of Barboursville, W.Va., was sentenced to serve at least 26 years in prison after being convicted Tuesday of murder with a firearm specification, aggravated burglary and kidnapping in the slaying of Bobby Burns on July 2, 2003. Adams' lawyer, Jim Banks of Columbus, said he plans to appeal.

During the trial, witnesses testified that Adams entered Burns' home and shot him as Burns' wife watched. Adams told police he had learned from a law firm that Burns and his wife, Michele Burns, had filed a malpractice complaint over his treatment of Michele. Adams was an associate professor of psychiatry at Marshall University in Huntington, W.Va. His contract with the university expired in June 2003, school officials have said.

Is the President On Psych drugs?

According to reports by Capitol Hill Blue, Bush is taking powerful drugs to control his depression, erratic behavior, and paranoia. White House physician Richard J. Tubb is giving Bush these drugs, which aides admit "can impair the President's mental faculties and decrease both his physical capabilities and his ability to respond to a crisis."

Uh-Oh. How scary is that? The repeated incidents of Bush falling off his couch and off his mountain bike attest to the powerful effects of these prescription drugs.

tip of the hat to Conspiracy Planet

Unhappy Workers Need Prozac - Bush Campaigner

As reported on MSNBC/Reuters, and seen on Belliciao in Europe

A campaign worker for President Bush said on Thursday American workers unhappy with low-quality jobs should find new ones -- or pop a Prozac to make themselves feel better. "Why don't they get new jobs if they're unhappy -- or go on Prozac?" said Susan Sheybani, an assistant to Bush campaign spokesman Terry Holt.

The comment was apparently directed to a colleague who was transferring a phone call from a reporter asking about job quality, and who overheard the remark. When told the Prozac comment had been overheard, Sheybani said: "Oh, I was just kidding."

While recent employment growth has buoyed Bush's economic record, Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry has argued the new jobs are not as good as those lost due to outsourcing in recent years. Nearly 1.1 million jobs have been lost since Bush took office in January 2001.

Thousands Sue Makers Of Paxil

As seen in this story (with video) by WXII

Paxil is supposed to help people deal with depression but one woman said her life turned into a living hell after taking Paxil. Pamela Wu of WXII 12 News' sister station in Sacramento, Calf. reports thousands are now taking the manufacturer to court. 4,000 plaintiffs have joined a class-action lawsuit against Glaxo Smity Kline, the maker of Paxil. They said they are hooked on the drug and unable to quit.

"The drug company has a duty to warn the medical community. Clearly, they have failed that duty. Not only does the drug, in fact, cause dependence and withdrawal symptoms, which they're now reluctantly having to admit. The drug companies have known about that for years. Instead of informing the medical profession, they hid those risks," said Karen Barth Menzies, Attorney for Patients

Meanwhile the drug maker continues to protest it's innocence.

Psych on the run for Fraud, practicing without a license.

Earlier this month I received the following letter

Could you let me know the status of this "psychologist"? She treated my husband, myself, husband's ex-wife, their daughter and their son. Dr. Rita Lynne represented herself as a "clinical psychologist" and testified in court as an expert witness for the ex-wife. She testified that she gave the ex-wife a psychological test and evaluation which significantly affected the outcome of the divorce proceedings.

We paid this woman to help our family assuming that she was a psychologist who was licensed in the state of California. I called the medical board and they said she's being investigated and we should file a complaint. We have transcripts of her court testimony where she tells the judge that she's a psychologist. Any info is greatly appreciated.

SGS

Well we just spotted this news item from the Tri Valley Herald

As also seen in this story in the Alameda Times Star Online:

A Pleasanton woman who posed as a psychologist and served as board chairwoman of ValleyCare Health System could face criminal charges -- possibly as early as next week -- according to the Alameda County district attorney's office. Rita Lynne was a prominent Bay Area psychologist and active in community groups until last July, when the husband of one of her patients looked into her record and learned she was not licensed to practice psychology or marriage counseling in the state.

The California Board of Psychology concluded several weeks ago in its investigation that Lynne did not have the credentials to practice psychology, according to Deputy District Attorney Marty Brown. Lynne had previously said that she received a master's degree and doctorate in psychology at the University of Colo rado at Boulder.

"The matter has been handed over to us and I should be reviewing the files in the next few days," Brown said.

He added that Lynne could face charges, possibly as early as next week, but did yet have the details.

Practicing psychology without a license is a misdemeanor, but Lynne could also be charged with fraud. In addition, she could possibly face perjury charges, Brown said. Former patients have said she gave expert court testimony in their divorce proceedings. Lynne served on ValleyCare's board of directors for six years and was chairwoman for one year. ValleyCare physicians referred patients to her private psychology practice in Pleasanton. She also ran a support group for ValleyCare patients undergoing drastic weight-loss surgery.

The discovery last summer that Lynne was not licensed to practice in the state and that she was under investigation for falsifying her credentials shocked Pleasanton community leaders, her patients and hospital officials.

Lynne's whereabouts are unknown. She abruptly left ValleyCare's board and resigned from the Pleasanton Economic Vitality Committee last July and shut down her private practice.

Brown said his office would attempt to locate Lynne and, if unsuccessful, he could issue a warrant for her arrest. Officials for ValleyCare, which has services in Pleasanton, Livermore and Tracy, have not heard from Lynne since she left last July, a spokeswoman said.

Lynne turned up on a Web search Thursday as the instructor for an online class called "After the marriage ends," run through San Diego-based Education to Go, which provides online classes to hundreds of colleges and universities nationwide.

A photo and accompanying biography on the course description Web page describes Lynne as a Ph.D. who has been "teaching healthy lifestyle management for more than 25 years" and has "developed over 20 masters degree courses and other programs for colleges and other professional institutions."

