Parents Defend Electric Shock as Extreme Tool for Extreme Cases
April 23, 2021
The D.C. Circuit appeared set Friday to reverse a federal ban on electric-shock devices, which are used to treat self-injurious or aggressive behavior in only one facility in the entire nation: the Judge Rotenberg Educational Center in Massachusetts.
From Mother Jones and Mass Live to a 2012 video that shows a teenager being shocked and screaming for help, the center has had a slew of media attention for punishing autistic and emotionally troubled kids and adults with painful electric shocks since the 1980s. The center has also been through years of litigation with the commonwealth of Massachusetts.