Killer Wins Zoloft Lawsuit Against Former Attorneys

Charleston, SCA 21-year-old who killed his grandparents in 2001 recently won a Zoloft lawsuit against the lawyers who represented him in his murder trial.

When Chris Pittman was 12, he shot his grandparents while they slept and then burned down their house, according to the Charlotte Observer. During his trial, his defense attorneys employed what has come to be known as the “Zoloft defense,” claiming that Pittman’s actions were caused by the antidepressant he was taking.

While the jury did put some blame on Zoloft, they also found Pittman guilty of double murder, and he was sentenced to two concurrent 30-year jail terms, the shortest amount of prison time allowable by law for such a crime.

Last summer, Pittman filed a civil lawsuit claiming that his attorneys made errors in his case, including not pursuing a plea deal. In addition, Pittman says that he was not informed that both the Zoloft and he could be blamed for the crime, reports the news source.

In his recent ruling, Circuit Court Judge Roger Young found that the lawyers had indeed mishandled Pittman’s case and said that the 21-year-old should receive a new trial.

In addition to causing suicidal thoughts in young people, Zoloft has been known to cause birth defects if pregnant women take the drug.