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TOP DISABILITY RIGHTS STORIES OF 2003

Other years:
2007
2006
2005
2004
2001

This list does not include the millions of individual stories of struggle and triumph that are lived out in every pocket of the world each day. These are, however, the events that may have gained the most attention inside and outside disability communities. Most of these summaries are followed by links to expanded Inclusion Daily Express coverage.

They are not in any particular order:
Nick's Crusade Paid Off (Alabama)
"Confessed Murderers" Cleared and Freed (Florida, Arkansas, Pennsylvania)
The Shooting Death of Paul Childs III (Colorado)
U.S. Supreme Court Rules on ADA Employment Cases (Oregon, Arizona)
Death At Their Parents' Hands (Minnesota, Indiana, Wisconsin)
California Withdraws From Hason Case (California)
Trinidad And Tobago Activists Score Victory After 15-Week Protest
"Terri's Law" Gets Terri Schiavo's Feeding Tube Replaced (Florida)
States Announced Institution Closures, Then Reversed Positions (United States)
Sidney Miller "Wrongful Life" Case Overturned By State Supreme Court (Texas)
Special Olympics Athletes And Supporters Protest Ireland's SARS Ban (International)
Dozens of Death Row Inmates Test Mental Retardation Ruling (United States)
More States Face Up To Eugenics Past (South Carolina, California, North Carolina)
European Year of the Disabled Celebrated (International)
ADAPT Marches On For MiCASSA -- "Free Our People" & "Stolen Lives"(United States)

Nick's Crusade Paid Off (Alabama)
In February, Nick Dupree's two-year campaign to stay out of a nursing home paid off just a few days before his 21st birthday. Dupree has a form of muscular dystrophy that requires him to use a ventilator and a wheelchair. He receives in-home nursing care paid through Alabama's Medicaid program. In March 2001, he started his public awareness campaign "Nick's Crusade" after he learned that the state would pay for a nursing home -- but not for his in-home care -- once he turned 21.
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson finally announced that the federal government would approve a new program in Alabama that will continue Medicaid funded in-home services for Dupree and 29 other people in his situation and age group -- including Nick's 18-year-old brother who has the same form of muscular dystrophy.
Nick Dupree's Crusade Pays Off For Him And Others

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"Confessed Murderers" Cleared and Freed (Florida, Arkansas, Pennsylvania)
During 2003, at least three men with mental retardation who had confessed to murders were released after their confessions were discarded.
One was Timothy Brown, who reportedly has an IQ of 56. Brown was freed in May after spending nearly 12 years behind bars for the 1990 killing of a Broward County, Florida sheriff's deputy. Brown's confession was thrown out after a former jail guard admitted in February 2002 to killing the deputy. Brown claimed investigators encouraged him to waive his right to remain silent and put physical and psychological pressure on him to confess.
"Confessed Murderer" Timothy Brown Freed After Other Inmate Confessed To The Crime (Florida)
Charges Thrown Out For Son Who 'Confessed' To Double-Murder - Kevin Senneca(Arkansas)
DNA Clears Gettysburg Man After 16 Years Behind Bars -- Barry J. Laughman(Pennsylvania)

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The Shooting Death of Paul Childs III (Colorado)
On July 5, fifteen-year-old Paul Childs III was shot to death by a Denver police officer while standing in a doorway at his home. Childs, who had epilepsy and mental retardation, failed to follow police instructions to drop a kitchen knife he was clutching to his chest. His family had called police in the hopes that they could help calm him down after a series of outbursts in his home. A neurologist later suggested that Childs' behavior prior to the shooting may have been caused by the after-effects of a massive seizure he had experienced a few days earlier.
The incident has prompted legislators to consider "Paul's Law", a measure that would require all law enforcement officers and dispatchers in Colorado to undergo crisis-intervention training, along with specific instruction on dealing with suspects who have mental illness or developmental disabilities. It also has led the family to enlist the help of Johnnie L. Cochran Jr. to prepare a federal civil rights suit against the police department.
The Shooting Death of Paul Childs III

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U.S. Supreme Court Rules on ADA Employment Cases (Oregon, Arizona)
On April 22, the Supreme Court ruled against Deborah Anne Wells. The Oregon woman had sued her employer claiming she was demoted then forced to resign in 1997 because of her disability, described as "a debilitating tissue disorder". In its 7-2 decision, the high court said that Clackamas Gastroenterology Associates was too small to be covered under the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act because its owners could not be considered as employees.
High Court Rules Against Wells; Further Narrows ADA
On December 2, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7-0 that a Tucson, Arizona missile plant could legitimately refuse to rehire a former employee who claimed to have overcome his drug addiction. But the high court sent the case back to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to decide if the company actually discriminated against Joel Hernandez because of his disability when it followed a blanket policy to refuse jobs for former workers that had broken company rules.
Raytheon Co. v. Hernandez; Employer OK To Refuse Rehire

