Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Help the Unions
American workers need help - and there's something you can do about it.
Regardless of where you live or what you do, labor unions are our first line of defense for worker's rights. What do they fight for? Raising the minimum wage. Improving labor standards. Expanding health care benefits. Protecting retirement security.
And these fights don't only make a difference in the workplace: They are critical to providing economic security for families, strengthening our communities and rebuilding America's middle class. Every day, millions of Americans work hard and play by the rules but are still struggling to get by. Democrats understand the important role that labor unions play to fix this crisis.
The House of Representatives is set to debate and pass a bill that will restore American workers' right to freely choose whether or not to form a union. Join the Democratic majority in the House and show your support for the Employee Free Choice Act:
http://www.democrats.org/FightForWorkers
Research shows union members earn 30% more than nonunion workers. What's more, union workers are 63% more likely to have employer-provided health insurance, and are four times more likely to have a guaranteed pension.
The benefits of union membership are clear. That's why nearly half of American workers who are not currently represented by unions -- 60 million people -- say that they'd join one if they had the chance. But every year since 1981, union membership has declined. And a major reason for that fall-off is the many obstacles workers face when they try to form a union or negotiate a union contract.
The Employee Free Choice Act is a simple, effective solution to restore the right of workers to form unions and bargain for better wages and benefits for themselves and their families. It has three key provisions:
Require employers to recognize a union if a majority of workers sign authorization cards saying they want union representation.
Provide mediation and arbitration for first-contract disputes.
Strengthen penalties for companies that illegally intimidate employees to prevent them from forming a union.
No management coercion, no waiting period, no stacked deck -- just the freedom for workers to stand up for their rights.
Democratic leaders in the House overwhelmingly support the Employee Free Choice Act. Speaker Nancy Pelosi has called it a "top priority." House Labor Committee Chairman George Miller called it "an important step towards strengthening America's middle class." Now you can join the leadership in calling on Congress to pass this critical legislation:
http://www.democrats.org/FightForWorkers
Big business is scared of the Employee Free Choice Act -- and that's why they're doing everything in their power to stop it.
75% of companies hire consultants or union-busters to fight organizing campaigns. And their tactics work: every 23 minutes, a worker is fired or discriminated against for supporting a union. All in all, over 22,000 workers each year are illegally fired, demoted, laid off, suspended without pay, or denied work by their employers as a result of union activity.
Why have our leaders in Washington allowed this to happen? Follow the money trail.
The public opposition to the Employee Free Choice Act is funded in large part by GOP-allied corporate lobbyists and interest groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the American Conservative Union, and Americans for Tax Reform. The dozens of groups that make up the "Coalition for a Democratic Workplace" spend big bucks each election cycle buying Republicans' votes on bills like this one.
This is nothing new. Big Business always gets what it wants from the Republicans-- from an energy bill written by Cheney's oil industry pals to a prescription drug bill full of giveaways to Big Pharma.
This time, though, the Democrats in Congress can stop them. Show the House that you will stand with America's workers:
http://www.democrats.org/FightForWorkers
Do you believe in the right to demand a raise? Health care coverage? A pension? Do you believe workers should have a voice in their workplaces?
The fate of the Employee Free Choice Act depends on your work. Help score an important victory for worker's rights and for rebuilding America's middle class.
In Solidarity,
Governor Howard Dean, M.D.
Regardless of where you live or what you do, labor unions are our first line of defense for worker's rights. What do they fight for? Raising the minimum wage. Improving labor standards. Expanding health care benefits. Protecting retirement security.
And these fights don't only make a difference in the workplace: They are critical to providing economic security for families, strengthening our communities and rebuilding America's middle class. Every day, millions of Americans work hard and play by the rules but are still struggling to get by. Democrats understand the important role that labor unions play to fix this crisis.
The House of Representatives is set to debate and pass a bill that will restore American workers' right to freely choose whether or not to form a union. Join the Democratic majority in the House and show your support for the Employee Free Choice Act:
http://www.democrats.org/FightForWorkers
Research shows union members earn 30% more than nonunion workers. What's more, union workers are 63% more likely to have employer-provided health insurance, and are four times more likely to have a guaranteed pension.
The benefits of union membership are clear. That's why nearly half of American workers who are not currently represented by unions -- 60 million people -- say that they'd join one if they had the chance. But every year since 1981, union membership has declined. And a major reason for that fall-off is the many obstacles workers face when they try to form a union or negotiate a union contract.
The Employee Free Choice Act is a simple, effective solution to restore the right of workers to form unions and bargain for better wages and benefits for themselves and their families. It has three key provisions:
Require employers to recognize a union if a majority of workers sign authorization cards saying they want union representation.
Provide mediation and arbitration for first-contract disputes.
Strengthen penalties for companies that illegally intimidate employees to prevent them from forming a union.
No management coercion, no waiting period, no stacked deck -- just the freedom for workers to stand up for their rights.
Democratic leaders in the House overwhelmingly support the Employee Free Choice Act. Speaker Nancy Pelosi has called it a "top priority." House Labor Committee Chairman George Miller called it "an important step towards strengthening America's middle class." Now you can join the leadership in calling on Congress to pass this critical legislation:
http://www.democrats.org/FightForWorkers
Big business is scared of the Employee Free Choice Act -- and that's why they're doing everything in their power to stop it.
75% of companies hire consultants or union-busters to fight organizing campaigns. And their tactics work: every 23 minutes, a worker is fired or discriminated against for supporting a union. All in all, over 22,000 workers each year are illegally fired, demoted, laid off, suspended without pay, or denied work by their employers as a result of union activity.
Why have our leaders in Washington allowed this to happen? Follow the money trail.
The public opposition to the Employee Free Choice Act is funded in large part by GOP-allied corporate lobbyists and interest groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the American Conservative Union, and Americans for Tax Reform. The dozens of groups that make up the "Coalition for a Democratic Workplace" spend big bucks each election cycle buying Republicans' votes on bills like this one.
