Hi Class,
Go ahead and read the following article and then answer the questions following the article. If by chance you have no clue what this article is about because you were absent when I shared the background of this story, following is a link that will shed some light.
http://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/woman-killed-at-lehi-lds-church-husband-in-custody/article_743369d0-4698-5775-87c6-072d759a4df1.html
ARTICLE BEGINS:
David Ragsdale's family is hoping to show that a cocktail of antidepressants and other mood-altering drugs are responsible for the shooting death of his wife.
After a hearing at Provo's 4th District Court on Wednesday, Tamara Ragsdale said she believed her brother is innocent and that he was "not conscious when this tragic act was committed."
David Ragsdale is charged with aggravated murder, a capital offense. According to police, Ragsdale shot his wife, Kristy, in the parking lot of an LDS church in Lehi on Jan. 6.
At the time of his wife's murder, David Ragsdale, 35, was taking seven medications, including Paxil, Doxepin, Ritalin, Provigil and two forms of testosterone, his sister said. Tamara Ragsdale said the plethora of negative side effects he suffered from the drugs were not properly monitored by the nurse practitioner who prescribed them, and the interactions chemically altered his brain.
"David put his faith and trust in a nurse practitioner, the [Food and Drug Administration] and the pharmaceutical companies that these drugs were safe," she said. "David is now living in his own hell as he is coming off of these meds. He is waking up to the horror of this reality."
At Wednesday's hearing, David Ragsdale's attorney, Gregory Skordas, requested a continuance so his client could undergo a psychological evaluation. Skordas said the evaluation would be completed by the end of the month. Judge Claudia Laycock scheduled the next hearing in the case for April 9.
"We want to make sure we have all the evidence together to make the correct decisions," Tamara Ragsdale said. "There's a couple different tests we're going to have done."
Deputy Utah County Attorney Craig Johnson said the Ragsdales will use a private psychologist, not a court-appointed one.
"This is news to us. This isn't something that we had appointed or anything in any way," Johnson said.
Tamara Ragsdale read a statement written by her brother in which he apologized for Kristy's death.
"Words cannot describe how incredibly sorry I am for the death of my wife, Kristy. I want the Palizzi family and everyone to know that I would do anything to bring her back, even if it meant giving up my own life," Tamara Ragsdale said as she read her brother's statement. "It is time for the public to educate themselves of the adverse reactions of these mind-altering drugs and how they act on the brain."
Some of the listed side effects of the medications Ragsdale was taking include manic reaction, suicide, homicidal tendencies, hallucinations, delusions, psychosis, amnesia, panic and seizures, Tamara Ragsdale said. She said her brother was suffering blackouts, severe headaches and other side effects from the drugs.
Tamara Ragsdale said her brother had gone to the nurse practitioner who prescribed the drugs at the urging of his wife. He had been taking some of the medications for about a year, she said, while others were prescribed just two months before the shooting.
While spending Christmas with David and Kristy, Tamara Ragsdale said she noticed marked changes in her brother.
"I'm a nurse, so I knew something was wrong with his behavior and his meds," she said. "These medications were altering his brain."
She criticized what she described as a tendency of some people to rely on prescriptions to fix their problems. She also said the family is considering legal action against the nurse practitioner who prescribed the medications.
"I think that when people aren't happy they tend to go to the doctor, or ask their spouse to go, and think that there's going to be a magic pill that's going to fix something," she said. "David happened to be a victim of this and tragically ... what happened was he suffered from the adverse reactions."
Carrie Peters, Kristy Ragsdale's cousin, made a brief statement to the media after the hearing, but declined to comment on the progress of the case.
"We just want everybody to know that we just love Kristy so much and we miss her a great deal, and we are hoping that through justice and forgiveness we might be able to find safety and closure," Peters said.
END OF ARTICLE
Here are some questions for you to think about and respond to. You don't have to respond to all of them but I would like to see some good thought out entries.
What is your initial reaction and thoughts about where the sister is putting the blame? Is what she is saying valid? Should the drug companies, nurse and doctors also be liable for this shooting?
How is this related to the mind brain problem?
Can drugs cause us to do things we would not normally do? If yes, are we responsible for our actions if our brain/body has been altered?
