Psychiatry's Legacy of Racism and Coercion Highlighted in Restraint Deaths
The mental health watchdog warns that such deaths are rooted in eugenic ideologies that historically promoted coercion under the guise of control. The disproportionate representation of African Americans in restraint-related deaths reflects entrenched psychiatric and psychological racism—pseudoscientific theories that falsely declared Black inferiority and continue to influence profiling today.
This coercive culture is echoed in 'warrior-style' or 'killology' law enforcement training developed by a psychology professor 20 years ago that promotes a 'kill or be killed' mindset. It conditions officers to respond with deadly force. As Mother Jones reported, such training 'often runs the risk of the use of unnecessary, and sometimes, fatal force.'[2]
Such force reflects a broader, systemic pattern: racial profiling and the use of physical and chemical restraints, disproportionately on African Americans. A 2017 New York Law School Journal report confirmed: 'Behavior by African-Americans is more often interpreted as 'dangerous' than identical behavior by whites,' and they are more likely to be labeled with psychiatric conduct disorders.[3]
These injustices trace back to the slave era. Benjamin Rush, dubbed the 'father of American psychiatry,' claimed Blacks suffered from 'Negritude'—a disease curable only by whitening their skin. His protégé, Dr. Samuel Cartwright, fabricated the diagnosis 'Drapetomania' to explain why slaves tried to escape, advocating that 'whipping the devil out of them' was therapeutic.[4] Myths that Blacks were 'more durable to pain' persist today, known as Black hardiness,' stereotypes that influence restraint and drugging.
CCHR highlights the enduring racism embedded in psychiatric practice:
Further compounding harm, psychiatrists prescribe African Americans higher doses of antipsychotics, which can cause tardive dyskinesia (TD), a neurological disorder marked by uncontrollable movements.[9] African Americans are twice as likely to develop TD compared to whites.[10] Antipsychotics may cause suicidality, diabetes, brain shrinkage, compulsive behaviors, and are even linked to breast cancer, according to a recent study.[11]
CCHR points to the tragic deaths of children under psychiatric restraint:
Each case underscores a system not of healing, but of unchecked coercion.
The United Nations and World Health Organization have repeatedly condemned coercive psychiatric practices, equating them with torture.
Despite these clear international mandates, African Americans remain disproportionately subject to such practices in the U.S.
CCHR, established 56 years ago by the Church of Scientology and professor of psychiatry, Thomas Szasz, calls for a permanent end to coercive psychiatric practices: banning forced treatment, physical and chemical restraint, and psychological 'killology' law enforcement training. They also demand accountability for harm and deaths caused by such practices.
To learn more, visit: https://www.cchrint.org/2025/05/02/psychiatrys-legacy-of-racism-and-coercion-highlighted-in-restraint-deaths/
Sources:
[1] Alon Steinberg, et al., 'I can't breathe' – A study of civil litigated cases on prone restraint deaths ,' Journ. of Forensic and Legal Medicine, May 2025, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1752928X25000630?dgcid=rss_sd_all
[2] https://www.cchrint.org/2020/09/15/task-force-wants-psychological-killology-police-training-investigated/; https://www.motherjones.com/crime-justice/2020/05/bob-kroll-minneapolis-warrior-police-training/
[3] https://www.cchrint.org/2020/06/09/naacp-inglewood-south-bay-executive-and-cchr-calls-for-ban-on-restraints-in-psychiatric-hospitals/; Michael L. Perlin, et al., 'Tolling For the Aching Ones Whose Wounds Cannot Be Nursed,' Journal of Gender, Race, and Justice, Vol. 20, Issue 3 (Summer 2017), pp. 431-45, https://digitalcommons.nyls.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1947&context=fac_articles_chapters
[4] https://www.cchrint.org/2020/06/09/naacp-inglewood-south-bay-executive-and-cchr-calls-for-ban-on-restraints-in-psychiatric-hospitals/; Samuel A. Cartwright, M.D., 'Report on the Diseases and Physical Peculiarities of the Negro Race,' New Orleans & Surgical Journal, 1851; Thomas Szasz, Insanity, The Idea and Its Consequences, (John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, 1990), p. 306, 307; https://www.cchrint.org/2019/07/17/minority -mental-health-month-may-spell-mental-health-slavery/
[5] https://www.wcia.com/business/press-releases/ein-presswire/601728936/new-government-report-provides-evidence-racism-is-still-entrenched-in-states-mental-health-services/; https://www.samhsa.gov/data/report/2020-mental-health-client-level-data-annual-report
[6] 'Racial disparities in the management of emergency department patients presenting with psychiatric disorders ,' Ann Epidemiology, May 2022