This is nothing new. Big Business always gets what it wants from the Republicans-- from an energy bill written by Cheney's oil industry pals to a prescription drug bill full of giveaways to Big Pharma.
This time, though, the Democrats in Congress can stop them. Show the House that you will stand with America's workers:
http://www.democrats.org/FightForWorkers
Do you believe in the right to demand a raise? Health care coverage? A pension? Do you believe workers should have a voice in their workplaces?
The fate of the Employee Free Choice Act depends on your work. Help score an important victory for worker's rights and for rebuilding America's middle class.
In Solidarity,
Governor Howard Dean, M.D.
Murdoch ADMITS he manipulated Iraq Info
And a HUGE curtsy to a new-found friend of the light side .... Old Thinker
Monday, February 26, 2007
shooting gardasil down from the republicans
http://www.sptimes.com/2007/02/26/State/Vaccine_bill_finds_to.shtml
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Politics
Vaccine bill finds tough opposition
By SHANNON COLAVECCHIO-VAN SICKLER
Published February 26, 2007
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ADVERTISEMENT
[AP Photo]
A dose of the vaccine Gardasil, developed by Merck & Co.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
U.S. News Video
TALLAHASSEE - The proposal seemed simple enough: require middle school girls in Florida to get a vaccination that can protect them from one of the deadliest forms of cancer.
But because Gardasil is a new vaccine from a powerful pharmaceutical company, and because it protects against a sexually transmitted virus, the proposed legislation is running into strong opposition from conservatives and medical groups.
Adding to the controversy is consumer skepticism over the motives of vaccinemaker Merck & Co., which had been lobbying across the country to make its vaccine mandatory for school attendance - a requirement that could generate lots of profit.
The resulting backlash is so strong that state Sens. Mike Fasano and Jim King and state Rep. Ed Homan of Tampa are retreating from their initial push to make Gardasil mandatory for school attendance starting in fall 2008.
Instead, the Republican lawmakers will change their proposed legislation HB 561 and SB 660 so that the vaccine requirement for 11- and 12-year-old girls doesn't take effect until fall 2009.
Families would be able to opt out of the vaccine, the first in the world to protect against four types of the human papilloma virus, which causes genital warts and about 70 percent of cervical cancer cases.
Conservative groups such as the Christian Coalition of Florida say encouraging such an immunization for adolescent girls is akin to promoting early sex.
"We're concerned about the age of the kids and the message we're sending," said Bill Stephens, the coalition's executive director. Stephens said the coalition might be more apt to support the legislation if it included education about abstinence.
There also is some wariness in medical circles about mandating a first-of-its-kind vaccine with such a short track record. Moreover, some are skeptical of Merck's aggressive lobbying to make Gardasil mandatory in more than a dozen states.
"I'm not here to push something on parents that they don't want," said Fasano, R-New Port Richey. "I think there are concerns about the safety, concerns from parents about us rushing into it too soon."
The Florida legislators' retreat is a rare example of public outcry and political pressure thwarting the well-financed efforts of a pharmaceutical giant - one that has donated tens of thousands of dollars in recent years to state lawmakers including Homan and Fasano and to the Republican and Democratic parties.
"I haven't met one legislator who wouldn't get the vaccine for his daughter," said Homan, R-Tampa, an orthopedic surgeon.
But Homan said when he asks for support, they back away and say, "Oh no, not the vaccine bill."
"There's a lot of controversy out there," Homan said. "Legislators don't like controversy like that."
The uproar is on a national scale, thanks to Merck's national lobbying efforts. Typically, vaccines are rolled out gradually, giving public health officials time to gather several years' worth of data on their safety and effectiveness.
But Merck took an aggressive approach with Gardasil. The company channeled money for much of the lobbying through Women in Government, an advocacy group of female lawmakers.
According to the Women in Government Web site, there are no Florida representatives.
Merck is represented in Tallahassee by Southern Strategy Group Inc., the powerful Tallahassee lobbying firm of former House Speaker John Thrasher and his associate, Christopher Dudley.
Merck helped develop the Florida legislation and paid for television ads promoting Gardasil, but Homan and King said Merck lobbyists did not approach other lawmakers.
Last week, Merck announced it would suspend all of its U.S. lobbying because of criticism that it pushed too hard, too fast.
"The debate seemed to be focusing on our efforts in making this a requirement, and the battle was shifting away from the fight against cervical cancer," said Merck spokeswoman Jennifer Allen.
Gardasil is the world's first vaccine proven to protect women from HPV, the most common sexually transmitted virus in the United States, according to the American Cancer Society.
The virus can lead to cervical cancer, the second-leading cause of cancer deaths in women worldwide, according to the society.
The Food and Drug Administration approved Gardasil in June 2006 for girls and women ages 9 to 26 years old, though it is most effective when taken during adolescence.
King lost both parents to cancer and saw in Gardasil the kind of medical breakthrough his parents never had.
"It was sort of like an answer to a prayer," said King, R-Jacksonville. "Then came this wave of opposition. I was disappointed. I mean, I can't understand why there aren't marches in the street celebrating this."
Homan, a faculty member at the University of South Florida medical school, has a theory.
"It's a puritanical issue about sex," he said.
He points out that elementary school students have to get immunized against hepatitis B, a disease most commonly transmitted through sexual contact or needle sharing.
"But there is no outcry because that is a disease of the liver," Homan said. "This cancer is a disease of the cervix. It's like, 'Oh my gosh, don't say that! That's like saying vagina!' "
Fasano said pushing the requirement back a year, as he now proposes, will give families more time to learn about the vaccine and allow Florida to learn from the experiences of other states. More than two dozen states are considering mandates. Texas recently approved one, but lawmakers are reconsidering it because of the controversy.
King said he has no problem waiting if it will broaden support for the vaccine.
