by Fred Van Sickle
[email protected]

April 3, 2002

KeepAndBearArms.com -- When imagining government actions in a tyrannical state, one nightmarish thought could be mind altering drugs being forced upon the populace. This very calamity has been realized.

"The court used Dr. Sell's beliefs in conspiracy theories, about the government, to establish a basis for the required drugging."

On March 7, 2002, the Federal Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit handed down a ruling which would allow the U.S. government to forcibly drug defendants, who according to the constitution are to be presumed innocent until proven guilty. The U.S. Constitution also protects convicted felons from being put into a mental hospital without due process. This ruling is involved in the case of The United States v. Dr. Charles Thomas Sell, which began with his arrest on March 16, 1997, for Medicaid fraud.

Since, Dr. Sell's incarceration, his rights have been completely stripped away, not having been given a trial. The charges of Medicaid fraud carry with it a prison sentence of no more than 3 years and 5 months. Dr. Sell has been incarcerated for over 4 years, with a third of his imprisonment being spent in solitary confinement. The court claims Dr. Sell has not been tried because he has been found to be incompetent to stand trial. They also state the forced drugging, of Dr. Sell, is the only way for the government to restore him to a sound mind, in order that he may be put on trial.

This forced drugging could also throw Dr. Sell into the role of a guinea pig. When a Dr. Wolfson was asked in court what he would propose for Dr. Sell if he were to treat him, he answered,

"There is another drug that they are hoping to have in a few months, that on paper looks very promising as well, called ziprazodone. As usual there's experiment in Europe well before it's introduction here. So that can be considered if it shows up in time".

Dr. Sell has been demonized and labeled delusional, by the court system, for inappropriate behavior. But, when reading the Amicus Curiae Brief, from the Association of American Physicians & Surgeons, Inc., on this case, it is shown that the court used Dr. Sell's beliefs in conspiracy theories, about the government, to establish a basis for the required drugging. Some of the conspiracy theories, cited by the government, include his belief that the federal government was involved in covering up the spreading of HIV worldwide and who was behind it. He also believed the government was trying to cover up his knowledge of the attack on the Branch Davidians at Waco, Texas. Dr. Sell was in the Army Reserves at that time.

It certainly sets a dangerous precedent in this Constitutional Republic, when a man accused of a crime is not given his lawful day in court. But, instead is drugged into submission for harboring beliefs, and for sharing them under protection of the first amendment.