Photo of Ray Sandford. Photo by Daryl Trones of City Pages.

DisabilityNation has continued to follow the story of Ray Sandford for the past few months. Back in April you'll recall that Ray's psychiatrist quit giving hope that the forced shock treatments he was receiving would soon end. Last week an article appeared in City Pages that did an excellent job of describing what Ray has been subjected to because of these treatments. City Pages is the main weekly newspaper distributed throughout   Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota.

Several months ago I posted news about Ray Sandford, a man from Minnesota who was undergoing forced electric shock treatments because of his mental illness. An organization called Mind Freedom" has been supporting Ray's efforts to end this involuntary treatment. This update comes via a press release issued by the organization late last week. The text of the release follows:

The bad news is that this morning, 15 April 2009, Ray Sandford of  Minnesota had another involuntary, outpatient electroshock, also  known as electroconvulsive therapy or ECT.

The good news is today's forced electroshock could be Ray's last.

I received the following announcement from a friend. Please consider how you can speak out in support of Ray and others who still face involuntary treatment.

Human Rights Alert: Involuntary Electroshock

MindFreedom International
November 7, 2008

by David W. Oaks, Director, MindFreedom International

The past Wednesday morning after the historic USA election what were you doing? I know what Ray Sandford, 54, was doing. Each and every Wednesday, early in the morning, staff shows up at Ray’s sheltered living home called Victory House in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, adjacent to Minneapolis. Staff escorts Ray the 15 miles to Mercy Hospital. There, Ray is given another of his weekly electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) treatments, also known as electroshock. All against his will. On an outpatient basis. And it’s been going on for months.