"My only fear with that is, what about all those girls who won't get the vaccine during that time while we're waiting?"
Times researcher Cathy Wos contributed to this report. Shannon Colavecchio-Van Sickler can be reached at svansickler@sptimes.com or (850) 224-7263.
Q&A
Gardasil
What is Gardasil?
The first vaccine against cervical cancer. It protects against four types of the human papillomavirus, which causes genital warts and about 70 percent of cervical cancer cases.
Who makes it?
Merck & Co., the pharmaceutical company that made Vioxx, the popular arthritis drug pulled in 2004 because of concerns over higher incidences of heart attacks and strokes.
When was it approved?
In June 2006 by the Food and Drug Administration, for girls and women ages 9 through 26.
What does it cost?
About $360 for three injections over a six-month period. Many insurers cover the vaccine.
How effective is it?
It's most effective when given before a person becomes sexually active. Clinical trials involved about 21,000 women ages 16 to 26 over five years.
Are there side effects?
It's common to have pain, swelling, itching and redness at the injection site.
How common is cervical cancer?
It is the second-deadliest cancer in women worldwide. In Florida, the rate of cervical cancer is 26 percent higher than the U.S. average - nine new cases each year per 100,000 women. Every year in the United States, about 10,000 women get the cancer. And in about 3,500 U.S. cases each year, it's fatal.
Sources: Merck & Co., American Cancer Society, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
[Last modified February 26, 2007, 05:27:38]
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Comments on this article by Pat 02/26/07 04:09 PM
Ellen: This is not an issue of the vaccine, it is a issue of the government tellingyou what to do with your body. It proves what hypocrites pro-choicers are!!!
by Larry 02/26/07 02:23 PM
I'd hope these Christian, born-again nit-wits would get off their high-horse and think about the lives that would be saved!!! My daugther just got the shot to the tune of $180!
by Greg 02/26/07 02:04 PM
Do we know the LONG TERM issues this immunization may have on young girls? Not having sex too early also prevents cervical cancer, or is it just too "puritanical" for our kids not to have sex before their bodies are ready? Remember Vioxx?
by Denise 02/26/07 01:49 PM
$360 is a LOT of money for a family without insurance-and that includes a large number of families with school age children. Exclude girls in poverty from school? No thanks.
by Holly 02/26/07 11:57 AM
Where was HPV 20 years ago? Why now are we talking about this dreaded disease? I have too many whys and not enough answers or explanations! There seems to be a "rush" in fixing a much more complex issue!
by Ellen 02/26/07 11:22 AM
People claim to be pro life but are willing to let their children die. So much for pro life. I guess after the child is born they do not have to care anymore.
by JR 02/26/07 10:19 AM
Wiki has a very large article on HPV for those who want to learn more, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hpv
by Jerry 02/26/07 09:37 AM
How simple State Senator King makes the decision to shoot up 11 year old girls on a mandate with the anti-cervical cancer drug. And out comes the "puritanical" hate crimes claims against anyone not following more pied piper directives from drug-folk.
by Mike 02/26/07 09:33 AM
Who cares about the sex issues. I'm more worried about long term effects of the vaccine.
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© 2007 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
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Politics
Vaccine bill finds tough opposition
By SHANNON COLAVECCHIO-VAN SICKLER
Published February 26, 2007
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ADVERTISEMENT
[AP Photo]
A dose of the vaccine Gardasil, developed by Merck & Co.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
U.S. News Video
TALLAHASSEE - The proposal seemed simple enough: require middle school girls in Florida to get a vaccination that can protect them from one of the deadliest forms of cancer.
But because Gardasil is a new vaccine from a powerful pharmaceutical company, and because it protects against a sexually transmitted virus, the proposed legislation is running into strong opposition from conservatives and medical groups.
Adding to the controversy is consumer skepticism over the motives of vaccinemaker Merck & Co., which had been lobbying across the country to make its vaccine mandatory for school attendance - a requirement that could generate lots of profit.
The resulting backlash is so strong that state Sens. Mike Fasano and Jim King and state Rep. Ed Homan of Tampa are retreating from their initial push to make Gardasil mandatory for school attendance starting in fall 2008.
Instead, the Republican lawmakers will change their proposed legislation HB 561 and SB 660 so that the vaccine requirement for 11- and 12-year-old girls doesn't take effect until fall 2009.
Families would be able to opt out of the vaccine, the first in the world to protect against four types of the human papilloma virus, which causes genital warts and about 70 percent of cervical cancer cases.
Conservative groups such as the Christian Coalition of Florida say encouraging such an immunization for adolescent girls is akin to promoting early sex.
"We're concerned about the age of the kids and the message we're sending," said Bill Stephens, the coalition's executive director. Stephens said the coalition might be more apt to support the legislation if it included education about abstinence.
There also is some wariness in medical circles about mandating a first-of-its-kind vaccine with such a short track record. Moreover, some are skeptical of Merck's aggressive lobbying to make Gardasil mandatory in more than a dozen states.
"I'm not here to push something on parents that they don't want," said Fasano, R-New Port Richey. "I think there are concerns about the safety, concerns from parents about us rushing into it too soon."
The Florida legislators' retreat is a rare example of public outcry and political pressure thwarting the well-financed efforts of a pharmaceutical giant - one that has donated tens of thousands of dollars in recent years to state lawmakers including Homan and Fasano and to the Republican and Democratic parties.
"I haven't met one legislator who wouldn't get the vaccine for his daughter," said Homan, R-Tampa, an orthopedic surgeon.
But Homan said when he asks for support, they back away and say, "Oh no, not the vaccine bill."
"There's a lot of controversy out there," Homan said. "Legislators don't like controversy like that."
The uproar is on a national scale, thanks to Merck's national lobbying efforts. Typically, vaccines are rolled out gradually, giving public health officials time to gather several years' worth of data on their safety and effectiveness.