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Death At Their Parents' Hands (Minnesota, Indiana, Wisconsin)
On August 4, Villanova University history professor Mine Ener used a 12-inch kitchen knife to slice the throat of her daughter, 6-month-old Raya Donagi, who had Down syndrome. Police said Ener told them she "did not want the child to go through life suffering" from her disability, and that she was afraid the baby might have to use a feeding tube. On August 30, Ener's body was discovered in a jail day room. She had apparently smothered herself to death with a plastic trash bag.
Mom Kills Infant Daughter With Down Syndrome, Then Kills Self (Minnesota)
On January 21, firefighters responding to a house fire in Elwood, Indiana found the burned body of 8-year-old Mark Adrian Norris II. Autopsy results confirmed that Mark, who had cerebral palsy and epilepsy, died of pneumonia at least one day before the fire. Toxicology tests found evidence that he was malnourished and had not been given prescription medicine needed to treat his seizures. His mother and a social worker were later charged with neglect.
The Death of Mark A. Norris, Jr: Was fire a cover-up for his death? (Indiana)
On August 22, Terrence Cottrell Jr. died as a Milwaukee church leader and parishioners attempted to exorcise the "evil spirits" of autism from him. An autopsy later showed the 8-year-old boy died from suffocation. Junior's mother told police that she pushed on her son's diaphragm several times during the session in which her son was wrapped in a sheet to keep him from scratching himself or others.
Terrence Cottrell, Jr: Death By Exorcisism (Wisconsin)

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California Withdraws From Hason Case (California)
On March 7, the U.S. Supreme Court decided not to hear arguments in the case of Medical Board of California v. Michael J. Hason after Governor Gray Davis and Attorney General Bill Lockyer dropped the case. Dr. Hason had sued the Medical Board when it refused to grant him a medical license because of his depression. Hason argued that the board should have given him a reasonable accommodation by offering him a probationary license and requiring him to go through therapy. Many advocates believed that a ruling in the case could have led to a serious setback for the Americans with Disabilities Act by further restricting employees from suing state agencies.
Medical Board of California v. Michael Hason

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Trinidad And Tobago Activists Score Victory After 15-Week Protest
On August 29, disability rights activists declared victory after Prime Minister Patrick Manning promised jobs for workers with disabilities and the introduction of a law similar to the Americans with Disabilities Act. The protesters had gathered outside the state-owned National Flour Mills after two qualified men were turned down for jobs at the plant in early May. Each morning for the next 116 days, the activists -- most of them members of the Trinidad and Tobago branch of Disabled Persons International -- met in front of the facility to educate reporters, government officials and the public about their issues.
When they ended their protest, the demonstrators were cautiously optimistic that their action would have a lasting impression on the island nation's attitudes.
Trinidad Activists Score Victory With 15-Week Protest

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Gov. Bush Passes "Terri's Law" To Get Terri Schiavo's Feeding Tube Replaced (Florida)
On October 15, Terri Schiavo's feeding tube was removed at her husband's request and a Florida court order. After several months of pressure and letter-writing campaigns by disability rights advocates and right-to-life supporters, Governor Jeb Bush championed the speedy passage of "Terri's Law" through the legislature. The law gave Bush authority to have Terri's feeding tube reinserted six days after it had been removed. It also appointed an independent guardian to see if Terri, who has been in what some doctors call a "persistent vegetative state", is actually aware of her surroundings and might benefit from therapies to teach her to swallow.
Her husband, Michael, immediately filed suit against Bush, saying the governor illegally intervened in his wife's desire to not live "by artificial means", and violated the state constitution's separation of powers provisions.
Terri's parents have been fighting to keep their daughter alive. They accuse their son-in-law of abusing and exploiting Terri for his own gain and suspect he may have caused the 1990 collapse that caused her brain damage.
Terri Schiavo's Right To Live

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States Announced Institution Closures, Then Reversed Positions (United States)
In the first three months of 2003, officials in at least a dozen states announced proposals to close institutions housing people with developmental disabilities or mental illness. Most of those plans were made by state lawmakers looking for ways to deal with financial crises. By mid-year, nearly all of the states had reversed their earlier positions, or radically slowed down their plans.
In the state of Illinois, newly-elected Governor Rod Blagojevich worked to make good on a campaign promise to reopen Lincoln Developmental Center, which was closed last year by former Governor George Ryan:
Lincoln Developmental Center -- Illinois Governor Strives To Return To The Past

