Posted by Wesley (216.164.133.254) on April 01, 2000 at 07:37:29:
In Reply to: Straight, Inc. VA posted by smishi on March 30, 2000 at 11:15:56:
smishi,
Thank you for your posting on Side Talk. I assume you know that Bradley Martin is on death row in
Pennsylvania. The Bradley Martin story is a tradegy. Bradley was stripped-down and brutalized at Straight and taught to be a follower. It doesn't surprise me that he could be easily influenced to murder or to commit violent acts purely on his own volition. There is a former Straight phasor serving a life sentence in Texas for beating his mother to death with a baseball bat after leaving Straight and then driving his friends around town in her car with her body in the trunk and bragging to them that his mother was in the trunk. I know a woman from Austin who was at the trial who says that he is really dangerous and that I should not work for any sort of
appeal, though I have contacted his attorneys. My beautiful son has been diagnosed a schitzophrenic. We unsuccessfully sued Straight, for, among other reasons, contributing to Bill's mental illness. There's a kid in Florida who unsuccessfully sued Straight for driving him to schizophrenia. Straight's defense has always been
that the leading medical evidence is that schizophrenia is either caused by genes or chemical imbalances and that life events can not cause a break with reality.
I have personal knowledge of about thirty kids who attempted or contemplated suicide while in a Straight camp. Actually I have never met anyone who was in Straight, not one, who did not at least think about suicide as an out from his misery. In c. 1986 a kid in Growing Together who had apparently been court ordered into that program told his youthful counselors that if he had to go back to prison he would kill himself.
His juvenile counselors thought it was just attention getting behavior and took no action. Later the kid committed suicide. A state investigation concluded that the young man might not have killed himself had his counselors taking his warning more seriously. I have a list of about 20 people who committed suicide after
leaving Straight or a related program.
In c. 1993 Bradley Martin and a woman accomplice are on death row at Lewisburg prison for the murder of a Pensylvania man. He has been indicted in the murder of at least one other out in Utah or somewhere out there. I sent a 20 page letter to Bradley's appeal team. They told me that they were working on an appeal based on points of law in his trial--not any new evidence. That should the appeal lose, then they could consider an appeal based on any new evidences. They got somewhat annoyed at me after my repeated calls. I am working on a web page and may address this issue. You know, like a call to send a letter to the governor of Pennsylvania.
I have lists of people who were in the northern Virginia camp at the time you reference. Is there anyone in particular I can help you find. Do you know what the current status is of Bradley's appeal? What is cocunterweight?
Wesley Fager
703.281.4420
: Hello.
: I am in the process of doing research on the Straight
: facility in Springfield, VA. I was just wondering if
: anyone might have any info relating to this facility
: during the time frame of 5/98-6/90 (specifically abuse and a procedure called counterweight(?)). Also, does anyone know Brad Martin, who was in Straight at that time?
: Thanks.