But Merck took an aggressive approach with Gardasil. The company channeled money for much of the lobbying through Women in Government, an advocacy group of female lawmakers.
According to the Women in Government Web site, there are no Florida representatives.
Merck is represented in Tallahassee by Southern Strategy Group Inc., the powerful Tallahassee lobbying firm of former House Speaker John Thrasher and his associate, Christopher Dudley.
Merck helped develop the Florida legislation and paid for television ads promoting Gardasil, but Homan and King said Merck lobbyists did not approach other lawmakers.
Last week, Merck announced it would suspend all of its U.S. lobbying because of criticism that it pushed too hard, too fast.
"The debate seemed to be focusing on our efforts in making this a requirement, and the battle was shifting away from the fight against cervical cancer," said Merck spokeswoman Jennifer Allen.
Gardasil is the world's first vaccine proven to protect women from HPV, the most common sexually transmitted virus in the United States, according to the American Cancer Society.
The virus can lead to cervical cancer, the second-leading cause of cancer deaths in women worldwide, according to the society.
The Food and Drug Administration approved Gardasil in June 2006 for girls and women ages 9 to 26 years old, though it is most effective when taken during adolescence.
King lost both parents to cancer and saw in Gardasil the kind of medical breakthrough his parents never had.
"It was sort of like an answer to a prayer," said King, R-Jacksonville. "Then came this wave of opposition. I was disappointed. I mean, I can't understand why there aren't marches in the street celebrating this."
Homan, a faculty member at the University of South Florida medical school, has a theory.
"It's a puritanical issue about sex," he said.
He points out that elementary school students have to get immunized against hepatitis B, a disease most commonly transmitted through sexual contact or needle sharing.
"But there is no outcry because that is a disease of the liver," Homan said. "This cancer is a disease of the cervix. It's like, 'Oh my gosh, don't say that! That's like saying vagina!' "
Fasano said pushing the requirement back a year, as he now proposes, will give families more time to learn about the vaccine and allow Florida to learn from the experiences of other states. More than two dozen states are considering mandates. Texas recently approved one, but lawmakers are reconsidering it because of the controversy.
King said he has no problem waiting if it will broaden support for the vaccine.
"My only fear with that is, what about all those girls who won't get the vaccine during that time while we're waiting?"
Times researcher Cathy Wos contributed to this report. Shannon Colavecchio-Van Sickler can be reached at svansickler@sptimes.com or (850) 224-7263.
Q&A
Gardasil
What is Gardasil?
The first vaccine against cervical cancer. It protects against four types of the human papillomavirus, which causes genital warts and about 70 percent of cervical cancer cases.
Who makes it?
Merck & Co., the pharmaceutical company that made Vioxx, the popular arthritis drug pulled in 2004 because of concerns over higher incidences of heart attacks and strokes.
When was it approved?
In June 2006 by the Food and Drug Administration, for girls and women ages 9 through 26.
What does it cost?
About $360 for three injections over a six-month period. Many insurers cover the vaccine.
How effective is it?
It's most effective when given before a person becomes sexually active. Clinical trials involved about 21,000 women ages 16 to 26 over five years.
Are there side effects?
It's common to have pain, swelling, itching and redness at the injection site.
How common is cervical cancer?
It is the second-deadliest cancer in women worldwide. In Florida, the rate of cervical cancer is 26 percent higher than the U.S. average - nine new cases each year per 100,000 women. Every year in the United States, about 10,000 women get the cancer. And in about 3,500 U.S. cases each year, it's fatal.
Sources: Merck & Co., American Cancer Society, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
[Last modified February 26, 2007, 05:27:38]
Share your thoughts on this story
First Name (only)
Location
Comment (May be published online and/or in print)
You have 250 characters left to comment.
Comments on this article by Pat 02/26/07 04:09 PM
Ellen: This is not an issue of the vaccine, it is a issue of the government tellingyou what to do with your body. It proves what hypocrites pro-choicers are!!!
by Larry 02/26/07 02:23 PM
I'd hope these Christian, born-again nit-wits would get off their high-horse and think about the lives that would be saved!!! My daugther just got the shot to the tune of $180!
by Greg 02/26/07 02:04 PM
Do we know the LONG TERM issues this immunization may have on young girls? Not having sex too early also prevents cervical cancer, or is it just too "puritanical" for our kids not to have sex before their bodies are ready? Remember Vioxx?
by Denise 02/26/07 01:49 PM
$360 is a LOT of money for a family without insurance-and that includes a large number of families with school age children. Exclude girls in poverty from school? No thanks.
by Holly 02/26/07 11:57 AM
Where was HPV 20 years ago? Why now are we talking about this dreaded disease? I have too many whys and not enough answers or explanations! There seems to be a "rush" in fixing a much more complex issue!
by Ellen 02/26/07 11:22 AM
People claim to be pro life but are willing to let their children die. So much for pro life. I guess after the child is born they do not have to care anymore.
by JR 02/26/07 10:19 AM
Wiki has a very large article on HPV for those who want to learn more, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hpv
by Jerry 02/26/07 09:37 AM
How simple State Senator King makes the decision to shoot up 11 year old girls on a mandate with the anti-cervical cancer drug. And out comes the "puritanical" hate crimes claims against anyone not following more pied piper directives from drug-folk.
by Mike 02/26/07 09:33 AM
Who cares about the sex issues. I'm more worried about long term effects of the vaccine.
Site Archives Web
Subscribe to the Times
Click here for daily delivery
of the St. Petersburg Times.
Email Newsletters
Be the first to know. Register for free breaking news alerts and morning headlines.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ADVERTISEMENT
© 2007 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111
Contact the Times | Privacy Policy | Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright
Jail Death disturbs mother
http://www.sptimes.com/2007/02/26/State/Jail_death_disturbs_m.shtml
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How to color Couey: crazy or calculating?
