Posted by KenB on October 30, 2000, at 20:08:33
The conclusions former Chief Judge of New York Sol Wachtler draws in “After the Madness” are not the same conclusions I would reach, reviewing the same facts. My purpose in posting an excerpt from his book here is not to tout my opinion, though, and I hint at my perspective only to avoid endorsing any conclusions the former chief state judge offers.
An earlier book, King of the Mountain : The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of Chief Judge Sol Wachtler, by John M. Caher, offers the conclusion that Wachtler matured intellectually but failed to grow up emotionally. From my perspective, Watchler's praise for the psychiatric care he received after his Nov. 7, 1992 arrest reflects his ongoing dependence on a system of medical authority that is inextricably intertwined with a disturbed culture it serves.
Whatever the character flaw or quirk of biology that led to his eventual downfall, Wachtler’s prison memoirs offer the insights of a seasoned jurist, one who was well on his way to become Governor of New York, and perhaps President of the United States.
Watchler's warning about the use of self-prescribed drugs obtained through less-than-forthcoming requests of consenting physicians offers a glimpse of the dangers that accompany self-diagnoses, and ineffectual professional intervention. His accounts of how psychopathology can coexist with professional functionality, even in the life of a working chief state judge, might offer insight to some readers who are contending with varying levels of functionality in their public and private lives. The account also provides a stern warning to those who would trust a public official simply because of their high office.
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Introduction(page 3, first words of book…) The facts of my case have been well publicized. I dwell on them not to excuse my wrongful conduct but to explain how I wound up in prison and how the abuse of drugs, even those legally prescribed, and untreated mental disorder, can destroy.
The decomposition of my life began slowly, almost imperceptibly. ...
(page 4) While suffering this profound depression, and not wanting to bear the stigma of seeing a psychiatrist, I attempted to self medicate. I was able to convince one doctor to prescribe Tenuate, an amphetaminelike drug I used to elevate my energy level and thereby mask my depression. (I took 1400 of them in a four month period). And because I could not sleep, I was able to convince another doctor to prescribe a hypnotic called Halcion (I took 280 of them during the same four months). Still another doctor gave me a prescription for Pamelor, an antidepressant. And there were others. All of these drugs taken by themselves have dangerous side effects. Taken together the reaction can be devastating. In my case it contributed to and exacerbated a diagnosed manic-depressive (bipolar) disorder.
(Page 7, from Watchlers post arrest psychiatric report by Drs. William A. Forsch (Cornell) and Frank T. Miller (Payne Whitney): “Judge Watchler’s severe mental illness is best categorized as drug induced and exacerbated bipolar disorder (manic depression).”
(page 9 before his arrest[KB]) ...I told the doctor only what I wanted to reveal...
(page 13) I was in Sedona, Arizona, to address the Nevada Bar Association. I couldn’t sleep. I had taken two Halcion and two Unisom and still I couldn’t sleep. Was it the three Tenuate I had taken that afternoon to keep me from depression? Maybe but at the time I didn’t think I really needed the sleep – what I needed was time to think....
...And suddenly it came to me, a manically induced epiphany...
[KB] And so began the crime spree that interrupted Sol Watcher’s rise to the executive office.
poster:KenB
thread:47777
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20001022/msgs/47777.html