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Sidney Miller "Wrongful Life" Case Overturned By State Supreme Court (Texas)
On September 30, the Texas Supreme Court ruled that doctors do not need to have parental permission before taking emergency measures to save the life of infants with disabilities. The case involved the parents of Sidney Ainsley Miller, who was born premature in 1990 at Women's Hospital in Houston. When doctors found that the girl's lungs were underdeveloped, they gave her oxygen through a throat tube. The Millers sued the company that owns the hospital claiming the doctors ignored their requests that "no heroic measures" be taken to keep Sidney alive. A county jury granted the Millers a $60 million award. The Supreme Court threw out that award, noting that even though the courts and state laws recognize parents rights, there are limits when it comes to withholding treatment to a child.
Sidney Miller's Right To Be Born

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Special Olympics Athletes And Supporters Protest Ireland's SARS Ban (International)
In the days leading up to the 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games, Ireland's health officials angered supporters around the world when they announced that athletes from China, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Singapore and Taiwan would not be allowed to participate because of the SARS (Sudden Acute Respiratory Syndrome) outbreak in Asia. About 30 members of the Hong Kong Down Syndrome Association protested outside the Irish consulate, accusing the Irish government of being irrational and discriminatory. Ireland finally relaxed their restrictions.
In June the island hosted the first World Games outside the United States, with 7,000 athletes and coaches from 160 different countries and an estimated 75,000 spectators. Former South African president Nelson Mandela, former boxing champion Muhammad Ali, and actor Arnold Schwarzenegger -- who headed up the Austrian delegation -- were on hand for the opening ceremony.

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Dozens of Death Row Inmates Test Mental Retardation Ruling (United States)
On June 20 of 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court outlawed the death penalty for convicts that have mental retardation, calling such practice "cruel and unusual punishment" in violation of the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution. The high court, however, left it up to individual states to define mental retardation. Since the ruling, states that use the death penalty have been passing laws to comply with the ruling, and dealing with the dozens of death row inmates who now claim that they have mental retardation.
The Death Penalty and Mental Retardation

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More States Face Up To Eugenics Past (South Carolina, California, North Carolina)
On January 8, South Carolina Governor Jim Hodges issued a statement apologizing for more than 250 people who had been sterilized under the state's eugenic sterilization laws during the last century.
On March 11, Governor Gray Davis issued a formal apology to more than 20,000 Californians sterilized under his state's 1908 eugenics law.
In August, North Carolina Governor Mike Easley became the first to approve a number of measures designed to make amends to his state's residents -- most considered to have mental disabilities -- who had undergone forced sterilizations. They include education benefits through the University of North Carolina, access to a health care fund, and a way to help victims to gain access to their medical records. Easley also approved a panel's recommendation for a memorial to those who were sterilized and including information about the eugenics program in the state's history curriculum.
Two Virginia advocates, who secured the first gubernatorial apology in May 2002, have called on a Congressional investigation into the federal government's knowledge of the forced sterilizations of more than 60,000 Americans during the 1900s.
The Eugenics Apologies (Ragged Edge Magazine)

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European Year of the Disabled Celebrated (International)
Members of the European Union celebrated the European Year of Disabled People throughout 2003. The initiative was designed to further equal rights for the 37 million people with disabilities in EU member nations. Millions of dollars were given to grassroots groups to fund a wide range of activities across the continent. Some advocacy groups felt the EYDP was successful in increasing awareness of disability issues and promoting civil rights. Others were skeptical of the initiative's long-term affects.
Europe's disability year in review (BBC News)

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ADAPT Marches On For MiCASSA -- "Free Our People" & "Stolen Lives"(United States)
On September 17, several thousand disability rights advocates from across the country gathered at the nation's capital to bring ADAPT's "Free Our People" message to Congress. The demonstrators called on lawmakers to pass MiCASSA, the Medicaid Community-Based Attendant Services and Supports Act, which would eliminate the system's current bias toward nursing homes and institutions for long-term supports.
Leading up to the rally was a 144-mile march from Philadelphia's Liberty Bell. A group of about 150 activists, most in wheelchairs, endured rain, cold, and intense sun during the 14-day trek to draw public attention to the need for MiCASSA.
Free Our People March (ADAPT)
On May 11, about 100 disability rights activists with ADAPT's "Stolen Lives" campaign were arrested when they refused to leave the front of the White House during a protest. The advocates were demanding that President George W. Bush apologize to those Americans "whose lives have been stolen" because of the bias in the nation's Medicaid policy.
"Stolen Lives" (ADAPT)

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