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Jail death disturbs mother
By ABBIE VANSICKLE
Published February 26, 2007
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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LAKE WALES - Gina Slone awakened to a loud knock. She eased herself into her wheelchair and peered into the predawn darkness. She saw deputies standing with a chaplain and guessed, rightly, that something terrible had happened to George.
Her son was 21. Suffering bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, James Lee "George" Griffin thought he was an angel, able to see God's face in an ordinary computer screen.
That's what he told a worker that March 2006 weekend at a Polk County jail, where he was taken after he threatened a man at a pancake restaurant.
He threw chili mac on the floor of his isolation cell and punched a glass window so hard that it cracked. Guards couldn't calm him, not the way his mother could.
They brought out the electric shield and used it repeatedly.
Now Slone screamed at them.
"You all done it," she said. "You all killed my son."
In the months ahead, others, including an independent medical examiner, would agree.
* * *
He wasn't always that way, didn't always hear voices and believe he had wings. His mother remembers Griffin as a Tennessee boy growing up with an insatiable curiosity. That's why she nicknamed him "George."
Slone waited tables. Single, she could barely afford rent, much less Air Jordan sneakers.
She uprooted them to Florida for a man who didn't last.
Griffin quit high school freshman year and took a job cleaning pools. He declared himself the man of the house. Even after he moved in with his girlfriend, he gave money to Slone.
But when he turned 18, he seemed to come apart. He paced the floor of his room and cried for no reason.
One afternoon, he wandered off. Lake Wales police held him under the state's Baker Act, which allows law enforcement officers to take people involuntarily for psychiatric evaluation.
"Every few months we'd get him straightened out," recalls Slone, 40. "Something devastating would happen. It would kind of throw him in that mode, and he couldn't handle it."
She could calm him by just listening, though sometimes even that didn't help. In 2002, police reported that he threatened to hurt her. In 2003, he stole his stepsister's car.
A judge gave Griffin three years' probation. One part of probation was a 10 p.m. curfew.
He broke curfew on his last night of freedom, March 17.
A troubled night
Griffin quarreled that evening with his girlfriend. The power company had cut off their lights. Griffin pawned his video games to pay the bill.
He left in a huff and got a ride to his mother's home. About 3 a.m., he pedaled his bike to an International House of Pancakes on State Road 60 in Lake Wales, where he saw his mother's ex-boyfriend, Juan Nino.
Griffin looked troubled, Nino recalls. They sat down together, but Griffin wouldn't eat.
A man nearby poked fun at red-headed, ruddy-faced Griffin, calling him "Little Red Riding Hood." Griffin, furious, threatened to fight.
Police came.
Nino warned the officer that Griffin had stopped taking his medicine. In a report, Officer Robert Hendrix noted that Griffin would be "cool," then suddenly "wig out."
Deputies put Griffin in a cell with other inmates at the jail in Bartow. He picked up a broom handle and waved it.
He was moved to a small isolation cell with a metal toilet, a thin green mattress and a thick blue door. Griffin spent March 18 and 19 there.
After he cracked the window, deputies feared he would harm himself, they told investigators.
Out came the shield
Seven deputies and three supervisors gathered outside the cell. The biggest, a man, carried an electric riot shield. Its shock should cause someone to jerk away, as if touching a hot stove, the manufacturer said.
When the deputy entered the cell, Griffin lunged, according to witnesses. The other deputies rushed in. An inmate said Griffin looked like he was doing push-ups with 10 men on his back.
"The deputies ran in on him and rammed him into the wall," inmate Kevin Missildine told investigators, though deputies disputed his account.
One deputy turned on the shield. Guards wondered if it was working because Griffin didn't seem to react, they said later, disagreeing over who shocked Griffin and how many times.
They shackled Griffin, using two pairs of handcuffs on his wrists because of his size, they said. He was 6 feet 2 and 269 pounds. They told investigators that they dragged him on his back by his feet to a nurse's station about 30 feet from the cell.
Detective Bobby Brigman, assigned to investigate the incident, described it this way:
"Griffin then started to flop around like a fish and kicking like a mule," he wrote. "Griffin was kicking his heels into the floor very hard."
Deputies shocked him again.
"For Griffin's safety, deputy Mayhue attempted to use the electric shield to Griffin's legs to get him to stop kicking," Brigman wrote.
Deputies rolled Griffin onto his stomach. They used another pair of shackles, chaining together his handcuffs and leg shackles.
He stopped moving. The nurse felt no pulse. Jail workers started CPR and called emergency crews. He was pronounced dead at 9:32 p.m.
Conflicting reports
Two medical examiners autopsied Griffin. Both board-licensed doctors, they reached very different conclusions.
Polk County Associate Medical Examiner Vera Volnikh noted blunt trauma to Griffin's wrists, ankles and skin. He had been shocked up to eight times, she wrote. But his injuries weren't severe enough to explain his death, she wrote.
Volnikh called the death accidental and attributed it to excited delirium syndrome, the sudden death of a person who is typically in a drug-induced, psychotic state affecting the heart. The syndrome is sometimes cited when inmates die after being shocked by Tasers.
Traces of cannabis, but no other drugs, were found in Griffin's urine.
The next exam was performed three weeks later by Dr. William R. Anderson, a former Orange County deputy medical examiner now in private practice.
He took the case at the request of Slone and her attorney, Benjamin Crump, who represented the family of a Panama City teen who died at a boot camp.
The doctor declined to comment on the case, citing pending litigation. His report states that he found injuries to Griffin's torso, ankles, wrists and head.
Griffin died because his heart and lungs failed, the result of blunt force trauma, restraint and exposure to the riot shield, Anderson wrote.
Slone believed Anderson.
"I thought, oh yeah, that's the truth," she said. "I figured that one made more sense to me than the one from Polk County."
'No wrongdoing'
Investigations by the Polk County State Attorney's Office and the Sheriff's Office cleared deputies of wrongdoing. No one was disciplined, and no policies were changed, said Chief Steve Lester of the Sheriff's Office Detention Department.