[7] https://cchrnational.org/2023/11/07/cchr-warns-new-study-indicates-black-patients-in-psychiatric-facilities-more-likely-to-be-restrained-and-for-longer/
[8] 'National Review of Restraint Related Deaths of Children and Adults with Disabilities: The Lethal Consequences of Restraint,' Equip for Equality, 2011, https://www.equipforequality.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/National-Review-of-Restraint-Related-Deaths-of-Adults-and-Children-with-Disabilities-The-Lethal-Consequences-of-Restraint.pdf, p. 30
[9] 'Best Practices: Racial and Ethnic Effects on Antipsychotic Prescribing Practices in a Community Mental Health Center,' Psychiatric Services, 1 Feb. 2003, https://psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/appi.ps.54.2.177
[10] https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/examining-factors-influence-antipsychotic-prescribing-decisions; https://resources.healthgrades.com/right-care/mental-health-and-behavior/what-black-americans-should-know-about-taking-antipsychotic-medications
[11] 'J&J and Eli Lilly Concealed Breast Cancer Risks in Blockbuster Antipsychotics for Decades, Wisner Baum Lawsuit Alleges,' PR Newswire, 23 Apr. 2023
[12] 'Mental health and human rights,' Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 28 September 2018
[13] World Health Organization, United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, 'Guidance on Mental Health, Human Rights and Legislation,' 9 Oct. 2023
MULTIMEDIA:
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Image caption: CCHR calls for a permanent end to coercive psychiatric practices: banning forced treatment, physical and chemical restraint, and psychological 'killology' law enforcement training. They also demand accountability for harm and deaths caused by such practices.
NEWS SOURCE: Citizens Commission on Human Rights
Keywords: Religion and Churches, Citizens Commission on Human Rights, Mental Health Month, CCHR International, Study of Civil Litigated Cases on Prone Restraint Deaths, LOS ANGELES, Calif.
This press release was issued on behalf of the news source (Citizens Commission on Human Rights) who is solely responsibile for its accuracy, by Send2Press® Newswire. Information is believed accurate but not guaranteed. Story ID: S2P125954 APNF0325A
To view the original version, visit: https://www.send2press.com/wire/psychiatrys-legacy-of-racism-and-coercion-highlighted-in-restraint-deaths/
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Disclaimer: This press release content was not created by nor issued by the Associated Press (AP). Content below is unrelated to this news story.
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CCHR's Executive Director, Fran Andrews, detailed the organization's landmark legislative victories: the first U.S. ban on ECT for children under 12 in California (1976), Texas' ban for those under 16 (1993), and Western Australia's 2014 prohibition for children under 14—backed by criminal penalties. The Australian Capital Territory banned ECT under the age of 12 in 2015. Despite these precedents, ECT remains in use worldwide, including on very young children. In the U.S., children as young as five can still receive electroshock, with both the American Psychiatric Association and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry promoting its use in minors. International data underscores the scope of the problem. A 2022 review found significant ECT use on 10–18-year-olds in the Czech Republic, Finland, Denmark, and Sweden.[1] In New Zealand, a government inquiry confirmed that children were subjected to electroshock without anesthetic at the now closed Lake Alice psychiatric hospital—treatment survivors described as torture and confirmed last year by the country's Prime Minister. Prominent Australian psychiatrist Dr. Niall McLaren has stated unequivocally: 'No psychiatrist needs to use ECT.'[2] CCHR President Jan Eastgate testified about the alarming rise in psychotropic drugging of children worldwide. A Lancet Psychiatry report confirmed global increases in prescribing, with the U.S. leading in prevalence rates for youth. Depending on the cohort, antipsychotic prescribing for children has surged by 50% to 200% over the past two decades.