June 20, 2024 Update
David Russell has been electroshocked against his will four times now: Thursday, June 13th, the very next day on Friday, June 14th, Monday June 17th, and Wednesday, June 19th. They won’t tell him how many times they are going to electroshock him, but it is likely he will be shocked again on Friday, June 21st, unless we can get it stopped. We need to keep the pressure on. New phone numbers have been identified for Doctor Schak, the psychiatrist who is assigned to David and we think ordered the shock, and Christina Zorn, the Mayo Clinic’s Chief Administrative Officer
Kate Schak 507-398-5373
Christina Zorn 904-477-1270
It would be great if you would call them and demand that the Mayo Clinic quit electroshocking David Russell against his will. It is believed Dr. Schak can have the shock stopped on her order.
Also, Catholic Charities, the guardian granted dominion over David, should not be let off the hook. The legal rationale for overriding David’s choice not to take electroshock is he lacks capacity (is imcomptent) to make such a choice. As his guardian, Catholic Charities is almost certainly allowed to choose that David not be electroshocked. However, instead of exercising independent judgment, Catholic Charities is just accepting what Mayo wants to do to David. There is a new person assigned to David by Catholic Charities, Lydia Stiehl. Ms. Stiehl’s e-mail address is lstiehl@ccsomn.org and her phone number is 507-454-2270. It would be great if you could contact her and demand she have the shock stopped. We don’t have her extension so you will have to ask to be transferred to her. The head of Catholic Charities guardianship program is Mike Hanratty and he should be called as well. He is at extension 233 of the same phone number, 507-454-2270, and his e-mail address is mhanratty@ccsomn.org.
Jim Gottstein wrote Ms. Stiehl an e-mail that you can look at for ideas about what to say or write. Also, Sarah Price Hancock wrote an especially excellent e-mail to Governor Waltz and people at the Mayo Clinic that can also be used for talking points.
We will appreciate it if you let us know about e-mails you send or about calls you make in the comments below. Our system requires approval so it might take a bit before it shows up. If you have any problems, please e-mail shield@mindfreedom.org.
Also, please remember that David is at risk of retaliation and you are supporting him under the MindFreedom banner. We ask you to take this into account when you call or write.
David always expresses appreciation for what you are doing to try to stop him from being electroshocked. As do we at MindFreedom.