The Sheriff's Office has not used a riot shield since the incident and switched shield vendors, Lester said, but he said that was unrelated to Griffin's death. The shield used on Griffin worked properly, he said.
Slone questioned the ability of Polk County law enforcement to investigate itself.
"You don't just fall over and die like that," she said. "I want to know what happened."
Crump gave the Sheriff's Office notice, as required by law, that he intends to sue. He expects to file in late March.
He said Griffin's case illustrates the need to improve how Florida deals with mental illness.
"Why be in the jail when you know you've got these mental problems?" Crump said.
Michele Saunders, executive director for Partners in Crisis, a mental health advocacy group, says it's a widespread problem.
"We're asking jails to do what they're not designed to do or equipped to do," she said.
All she knows
Slone tries to be patient while she waits for the case to get to court. She suffers from a nerve disease that steadily worsens, leaving her needing the wheelchair.
She lives with friends. After her son's death, she was evicted. She said she spent her rent money to bury him.
She keeps a thick binder of her son's gruesome autopsy photos.
"That's my proof," she said. "That's what I know. They can tell me all day long that what they did was justifiable. I just don't know how it's justifiable."
Times researcher John Martin contributed to this report. Abbie VanSickle can be reached at vansickle@sptimes.com or 813 226-3373.
A Polk County medical examiner attributed the death of James Lee "George" Griffin to excited delirium syndrome. The finding, controversial among forensic pathologists, is often used when people die after being shocked by Taser guns.
It is defined as the sudden death of a person, brought on by a psychotic and drug-induced state that disrupts the heart.
"There is not a firm diagnosis," said Dr. Martha Burt, a medical examiner and assistant professor at the University of Florida. "There's still a tremendous amount of controversy over whether it's a real syndrome."
In her report, Dr. Vera Volnikh, an associate medical examiner in Polk County, cited a book by Dr. Vincent DiMaio. DiMaio, a long-time Texas medical examiner and expert on the syndrome, said Griffin's case fits the usual scenario.
The person most susceptible to the syndrome has schizophrenia and has used drugs, he said. "It's kind of like pouring gasoline on fire," he said.
Griffin, who was bipolar and schizophrenic, had a history of using cocaine and methamphetamine, Volnikh said.
Neither was found in Griffin at the time of his death.
[Last modified February 26, 2007, 01:51:26]
Your comment has been submitted to our editors. Thoughtful contributions will be displayed online within 24 hours.
Click here to submit another comment
Comments on this article by Manuela 02/26/07 04:27 PM
The deputies did nothing wrong, they are to first and foremost protect themselves. It's not the deputies fault that the State of Florida doesn't know what to do with Florida's Mental Health inmates. They just did their job.
by Me 02/26/07 02:59 PM
Lets see... 10 armed men against 1 unarmed man. The 10 armed men disagree about who shocked Griffin and how many times he was shiocked. No one was disciplined. Sounds like typical Fla. law enforcement to me.
by Rachel 02/26/07 12:49 PM
I think the jail and employees are at fault. They get a job and then they let it go to their heads. No one is perfect in this world that doesn't mean that people don't change or in this case the man was sick. The department should fuse up.
by Rick 02/26/07 12:28 PM
Gee, this has never happened in our prison system before... They kill the inmate and blame it on sickle cell...Oh that was the last one. This time is cause he was on drugs, yeah, the people will believe that. Mr Crist, stop the McPrisons now!!!
by Sharon 02/26/07 11:51 AM
More BEDS are NEEDED for long-term Mental Health care. This is inexcusable.There are many who die as a result of having mental health problems in the JAILS. Florida ranks 49th as one of the worst states for providing long term mental health care.
by Amber 02/26/07 11:25 AM
It's sad when you hear stories like this one. My stepdad is serving six years in prison for robbing a bank in 2003. He, as well, has Schizophrenia. It's sad that Florida isn't stepping in and trying to get further help for people who suffer from this
by Hope 02/26/07 10:02 AM
It's just a shame that it wasn't an attorney's son or a judge's son. There is no justice for the poor. There is no useful assistance available for the mentally unstable. I can't imagine the depth of the mother's dismay.
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Jail death disturbs mother
By ABBIE VANSICKLE
Published February 26, 2007
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LAKE WALES - Gina Slone awakened to a loud knock. She eased herself into her wheelchair and peered into the predawn darkness. She saw deputies standing with a chaplain and guessed, rightly, that something terrible had happened to George.
Her son was 21. Suffering bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, James Lee "George" Griffin thought he was an angel, able to see God's face in an ordinary computer screen.
That's what he told a worker that March 2006 weekend at a Polk County jail, where he was taken after he threatened a man at a pancake restaurant.
He threw chili mac on the floor of his isolation cell and punched a glass window so hard that it cracked. Guards couldn't calm him, not the way his mother could.
They brought out the electric shield and used it repeatedly.
Now Slone screamed at them.
"You all done it," she said. "You all killed my son."
In the months ahead, others, including an independent medical examiner, would agree.
* * *
He wasn't always that way, didn't always hear voices and believe he had wings. His mother remembers Griffin as a Tennessee boy growing up with an insatiable curiosity. That's why she nicknamed him "George."
Slone waited tables. Single, she could barely afford rent, much less Air Jordan sneakers.
She uprooted them to Florida for a man who didn't last.
Griffin quit high school freshman year and took a job cleaning pools. He declared himself the man of the house. Even after he moved in with his girlfriend, he gave money to Slone.
But when he turned 18, he seemed to come apart. He paced the floor of his room and cried for no reason.
One afternoon, he wandered off. Lake Wales police held him under the state's Baker Act, which allows law enforcement officers to take people involuntarily for psychiatric evaluation.
"Every few months we'd get him straightened out," recalls Slone, 40. "Something devastating would happen. It would kind of throw him in that mode, and he couldn't handle it."