[3] Many parents remain unaware of the risks—weight gain, metabolic changes, diabetes, tremor, sedation, and even sudden death. The antipsychotic risperidone, widely prescribed to children as young as four, has been linked to severe side effects, including gynecomastia (female breast growth in boys), sometimes requiring mastectomies. In Spain, CCHR President Salvador Fernández warned of the ongoing prescription of ADHD stimulants such as methylphenidate, despite documented risks of suicidal behavior, psychosis, and cardiovascular complications. Eastgate also addressed deaths of children as young as 7 in U.S. for-profit psychiatric hospitals from restraint, some ruled homicides. Yet prosecutions are rare, and facilities continue to operate, profiting from insurance coverage. A New York Times investigation in September 2025 revealed that one of the largest private psychiatric hospital chains in the U.S. has detained individuals against their will to maximize insurance billing, prompting judicial intervention in some cases. In Spain, Fernández testified that children are still subjected to involuntary hospitalization and prolonged mechanical and chemical restraints. CCHR's written submission to the CRPD cited studies showing psychiatric hospitalization can raise suicide risk 44-fold, while forced psychiatric drugging increases the risk sixfold.[4] A July 2025 study found that those involuntarily hospitalized were nearly twice as likely to die by suicide or overdose within three months of discharge.[5] A 2022 European study confirmed widespread use of mechanical and chemical restraints, with inconsistent regulations across countries.[6] In the U.S., a Harvard Law School report found that state hospitals continue to use forced ECT and other practices that may constitute torture under international law.[7] CRPD's press release on its 33rd session acknowledged CCHR's evidence and concerns.[8] Ms. Eastgate told the Committee: 'Electroshock, psychosurgery, forced drugging, seclusion, and restraint are not care—they are sanctioned abuse and must end. Upholding a person's autonomy, dignity, and liberty is non-negotiable. Rights-based alternatives must replace outdated, violent psychiatric practices.' CCHR urged the CRPD to call for: 'Decades of evidence show that coercion in mental health does not heal—it harms,' Ms. Eastgate said. 'Our work with legislators, courts, and survivors proves that laws can protect, but only if they are enforced. The CRPD's leadership is critical to ensuring countries replace coercion with compassionate, rights-respecting solutions.' About CCHR: It is a non-profit mental health industry watchdog, co-founded in 1969 by the Church of Scientology and psychiatrist Dr. Thomas Szasz. With chapters across six continents, CCHR has been instrumental in obtaining more than 190 laws worldwide to protect individuals from abusive psychiatric practices. To learn more, visit: Sources: [1] 'Electroconvulsive therapy in children and adolescents: results from a population‑based study utilising the Swedish National Quality Register,' Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry, 13 Dec. 2022, [2] citing Niall McLaren, 'No Psychiatrist Needs to Use ECT,' 27 June 2017, [3] 'Editorial: Psychotropic overprescribing to youth: scope of the problem, causes, and possible solutions,' Frontier Psychiatry, 6 May 2024, [4] 'Disturbing findings about the risk of suicide and psychiatric hospitals,' Soc. Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiology (2014), 49: 1353-1355, [5] 'A Danger to Self and Others: Health and Criminal Consequences of Involuntary Hospitalization,' Federal Reserve Bank of New York, staff reports, July 2025, [6] 'Current trends in restrictive interventions in psychiatry: a European perspective,' Cambridge University Press, 22 June 2022, [7] 'WHEN DOES MENTAL HEALTH COERCION CONSTITUTE TORTURE? …' Fordham International Law Journal, Vol 45:5, 2022, pp. 785-786 [8] 'Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Opens Thirty-Third Session,' Meeting Summaries, 11 Aug. 2025, MULTIMEDIA Image link for media: Image caption: The Citizens Commission on Human Rights International (CCHR) addressed the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) on August 11, urging the global abolition of electroshock treatment (ECT), forced drugging, psychosurgery, and other coercive psychiatric practices – especially when used on children. NEWS SOURCE: Citizens Commission on Human Rights Keywords: General Editorial, global abolition of electroshock treatment, Citizens Commission on Human Rights International CCHR, an Eastgate, United Nations, LOS ANGELES, Calif. This press release was issued on behalf of the news source (Citizens Commission on Human Rights) who is solely responsibile for its accuracy, by Send2Press® Newswire. Information is believed accurate but not guaranteed. Story ID: S2P128523 APNF0325A To view the original version, visit: © 2025 Send2Press® Newswire, a press release distribution service, Calif., USA. RIGHTS GRANTED FOR REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART BY ANY LEGITIMATE MEDIA OUTLET - SUCH AS NEWSPAPER, BROADCAST OR TRADE PERIODICAL. MAY NOT BE USED ON ANY NON-MEDIA WEBSITE PROMOTING PR OR MARKETING SERVICES OR CONTENT DEVELOPMENT. Disclaimer: This press release content was not created by nor issued by the Associated Press (AP). Content below is unrelated to this news story.
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