When it comes to who is in charge of our behavior, is the mind always in control? Or does the brain/body take over sometimes? If your body can take over, then are you responsible for what happens?
Have fun pondering these deep questions! :)
When I read this I couldn't help but think about how the sister kept justifying what her brother did by trying to blame the nurse practitioner and the drugs. I do believe that drugs can make you do stupid things and that they take over the brain/mind. I don't think the drug companies or Doctors should be reliable, they do tell you the side affects and warn about what the drug can do to your body. it is up to you to take that risk and take the drug. I don't believe it was his nurse practitioner is to blame it is her job to warn the patient about side affects and it is the patients job to decide whether or not to take the drug.
ReplyDelete----Gabby Bersie
I do think that drugs can make us do things we wouldn't otherwise do, that's why people like ragsdale, with psychological issues need to be treated with other methods. I do think that illnesses. But do we really need to alter our brains in order to fix our minds? I think that with conditioning and outside help our bodies could learn to compensate for these chemical imbalances. Medical science should put more faith in our bodies natural abilities and less in man made drugs
ReplyDelete-Jessica Horton
Personally My Initial Reaction was why didn't the sister said something beforehand,if she noticed drastic changes in her brother? her as a medical practitioner knew about the side effects why didn't she actually do something about it. i think the problem was not the drug itself but the obvious prescription drug abuse, i think when we become addicted to even prescription drugs the results can be detrimental,those drugs lead to changes in our brain structure and their main functions causing euphoric effects and other dysfunctions
ReplyDelete~Maciel Chanchay
I think that drugs do make you do things you wouldn't normally do, but I do think that you are responsible for your actions. You decided to put that substance into your body so you are responsible for the affects it has on you. I think that the sister's blame on the medication is pretty valid, but she should have done something if she saw a problem with her brother. A doctor should have been monitoring his medications a lot more carefully.
ReplyDelete~Miranda Jensen
All drugs have both positive and negative side affects. I believe that the drugs did make David Ragsdale do something he wouldn't of otherwise but it was his choice to take the drugs even after being aware of the negative side affects. I also believe that the drugs aren't entirely responsible for what he did. The sister has a valid point putting the blame on the drugs because they did affect his actions but I also believe that David Ragsdale had some control over what he was doing and shouldn't be entirely be cleared of his punishment.
ReplyDelete~ Jacob Wilkinson
i believe that the drugs only made ragsdale act up to a certain extent, but the fact that he fired several rounds meant that this was an act of emotion and premeditation, otherwise he would have only fired a single shot. i believe that the drugs were there to make ragsdale feel better. but giving him two testosterone medications?, i believe that is a bit of an excess in hormone prescriptions. after all hormones affect the amygdala pretty stongly. i guess what i am trying to say is that ragsdale should be punished for his crimes. even if he was on several medications or not, i think that there is no grey area for murdering someone in cold blood.
ReplyDeleteI think that while the nurse practitioner should have been more aware of the possible side affects, 100% of the blame should be put on Ragsdale whether he was conscious of his decisions or wasn't. He knew that taking a medicinal approach would entail side effects would be present. He had control on the choices he made leading up to the crime.
ReplyDeleteRagsdale has quite a number of different drugs, and I just can't help thinking, that if I were that nurse practitioner, before I would prescribe any other medication I would look at what previous and current medication Ragsdale had been taking and also the dosage of each medication. Drugs can be very dangerous. There are multiple different chemicals in the drugs and so taking such a "cocktail" of drugs is bound to negatively affect the brain. I believe that the nurse practitioner should have more closely monitored Ragsdale's prescription(s), but at the same time, Ragsdale's previous actions did lead him to his crime. Drugs affect the physical body (the brain) but the chemicals in them cause the mind to change as well.
ReplyDeleteI find it hard to feel bad for the man that did the shooting. The sister is protecting his brother first without any thought of how things happened. It is Ragsdale's fault for the years of antidepressants. Although it is the nurse's job to take care of patients and watch for reactions that come from meds that she prescribes there are plenty of people that should have been watching the reactions too.