She could calm him by just listening, though sometimes even that didn't help. In 2002, police reported that he threatened to hurt her. In 2003, he stole his stepsister's car.
A judge gave Griffin three years' probation. One part of probation was a 10 p.m. curfew.
He broke curfew on his last night of freedom, March 17.
A troubled night
Griffin quarreled that evening with his girlfriend. The power company had cut off their lights. Griffin pawned his video games to pay the bill.
He left in a huff and got a ride to his mother's home. About 3 a.m., he pedaled his bike to an International House of Pancakes on State Road 60 in Lake Wales, where he saw his mother's ex-boyfriend, Juan Nino.
Griffin looked troubled, Nino recalls. They sat down together, but Griffin wouldn't eat.
A man nearby poked fun at red-headed, ruddy-faced Griffin, calling him "Little Red Riding Hood." Griffin, furious, threatened to fight.
Police came.
Nino warned the officer that Griffin had stopped taking his medicine. In a report, Officer Robert Hendrix noted that Griffin would be "cool," then suddenly "wig out."
Deputies put Griffin in a cell with other inmates at the jail in Bartow. He picked up a broom handle and waved it.
He was moved to a small isolation cell with a metal toilet, a thin green mattress and a thick blue door. Griffin spent March 18 and 19 there.
After he cracked the window, deputies feared he would harm himself, they told investigators.
Out came the shield
Seven deputies and three supervisors gathered outside the cell. The biggest, a man, carried an electric riot shield. Its shock should cause someone to jerk away, as if touching a hot stove, the manufacturer said.
When the deputy entered the cell, Griffin lunged, according to witnesses. The other deputies rushed in. An inmate said Griffin looked like he was doing push-ups with 10 men on his back.
"The deputies ran in on him and rammed him into the wall," inmate Kevin Missildine told investigators, though deputies disputed his account.
One deputy turned on the shield. Guards wondered if it was working because Griffin didn't seem to react, they said later, disagreeing over who shocked Griffin and how many times.
They shackled Griffin, using two pairs of handcuffs on his wrists because of his size, they said. He was 6 feet 2 and 269 pounds. They told investigators that they dragged him on his back by his feet to a nurse's station about 30 feet from the cell.
Detective Bobby Brigman, assigned to investigate the incident, described it this way:
"Griffin then started to flop around like a fish and kicking like a mule," he wrote. "Griffin was kicking his heels into the floor very hard."
Deputies shocked him again.
"For Griffin's safety, deputy Mayhue attempted to use the electric shield to Griffin's legs to get him to stop kicking," Brigman wrote.
Deputies rolled Griffin onto his stomach. They used another pair of shackles, chaining together his handcuffs and leg shackles.
He stopped moving. The nurse felt no pulse. Jail workers started CPR and called emergency crews. He was pronounced dead at 9:32 p.m.
Conflicting reports
Two medical examiners autopsied Griffin. Both board-licensed doctors, they reached very different conclusions.
Polk County Associate Medical Examiner Vera Volnikh noted blunt trauma to Griffin's wrists, ankles and skin. He had been shocked up to eight times, she wrote. But his injuries weren't severe enough to explain his death, she wrote.
Volnikh called the death accidental and attributed it to excited delirium syndrome, the sudden death of a person who is typically in a drug-induced, psychotic state affecting the heart. The syndrome is sometimes cited when inmates die after being shocked by Tasers.
Traces of cannabis, but no other drugs, were found in Griffin's urine.
The next exam was performed three weeks later by Dr. William R. Anderson, a former Orange County deputy medical examiner now in private practice.
He took the case at the request of Slone and her attorney, Benjamin Crump, who represented the family of a Panama City teen who died at a boot camp.
The doctor declined to comment on the case, citing pending litigation. His report states that he found injuries to Griffin's torso, ankles, wrists and head.
Griffin died because his heart and lungs failed, the result of blunt force trauma, restraint and exposure to the riot shield, Anderson wrote.
Slone believed Anderson.
"I thought, oh yeah, that's the truth," she said. "I figured that one made more sense to me than the one from Polk County."
'No wrongdoing'
Investigations by the Polk County State Attorney's Office and the Sheriff's Office cleared deputies of wrongdoing. No one was disciplined, and no policies were changed, said Chief Steve Lester of the Sheriff's Office Detention Department.
The Sheriff's Office has not used a riot shield since the incident and switched shield vendors, Lester said, but he said that was unrelated to Griffin's death. The shield used on Griffin worked properly, he said.
Slone questioned the ability of Polk County law enforcement to investigate itself.
"You don't just fall over and die like that," she said. "I want to know what happened."
Crump gave the Sheriff's Office notice, as required by law, that he intends to sue. He expects to file in late March.
He said Griffin's case illustrates the need to improve how Florida deals with mental illness.
"Why be in the jail when you know you've got these mental problems?" Crump said.
Michele Saunders, executive director for Partners in Crisis, a mental health advocacy group, says it's a widespread problem.
"We're asking jails to do what they're not designed to do or equipped to do," she said.
All she knows
Slone tries to be patient while she waits for the case to get to court. She suffers from a nerve disease that steadily worsens, leaving her needing the wheelchair.
She lives with friends. After her son's death, she was evicted. She said she spent her rent money to bury him.
She keeps a thick binder of her son's gruesome autopsy photos.
"That's my proof," she said. "That's what I know. They can tell me all day long that what they did was justifiable. I just don't know how it's justifiable."
Times researcher John Martin contributed to this report. Abbie VanSickle can be reached at vansickle@sptimes.com or 813 226-3373.
A Polk County medical examiner attributed the death of James Lee "George" Griffin to excited delirium syndrome. The finding, controversial among forensic pathologists, is often used when people die after being shocked by Taser guns.
It is defined as the sudden death of a person, brought on by a psychotic and drug-induced state that disrupts the heart.