The course description mentions her book Financial Freedom for Women, which continues to sell on Amazon.com. The book jacket touts a doctorate credential. A spokeswoman for Connecticut-based Thomson Learning, which recently acquired Education to Go, said four students were enrolled in Lynne's current online class and the class has been halted.

Suicidal behaviour is more likely in the first month after starting antidepressants

As reported in the British Medical Journal, suicidal behaviour is more likely in the first month after starting antidepressants, especially during the first nine days.

The researchers—Dr Hershel Jick and colleagues with the Boston Collaborative Drug Surveillance Program, Boston University, Massachusetts—compared the risk of non-fatal suicidal behaviour in patients in the United Kingdom who began treatment with one of three antidepressants (the SSRIs fluoxetine and paroxetine and the tricyclic amitriptyline) with the risk in patients who started taking the older tricyclic dosulepin (formerly known as dothiepin).

Cases taking a single antidepressant were taken from the base population of 159,810 users of at least one of the four antidepressants who had been prescribed the drug within 90 days of the date of suicidal behaviour or ideation [i.e., thoughts]. Controls, also taken from the base population, were matched for taking the same antidepressant within 90 days before the case showed suicidal behaviour, age, and sex, but the controls had shown no suicidal behaviour.

In an editorial in the same journal (pp 379-81), Simon Wessely of the Institute of Psychiatry, London, wrote, "The results confirm that antidepressant prescription is indeed associated with suicidal behaviour, and strongly so."

Psych sells fake insanity certificates for easy divorce

As reported on the New Kelera news for India

A doctor at the Agra mental asylum, absconding after a sting operation showed him selling fake certificates declaring women insane so their husbands can get easy divorces, surrendered before a court Friday. S.K. Gupta has been evading arrest since the exposé July 1. Using spy cameras, Tehelka.com filmed him selling fake certificates for Rs.10,000 each.

"Gupta was accused of issuing fake certificates declaring women insane to enable their husbands get a divorce for a certain amount of money," said an official here. He admitted the physician had been eluding arrest for several weeks. Gupta surrendered before an Agra court, alleging he had been framed by rival doctors.

Unprofessional Conduct Charges against Ohio Psychologists

As reported in The Plain Dealer

A Solon psychologist has been accused of multiple counts of unprofessional conduct for falsely certifying that one of his patients, a habitual drunken driver, completed a substance-abuse program. The charges, filed Friday by the State Board of Psychology, accuse psychologist James E. Kaplar of submitting a document to the Parma office of the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles last August that wrongly claimed his patient, Noelle C. Malott, had completed outpatient and after-care programs at Glenbeigh Hospital in 2001.

Malott, 36, who lives in Solon, pleaded guilty in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court in May to a felony charge of tampering with records after being accused of forging the signature of a Glenbeigh administrator on another BMV form.

She was placed on probation for two years, ordered to perform 100 hours of community service and to submit to regular drug testing.

Court records show that Malott previously was allowed to enroll in drug treatment in lieu of conviction after being charged with possession of drugs in 2000.

BMV records show that she was dubbed a "habitual alcoholic" in 2002 and that she has numerous convictions for driving while intoxicated, speeding or driving without a license.

Malott's phone has been disconnected and she could not be reached for comment. Kaplar, 61, did not return a phone call.

The 11 charges filed against Kaplar also accuse him of failing to respond to requests for information from the board and of improperly supervising psychologists at Parker Hendry & Associates in Westlake and Cornerstone Pregnancy Services in Elyria.

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In a separate case, Beachwood psychologist Warren Grossman surrendered his license to the board, ending an investigation of allegations that he kissed, groped and solicited a female patient for sex during therapy sessions in 2000 and 2001.

In a letter to the board, Grossman, 63, said he was giving up his license because he wanted to devote himself exclusively to lecturing and writing. He could not be reached for comment.

Grossman directs the Institute of Light in Beachwood. He also is the author of "To Be Healed by the Earth," a book in which he says he healed himself from a near-death experience after contracting a parasite in Brazil by going outside, lying on the ground and drawing on nature's energy.

Court psychologist quits after accusations of faking killer's IQ test results.

The chief psychologist who advises Cook County judges in mental competency matters has resigned amid allegations that he changed answers on a convicted murderer's IQ test and then lied about it in court last spring. Timothy C. Cummings of Cook County's Forensic Clinical Services submitted a letter of resignation earlier this month to his boss, Dr. Mathew Markos, a county official said.

Bruce Wisniewski, human resources administrator for the Circuit Court of Cook County reported that the letter did not say why Cummings was resigning, and neither Cummings nor his attorney returned calls Monday seeking comment. At the time of his resignation, Cummings had been placed on temporary unpaid suspension, Wisniewski said. The county was investigating allegations that Cummings changed answers on convicted killer Randall Jarrett's IQ test.

The issue came to light during a March 23 court hearing to determine if Jarrett had a high enough IQ to be eligible for the death penalty. Jarrett and his uncle robbed, beat and killed 50-year-old Herman Bailey on the North Side in 1997. Cummings gave Jarrett a comprehensive IQ test last year. The results showed he was "dull-average," but not mentally retarded.

During the March hearing, defense attorneys questioned the results after Cummings read a test answer that was more complete than what their copies of Jarrett's test showed. Defense attorneys then said they found another discrepancy in a test answer.

Cummings attributed the differences to a photocopying error. But defense attorneys claimed Cummings had changed Jarrett's responses to make him seem more intelligent -- and was now trying to deny it. Cummings denied in court that he did anything inappropriate, and in April he told the Sun-Times he would consult with an attorney and look for "some possible redress." Wisniewski said Cummings' resignation essentially has put an end to the county's investigation.