Christopher Pittman

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Christopher Frank Pittman (born April 9, 1989 in Huntsville , Alabama ) is an American child murderer . In November 2001, when he was 12 years old, he shot his grandparents. On February 15, 2005, despite his young age , he was sentenced to 30 years in prison for double homicide by a court in Charleston , South Carolina .

The case

In November 2001, Christopher Pittman shot his grandparents Joy and Joe Pittman while they were sleeping with a rifle. He then set fire to their house and fled, but was caught by the police shortly afterwards. The act was preceded by an argument between the boy and his grandfather, who had locked him in his room because of a fight at school.

The case caused a stir around the world for two reasons. On the one hand, Christopher Pittman was only 12 years old at the time of the crime, on the other hand, he was then under the influence of the antidepressant Zoloft . His lawyer pleaded incapacity, as the boy was unable to think clearly under the influence of the drug. One expert finally came to the conclusion that such an incapacity could not be determined with certainty. Christopher Pittman was then found fully guilty and sentenced to 30 years in prison. This is the maximum sentence under South Carolina state law for a juvenile convicted of murder.

The verdict was overturned in 2010 following civil lawsuit against his defense lawyers, who were accused of inadequately representing Pittman's interests and failing to involve his court-appointed guardian. In a new trial, Pittman accepted a 25-year sentence without parole. A suspended parole is not planned for Pittiman. The earliest possible date for his release from prison was given as February 2023, when Pittiman has served 85% of the sentence.

Zoloft

Christopher Pittman said during interrogation that a voice ordered him to kill his grandparents. He also had no control over his actions at the time of the crime. According to his lawyer, the antidepressant Zoloft is responsible for this. Pittman had been taking Pfizer's drug , which is freely available in the US, since 1999. Since then, strong mood swings up to suicidal thoughts had occurred several times , as his family doctor testified in court.

The pharmaceutical company Pfizer denied all allegations against the drug Zoloft and referred to a series of tests in which no such side effects occurred. The drug approval authority of the USA , the FDA , had the drug in the meantime provided with the warning that taking Zoloft increases the risk of suicide in adolescents and increases the potential for aggression (as with all SSRIs ). The FDA is now considering a study to ban the drug on the American market. In most countries in Europe , including in Germany , Zoloft is available as a prescription drug.

Mood swings and suicidal thoughts occur in the population even without taking medication. Statistically reliable figures as comparative values ​​for the evaluation of pharmaceuticals are not available.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ South Carolina's youngest killer remains in prison. heraldonline.com, July 28, 2016, accessed March 5, 2018 .
personal data
SURNAME Pittman, Christopher
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Pittman, Christopher Frank (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American child murderer
DATE OF BIRTH April 9, 1989
PLACE OF BIRTH Huntsville , Alabama