"There is not a firm diagnosis," said Dr. Martha Burt, a medical examiner and assistant professor at the University of Florida. "There's still a tremendous amount of controversy over whether it's a real syndrome."
In her report, Dr. Vera Volnikh, an associate medical examiner in Polk County, cited a book by Dr. Vincent DiMaio. DiMaio, a long-time Texas medical examiner and expert on the syndrome, said Griffin's case fits the usual scenario.
The person most susceptible to the syndrome has schizophrenia and has used drugs, he said. "It's kind of like pouring gasoline on fire," he said.
Griffin, who was bipolar and schizophrenic, had a history of using cocaine and methamphetamine, Volnikh said.
Neither was found in Griffin at the time of his death.
[Last modified February 26, 2007, 01:51:26]
Your comment has been submitted to our editors. Thoughtful contributions will be displayed online within 24 hours.
Click here to submit another comment
Comments on this article by Manuela 02/26/07 04:27 PM
The deputies did nothing wrong, they are to first and foremost protect themselves. It's not the deputies fault that the State of Florida doesn't know what to do with Florida's Mental Health inmates. They just did their job.
by Me 02/26/07 02:59 PM
Lets see... 10 armed men against 1 unarmed man. The 10 armed men disagree about who shocked Griffin and how many times he was shiocked. No one was disciplined. Sounds like typical Fla. law enforcement to me.
by Rachel 02/26/07 12:49 PM
I think the jail and employees are at fault. They get a job and then they let it go to their heads. No one is perfect in this world that doesn't mean that people don't change or in this case the man was sick. The department should fuse up.
by Rick 02/26/07 12:28 PM
Gee, this has never happened in our prison system before... They kill the inmate and blame it on sickle cell...Oh that was the last one. This time is cause he was on drugs, yeah, the people will believe that. Mr Crist, stop the McPrisons now!!!
by Sharon 02/26/07 11:51 AM
More BEDS are NEEDED for long-term Mental Health care. This is inexcusable.There are many who die as a result of having mental health problems in the JAILS. Florida ranks 49th as one of the worst states for providing long term mental health care.
by Amber 02/26/07 11:25 AM
It's sad when you hear stories like this one. My stepdad is serving six years in prison for robbing a bank in 2003. He, as well, has Schizophrenia. It's sad that Florida isn't stepping in and trying to get further help for people who suffer from this
by Hope 02/26/07 10:02 AM
It's just a shame that it wasn't an attorney's son or a judge's son. There is no justice for the poor. There is no useful assistance available for the mentally unstable. I can't imagine the depth of the mother's dismay.
Site Archives Web
Subscribe to the Times
Click here for daily delivery
of the St. Petersburg Times.
Email Newsletters
Be the first to know. Register for free breaking news alerts and morning headlines.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ADVERTISEMENT
© 2007 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111
Contact the Times | Privacy Policy | Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Peace Paz Pax Pace .... whatevaaaaaaa
Give it ALL your thought !!! Just for a minute, okay? Just one full minute think
of how we can have peace on earth.
Silly me.
I have this silly ol' dream.
Let's LIVE IT !!!
this rainbow flag originated in italy and is
emblazoned in bold with the italian word PACE,
meaning ‘peace’.
it became popular with the ‘pace da tutti i balconi’ /
peace from every balcony campaign in 2002,
started as a protest against the impending war in iraq.
‘peace from every balcony’ is an effort to get people
to show their opposition to war in general and
specifically italian partecipation in the US military
campaign against iraq.
http://www.bandieredipace.org
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Insurrection Act: Power AGAINST the people
This is a must read (I'll try hard not to over-use that term) We can assume if it's hear you MUST MUST read it.
Insurrection Act
The silent revision to the Insurrection Act to ignore and/or evade the controls set forth by the PCA thus may be seen as going against "one of the clearest political traditions in Anglo-American history".
I'd really like to cover this more thoroughly but for now this will have to do.
Insurrection Act
The silent revision to the Insurrection Act to ignore and/or evade the controls set forth by the PCA thus may be seen as going against "one of the clearest political traditions in Anglo-American history".
I'd really like to cover this more thoroughly but for now this will have to do.
Monday, February 19, 2007
Terribly PAINFUL juxtaposition
This is how we are caring for our wounded returning soldiers
While we spend money on THIS:
And, read this:
Neuharth
From Lindsay Beyerstein INSIDE WALTER REED
Also from Lindsay
While we spend money on THIS:
And, read this:
Neuharth
From Lindsay Beyerstein INSIDE WALTER REED
Also from Lindsay
Saturday, February 17, 2007
For Mark Spence and everyone else who ...
DESPISES VERIZON
http://www.verizonpathetic.com/updates.html
http://www.ripoffreport.com/results.asp?q1=ALL&q2=&q3=&q4=&q5=Verizon&q6=&q7=&submit2=Search%21Verizon
http://www.verizonpathetic.com/updates.html
http://www.ripoffreport.com/results.asp?q1=ALL&q2=&q3=&q4=&q5=Verizon&q6=&q7=&submit2=Search%21Verizon
Rush to MANDATORY cervical cancer vaccine PLEASE DONT
Excellent "Blog of Doom" Total EXPOSE'
Trying to FORCE vaccine on young girls and women (who knows what's REALLY in it??)
Evil Sluts
Bookmark these ladies and read em every day. I don't agree with all of it but dang they
cover it when it needs covered and they cover it well.
Evil Sluts on the above vaccine (GARDASIL BAD BAD BAD).. extremely brilliant coverage
Trying to FORCE vaccine on young girls and women (who knows what's REALLY in it??)
Evil Sluts
Bookmark these ladies and read em every day. I don't agree with all of it but dang they
cover it when it needs covered and they cover it well.
Evil Sluts on the above vaccine (GARDASIL BAD BAD BAD).. extremely brilliant coverage
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