Joyce optimistic about proposed ban on skin shocks
By Jay TurnerEditor’s note: Below is the first in a series of articles examining the Judge Rotenberg Center without its founder, Matthew Israel, who was indicted by a grand jury last month and was subsequently ordered to sever all ties to the school. Israel, 77, had previously announced his retirement and plans to move to California in a statement released online May 1. The first story deals with Senator Joyce’s ongoing efforts to ban shock therapy, while subsequent stories will look at the school’s future plans without Israel as well as the reaction of some of JRC’s most ardent supporters, including family members of current and former students.
With Matthew Israel, the founder of the controversial Judge Rotenberg Center in Canton, out of the picture after his recent indictment on charges of destroying evidence and misleading a witness, state Senator Brian A. Joyce is now more confident than ever that his proposed budget amendment banning the use of shock therapy will live to see the governor’s desk sometime later this month.
The amendment, which garnered unanimous support in the Senate exactly one day after Attorney General Martha Coakley revealed Israel’s indictment, would prohibit the use of Level III aversive interventions (skin shocks) on all state residents, except in cases where a student had a “pre-existing, court-approved treatment plan” authorizing the practice.
The New York Board of Regents recently passed similar restrictions and now only authorizes exceptions for students who had an approved treatment plan as of June 30, 2009. According to Joyce, his proposal would simply “afford the same protection to Massachusetts residents” that New York residents currently receive.
In a telephone interview last week, Joyce appeared upbeat and expressed optimism that his amendment would survive the upcoming conference committee debates, which is the second-to-last step in the budget process — the other being a final vote of both houses of the legislature — before it is sent to the governor for approval by July 1.
Nevertheless, there have been at least two prior occasions where a Joyce-sponsored budget amendment seeking to either ban or restrict shock treatment has stalled in a conference committee after passing the Senate. The last time was in 2008, when Joyce pushed for a measure that would have limited the controversial treatment to only those cases in which the student’s behavior presented an immediate risk of serious physical injury or harm to himself or others.
This time, however, Joyce sensed an opening with the resignation of Israel and decided to take another step closer toward an outright ban, which he openly admits is his ultimate goal. He also refused to mince words when asked about Israel, whose recent indictment stemmed from an incident in 2007 at a JRC group home in which two students received dozens of shocks based on a prank phone call.
“I’m delighted that the 40-year career of Matthew Israel profiting from the barbaric practice of applying skin shocks and other painful practices on innocent, often poor, and disabled children has been brought to a shameful end,” said the senator. “But I’m also not going to stop until we bring this shameful practice of harming innocent children to an end.”
Joyce, arguably the special needs school’s most outspoken critic, has on several occasions referred to skin shocks as a form of torture and has gone so far as to compare the JRC to Guantanamo Bay, arguing that the punishments there are far less severe than the ones used here in Canton under the guise of “so-called aversive therapy.”
Joyce also criticized the school for its incredibly deep pockets, noting that it has made over $400 million in total revenue over the past 10 years and has spent over $15 million in legal fees during that time.
“This is something I feel very, very strongly about,” said Joyce, pausing between words for added emphasis.
Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=5791
Posted by 