ReplyDeletePersonally I feel that the reasons for one person to do something is influenced by their surroundings and everyday activities. In this case, Ragsdale shouldn't be held entirely responsible for his actions. The nurse, a professional, should've told him the side effects of the medicine and should've measured out the ingredients thoroughly. Their are medications were the effects are unpredictable and become even more dangerous if the dosage amount is abused. Still, it is hard to believe that something like this could happen but we should consider the facts before reaching a decision.
ReplyDelete~David Manzo
I feel like his sister has no right to blame anyone but, him. It was his decision to make, and if he didn't want to kill her then he wouldn't have.I don't even feel bad for him, his wife did nothing to him so why kill her. It is valid to blame the drug companies and his doctors because they should have seen him changing.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe nurse practitioner should not blamed for what took place. But maybe his condition should have been monitored a little more. I do think that a lot of the blame should fall upon him. Taking strong medications can always be very risky. He should have known that by taking them he was putting himself at risk. He should be at blame for the accident that took place. They say that the medications chemically altered his brain, but he was the one who consented to taking them in the first place. I think that the problem itself runs deeper than just medications chemically altering his brain.It might have something to do with the relationship of him and his wife and the medications might have amplified it.
ReplyDelete-Shelby Snelgrove
Drugs have both positive and negative effects on us. It can be used to kill bacteria and control pain. But on the other hand drugs can make us do what we dont want to do. Yes we are responsible for what we take. It is are repsonsibilty to check what we are taking and know the risks of the drugs.
ReplyDelete-Wyatt Jensen
Prescription drugs are synthetic chemicals created and designed (in a lab) to "fix" or "relive." Before David ever picked up his first prescription, he should've researched the possible side effects of the drug. Over the years David was prescribed other medications each had diverse and severe side effects. Taking antidepressants and Ritalin (a stimulant) is already a scary situation, but David was taking 7 medications! The nurse is responsible for not monitoring him as well as she should've, but David is also responsible for not being more aware of the negative effects. The doctors aren't responsible nor the makers of the drug because David chose to take the drugs. As for the brain mind problem. I believe the mind and brain are separate. The brain is an organ that controls the functions of your body. The mind is what reasons, thinks, feels, perceives, judges, etc. Prescription drugs effect both. Pain killers (for example) ease physical suffering and put you in a euphoric state. While in this euphoric state you can be unaware of what you are doing and can lose control. David's mind had been altered by the "cocktail" of drugs he was taking, but that doesn't make him unaccountable. Drugs do alter how you act and think which makes it that much more important to know the risks, but better yet finding natural alternatives.
ReplyDeleteMy initial thoughts when I read about the sister putting the blame on the nurses and Doctors I don't think that is fair to say because they read all of the side effects to you and you are the ones that agree to take the prescribed meds. For instance everyone has seen Drug/Meds commercials. During all of the commercials it rambles off about the side effects and when you should go see a doctor if any of those side effects occur. We essentially are responsible for knowing all of those things. And one more thing that kinda got me was when the sister saw strange behavior out of her brother, her being a nurse, should of told him to stop taking the new meds the nurse prescribed him. She even said she knew that the medicines were altering his brain, that should be a huge red flag to not take the meds!
ReplyDelete- Zach Whittaker
After reading this it was hard for me to think of who to blame. first of all, no one should ever have that many drugs. i don't think a person can have that many problems with them without having a mental or physical illness. so some of the blame has to go to the doctors; but not all. if someone has all of those drugs then it is very easy to abuse them. if he took them all at the same time then i believe by taking them he had a conscious decision; but after they took effect, he wasn't really aware of what was happening. his body started to take control over what was happening instead of his mind. but he was well aware of taking all of the drugs before hand. by doing that then the mind starts to get clouded and unaware to control your body. so i believe both are to blame in this situation. but his mind wasn't completely helpless, i believe he still knew what was going on at the time, he just didn't have the brain power to stop himself.
