I understand the pain and hurt the families of the slain students, but this is a law issue. It does not matter if the psychiatrist had the records or not. By law he would have to keep the information confidential until Cho actually hurt himself or someone else. They might have been able to retain the student with the 72 hour rule. Otherwise, Cho had every right to be as crazy as he wanted to be until he hurt himself or someone else. This is where the liberal laws have hurt and killed innocent people. Very big controversy and very sad.
Document filed in VT shooting suits demands former director 'admit or deny' allegations
Previous coverage
* Released mental health records provide details of Cho's counseling sessions
* Cho records may alter April 16 panel's findings
* Ex-director of Virginia Tech counseling center responds to discovery questions
* New document released in Tech shooting suit
* Virginia Supreme Court appoints special judge to Tech shooting suits
* Lawsuits keep Virginia Tech shootings at forefront
* Gov. Kaine: Tech panel won't reconvene
* Removal of students' records from Virginia Tech counseling center not authorized, Steger says
* Ex-director took Cho file "inadvertently"
* Cho records surface, raise many questions
* Complete coverage of the April 16, 2007 Virginia Tech shootings
The latest legal filing related to two $10 million civil suits brought by families unhappy with Virginia Tech’s handling of the April 16, 2007, shootings demands that former Cook Counseling Center Director Robert Miller “admit or deny” 65 allegations and statements of fact.
The filing came after Wednesday’s public release of shooter Seung-Hui Cho’s student once-missing mental health records.
Bob Hall, a lawyer for the families of slain Tech students Nicole Peterson and Julia Pryde, released the “request for admissions” filing on Thursday.
Many of the items listed are facts already stipulated to by Miller, including that he removed Cho’s mental health records while packing to leave his office in 2006.
Miller has said he found the records July 15 while searching his Blacksburg home for documents relevant to the civil suits, in which he is named as a defendant. Gov. Tim Kaine announced discovery of Cho’s missing records July 22. The Cho family authorized their release earlier this month.
Among the declarations Miller is asked to admit or deny is: “Admit that at no time during your tenure at Cook Counseling Center did you record or cause anyone to record the history you received of Seung-Hui Cho’s violent writings, violent, threatening or intimidating activities, strange attire, bizarre behavior” or complaints from English department faculty, who had grown increasingly alarmed by Cho.
Miller, the document suggests, should have fully informed his staff of the extent of Cho’s problems. And, Hall said, Miller failed to ensure that Cho was treated for mental illness.
“This is a lawyer drafting his wish list of what the facts might be,” Ed McNelis, the lawyer representing several Cook Counseling center staffers in the lawsuits, said of Hall’s filing. “It does not mean they are true.”
“He could put in there, 'Admit that you shot JFK.’ It doesn’t mean you did it,” McNelis said.
2 comments:
Some people just don't seem to "get it." Hey, I finally am fixing my 100 Chronic Illnesses Blog List, your blog should be OK on there now. Sorry I took so long. In coming weeks I will roll out (maybe a new look) the updated LIST.
There is really nothing to "get" or be gained here. Anyone who has been through this knows what I am talking about. What is to be gained by getting the records from the Cho doctor? By "law" the doctor could not do anything about Cho's therapy rantings and diagnosis until he hurt himself or someone else. It is the laws that are screwy. What good will it do those families to have Cho's records? What are they going to do with them? Nothing. Just more pain and heartache.
Liz
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