The following was written by Janet Lagerloef, a writer from Sugar Grove who is finishing up a book about her 10-year friendship with Marilyn Lemak, who is serving a sentence of life without parole for killing her three children in their Naperville home in March,1999. In last week’s issue, I covered the details of that crime and Lemak’s bid for executive clemency based on a … [Read more...] about Janet Lagerloef Responds to Eric Zorn
Medical kidnap
People Respond to Eric Zorn and Marilyn Lemak
Does Marilyn Lemak deserve mercy? Readers weigh in These messages are in reference to items in last week’s issues of the Picayune Sentinel. On my interview with Marilyn Lemak Julie S. Marilyn Lemak may have been a model citizen before and after her appalling crime. But the idea of "clemency" for her makes me queasy. I can't quite dismiss my shock and revulsion at the idea … [Read more...] about People Respond to Eric Zorn and Marilyn Lemak
Eric Zorn and Marilyn Lemak
Rxisk has featured four posts on Marilyn Lemak, Trial and Punishment, Then and Now, Clemency Hearing and When the Music Stops. Eric Zorn is a former opinion columnist for the Chicago Tribune. His bio and contact information is here. He now writes the Picayune Sentinel, where Marilyn Lemak speaks out about her bid for clemency first appeared. Marilyn Lemak: ‘I do think … [Read more...] about Eric Zorn and Marilyn Lemak
Marilyn Lemak’s Trial and Punishment
In 1999 Marilyn Lemak killed her three children and tried to kill herself. She has spent over 22 years in jail since. People in Chicago and beyond can still remember when the news broke. Janet Lagerloef did more. She said there but for the grace of God go I and made it her mission to find out more, and then to get the case reopened. Two weeks ago Marilyn had a Clemency … [Read more...] about Marilyn Lemak’s Trial and Punishment
Caught in the Firing Line: Nurse Prescribers
Back in early Covid times, I was asked by Cecile aan de Stegge to talk at a meeting: Suicide and its Prevention. Contemporary and Historical Perspectives in Nursing, 1880–2020 This finally happened in May 2022. Cecile asked me to talk on the issues around suicide and antidepressants, which seemed particularly pertinent as an increasing number of cases that go wrong involve … [Read more...] about Caught in the Firing Line: Nurse Prescribers
The Best Books on Medical Treatments Gone Wrong
A month ago I had an email from Ben Fox of forauthors@shepherd.com - a new venture looking to promote books in a new way. See Shepherd.com. The idea is to feature a book by an author and then get her or him to list five books that have particularly influenced them - centered on a topic of their choosing and linked into their work. Newspapers have been doing this for decades … [Read more...] about The Best Books on Medical Treatments Gone Wrong
The Caste System in Medicine
This post is by Spruce who has been a regular contributor to these columns. It follows from his comments on The Invisible Doctor and it adds to that post which has had a lot of comments since. Humans seem to have a tendency to caste systems but most people would be surprised to think you could find them in modern medicine. I had been thinking about getting a copy of my … [Read more...] about The Caste System in Medicine
Black Robe, White Coat
Black Robe, White Coat spirals out from Sanctuary Trauma, The Invisible Doctor and Strangers in the Room. Black Robe, a book by Brian Moore, was published in 1985. It centred on a Jesuit (Black Robe) Mission to convert the People of what is now called Quebec in the 1630s. Movie here. An early scene from the movie shows a group of Algonquin watching a clock strike the … [Read more...] about Black Robe, White Coat
Strangers in the Room: Vaccine Mandates
When Kate and William went to their doctor to ask about a medical exemption for him following the brain haemorrhage he had had two days after his second vaccination (See Thinking Fast and Slow), Kate was bewildered at a disconnect between her and the doctor in the room with them, a doctor she normally thought well of. Unlike their usual consultations, it seemed to her there … [Read more...] about Strangers in the Room: Vaccine Mandates
The Invisible Doctor
From her first email M seemed completely believable. Everything since has added to her believability. So why is she not believed? This post offers another example of repeated Sanctuary Trauma, outlined in last week's post, in earlier Kidnapped Daughter posts and in all posts tagged Medical Kidnap. In The Beginning Thirteen years ago, this spring I went through some dramatic … [Read more...] about The Invisible Doctor