ReplyDeleteI would first look at the medical records and determine whether the nurse practitioner was aware that David Ragsdale was taking so many medications at once and advised her client as such. Was David advised by his NP (nurse practitioner) of the drug interactions or side effects of the meds? If he was, then he should be held responsible for his actions. If not, then I agree with his sister that then the NP should take some responsiblity for it. Different medications can effect people in many different ways some positive some negative and I guess this should be considered as to whether he is sentenced to life in prison or a reduced sentence. I think his sister is trying to put the blame on the medical system versus having her brother own up to his own actions. He needs to take some responsibility in this. His sister is a trained nurse, she knew something was not quite right with her brother. Did she speak with the NP about this? If so, and her concerns were ignored, then I think she has a valid point.
ReplyDelete-Megan Culp
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI think they re both at fault. The nurse should have changed his medication if it was affecting him like that. I also think if the sister knew that her brother was not in his right mind she should have told the nurse to change the meds he was on. I think medicine can make you do hings you wouldn't normally do, but you still have to punish the guy. He killed someone and you can't just let something like that go.
ReplyDeleteInitially, I think research should go into finding out if the Nurse Practitioner was aware and correctly informed Ragsdale of the drugs he was taking. I think Ragsdale is ultimately held responsible for his actions. He was aware of how many drugs he was taking.The nurse should have better informed Ragsdale about the negative effects of the drugs,but whether he was informed by the Nurse practitioner or not, Ragsdale needed to research and know the different side effects each drug he was taking could cause. Drugs can cause us to do things that we wouldn't normally do causing some people to believe that we shouldn't be held responsible for the actions we take while using them. However, Ragsdale made the conscious decision to take the drugs and then caused not only himself, but others to deal with the consequence.
ReplyDelete-Alexia Meyer
My initial thought really consists of, "wow his sister is an idiot". She should just stay out of it. She was not there and does not know what was going on in his mind. Having stated that she was a nurse and had started to notice "changes" in her brother , she should have taken the responsibility to look into what he was taking. I do not think that the nurses nor doctors should be held responsible for what happened. Every patient is different and has a different reaction to medication. They did not know how it was going to affect him. If it did I am sure that they would have not given the medication to him. Then again there are some not so smart doctors who would most likely say oh heck with it and had given it to him anyways because that is the first drug that came to their mind. I strongly agree with the fact that there are medications that sometimes cause us to do things that we would not normally do. For a more common example to start with, when we get our wisdom teeth out. Most of the time we are given laughing gas or another type of medication to knock us out. Before falling into a deep sleep we tend to say things that we would not generally say. We did not have control over what we where saying it just happened. So I would have to agree TO A CERTAIN EXTENT with what happened with the shooting. I believe that he may not have had 100% awareness of the fact he was headed to shoot someone however, I believe that when he walked over and continued to shoot her after she was dead, he knew then. I think that him along with a doctor, nurse, or even his sister should have gone over the possible side affects that where listed on the package. I would have also looked at perhaps past medical records. This could have given them information to if he had a history of anger management, or other medications similar to the more recent ones given.
ReplyDeleteI believe that all three people are to blame in this situation. The nurse should have known to change the medications from all the negative changes he was experiencing. The sister should have talked with the nurse and found out what the issue was and why he was having so many negative things happen with his drugs. The brother should have noticed a change in himself when he was on the medications. He also should have had the common sense to know that taking that many drugs all at once was going to have some pretty serious side effects and that they would most likely be negative.
ReplyDelete-Mark Reed
I think that the nurse should definitely have been monitoring Ragsdale's medication and the effect it had on him. I don't think he should have been on so many medications at once, because drugs of any kind could possibly alter the chemicals in his brain; especially that many at one time. I don't think that he should be held completely responsible for his wife's death when he wasn't totally in control of his actions. I believe that the body takes over for the mind when the mind is not functioning properly, if it had been altered by medication. Saying the drugs altered his brain and it's ok that he killed his wife, is not what I'm saying; I am saying that part of him couldn't control his actions when he couldn't control his thoughts that lead to actions. -Toni Kretschmer
ReplyDeleteI think that what his sister is saying is a valid point, people don't often take into consideration the effect that these narcotics have on them, it is all affecting the brain. But as far as the nurses and companies taking blame for the shooting that is retarded. People taking these drugs know the effects of them and they should use them wisely, they know the side affects and they can read the warnings. Yes drugs do make us do things we normally wouldn't do, they take control of our bodies, but thats why you should be careful when taking them and know what time to take them and the proper amount of doses. However we should still be entitled to our actions because we know what might happen by doing these drugs. when it comes to who is in control it changes ofter, if you are taking drugs you are screwing with the mind and so the brain has to over ride it so it can balance all the stuff your putting in. In conclusion he should be guilty because he knew the effects of the drugs and what they would do and he shouldn't be taking that high of doses. He is just being dumb.
ReplyDelete- Nikolas Boettcher
I think the nurse should have been paying more attention to how many drugs this man was taking and should have assigned him frequent check-ups to make sure none of the drugs were being abused and if his behavior and daily patterns were normal. And even though the drugs did a lot to his brain the way he preformed his actions seemed a little planned. Normally when a persons brain isn't functioning properly especially when it is being over rid with drug abuse the individual will do things that normally only come about- in this case he went out and found his wife and shot her right before her meeting. He went and sought her out, like he had already thought about doing this before.
ReplyDelete--Jessica Parker
I think the sister does have a valid point, drugs do have an effect on you and can make you do things you wouldn't normally do. The nurse and doctors should should be accountable for not paying very close attention to how many different drugs he was taking when they prescribed him new ones and not monitoring him very well, but there are other people that are at blame too. the sister should have done something when she noticed the side effects the drugs had on her brother. And David Ragsdale choose to take those drugs knowing the possible side effects they could have on him.
ReplyDelete-Megan Ryan
the nurse should definitely have been monitoring the amounts and effects it had. Drugs have many purposes and benefits, but they can be abused just as easily. you can come up with dozens of excuses why but you are still to blame. therefor it is in my opinion only David Ragsdales fault for abusing the drugs and loosing control.
ReplyDeleteThere should have been an audit on the effects of the drug. Drugs are something that people should be careful with at all times. They also should have seen if it was more of a mental or physical thing. When people are on drugs, sometimes they lose their ability to focus on certain things. The body will work while the brain doesn't, (depending on the drug). I think that you mostly do what the brain wants you to do, and the mind steps in and acts as your conscious. But, relating to the drugs, this man's mind seemed to be altered by the drugs.
ReplyDeleteI think putting part of the blame on the nurse practitioner is valid. She should have known that that amount of drugs and its side affects could be detrimental to everyone around him. She should have known the side affects. In the first place that many drugs is so many. But it is also partially her fault. She brought up the fact that she was a nurse. If she knew it was bad, why didn't she stop? I guarantee that her and the nurse practitioner were taught which kind of drugs not to put together. Also, I think drugs to bad things to us. I really don't put blame on him that much. It was doctors orders. I have been told some pretty weird stuff by doctors and I have followed them. So I think the drugs caused his brain to do that and it is not his fault but the nurse practitioners and his sisters for letting it happen
ReplyDeleteThanks class for your very insightful thoughts on this very complex issue. I have to say that I have gained additional understanding on this topic thanks to each of your responses. As I have pondered this issue, I cannot help but feel that to relegate David’s behavior to anything else but choice would do more harm to us as humans than good. Let me explain. I certainly agree with the notion that determinism does have a certain degree of influence on our behavior, but to suggest that we are ultimately not responsible for our decisions reduces us to mere animals and machines. (Sorry, no offense to Fluffy or Rex.) I like to think that humans are more than that. Call me an idealist, but I like to believe that humans are endowed with something unique and special that separates us from the beast.
ReplyDeleteIs there room for mercy? Of course there is. Are there deterministic (nature or nurture) factors that can mitigate our guilt? Of course there is. But the difficulty lies in determining the extent those factors actually do influence our behavior. Herein lie the limitations of what science can tell us without a shadow of a doubt. Hence the need for a verdict deliberated by a jury of our peers is probably the best we can do in this mortal condition.
As a postscript to this story, the guardians of David Ragsdale’s children filed a civil lawsuit against the health care providers, including the nurse practitioner. The case initially was thrown out but upon appeal, the Utah Supreme Court overturned the lower courts decision. Following is a link to that story:
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865551073/Utah-Supreme-Court-rules-medical-staff-had-duty-to-children-in-David-Ragsdale-case.html