Personality Disorder

WASHINGTON — At the height of the Iraq war, the Army routinely dismissed hundreds of soldiers for having a personality disorder when they were more likely suffering from the traumatic stresses of war, discharge data suggest. Under pressure from Congress and the public, the Army later acknowledged the problem and drastically cut the number of soldiers given the designation. But advocates for veterans say an unknown number of troops still unfairly bear the stigma of a personality disorder, making them ineligible for military health care and other benefits.

Maine's highest court is scheduled next month to hear the appeal of a Portland man convicted of killing his girlfriend, cutting the head off the corpse and setting fire to the body. The Portland Press Herald (http://bit.ly/s9zYfd) reports that Chad Gurney goes before the Supreme Judicial Court on Jan. 10. His lawyer intends to argue that Gurney was delusional and did not understand that his actions were wrong when he killed Zoe Sarnacki in May 2009. His attorney says psychotic episode stemming from a personality disorder, stress and withdrawal from an opiate painkiller is the...

MIDLAND, Texas -- A former Army private accused in the rape and killing of a young Iraqi woman and the execution-style slaying of her family had been discharged because of an "antisocial personality disorder," US military officials said. Investigators say Steven D. Green and other soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division plotted to rape a young Iraqi woman they first saw at a checkpoint in the village of Mahmoudiya. Green is accused of rounding up three family members and shooting them before raping and killing her. Previously, in a federal court affidavit, investigators said only...

WASHINGTON — At the height of the Iraq war, the Army routinely dismissed hundreds of soldiers for having a personality disorder when they were more likely suffering from the traumatic stresses of war, discharge data suggest. Under pressure from Congress and the public, the Army later acknowledged the problem and drastically cut the number of soldiers given the designation. But advocates for veterans say an unknown number of troops still unfairly bear the stigma of a personality disorder, making them ineligible for military health care and other benefits.

NEW YORK - Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker once played Russian roulette with a loaded pistol as he struggled with a personality disorder. "To challenge death like I was doing, you start saying, 'There's a problem here,' " Walker said during an interview on ABC's "Nightline" last night. Walker suffers from dissociative identity disorder, formerly known as multiple personality disorder. His experiences are chronicled in his book, "Breaking Free," which is released this week.

Maine's highest court is scheduled next month to hear the appeal of a Portland man convicted of killing his girlfriend, cutting the head off the corpse and setting fire to the body. The Portland Press Herald (http://bit.ly/s9zYfd) reports that Chad Gurney goes before the Supreme Judicial Court on Jan. 10. His lawyer intends to argue that Gurney was delusional and did not understand that his actions were wrong when he killed Zoe Sarnacki in May 2009. His attorney says psychotic episode stemming from a personality disorder, stress and withdrawal from an opiate...

ITHACA, N.Y. — A Cornell University doctoral student from New Zealand who says a mental disorder made him think his wife had been replaced by an impostor was convicted of murder yesterday for slashing her throat on a park trail in central New York and torching their home to destroy evidence. After eight hours of deliberations over two days, a jury found Blazej Kot, 25, guilty of murder, arson, and tampering with physical evidence. Kot, who showed no emotion as the verdict was read, could draw 25 years to life in prison for killing Caroline Coffey, a postdoctoral researcher at the Ivy...

Troy Anderson is a mentally ill inmate in isolation at the Colorado State Penitentiary, deemed for more than a decade too dangerous to be among other offenders. His lawyers argue, however, that prolonged solitary confinement is contributing to a vicious cycle, making his psychiatric conditions worse and resulting in misbehavior that warrants further punishment. Prison officials defend the practice, saying administrative segregation, which can include up to 23 hours a day alone in a concrete cell, is a fundamental part of security.

Anyone who follows psychiatry has noticed that the field is now in the midst of a debate that galvanizes its members every 10 to 20 years. At the center of the hubbub is psychiatry's most sacred text: the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The DSM, for short, is a compendium of over 350 ways our minds can fail us, from autism to kleptomania to voyeurism. What makes it onto the list matters: The DSM's definition of "mental illness" can dictate whether an insurance company covers a treatment, or even whether a murderer is fit to stand...

EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- Eight soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division were ordered yesterday to be court-martialed on murder charges stemming from their service in Iraq, and two could get the death penalty for allegedly raping a 14-year-old and killing her and her family. The Fort Campbell soldiers facing the death penalty are Sergeant Paul E. Cortez and Private First Class . Jesse V. Spielman. Both are accused of raping Abeer Qassim al-Janabi in her family's home in Mahmoudiya, then killing the girl, her parents, and younger sister.

ITHACA, N.Y. — A Cornell University doctoral student from New Zealand who says a mental disorder made him think his wife had been replaced by an impostor was convicted of murder yesterday for slashing her throat on a park trail in central New York and torching their home to destroy evidence. After eight hours of deliberations over two days, a jury found Blazej Kot, 25, guilty of murder, arson, and tampering with physical evidence. Kot, who showed no emotion as the verdict was read, could draw 25 years to life in prison for killing Caroline Coffey, a postdoctoral researcher at the Ivy...

NEW YORK - Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker once played Russian roulette with a loaded pistol as he struggled with a personality disorder. "To challenge death like I was doing, you start saying, 'There's a problem here,' " Walker said during an interview on ABC's "Nightline" last night. Walker suffers from dissociative identity disorder, formerly known as multiple personality disorder. His experiences are chronicled in his book, "Breaking Free," which is released this week.

MIDLAND, Texas -- A former Army private accused in the rape and killing of a young Iraqi woman and the execution-style slaying of her family had been discharged because of an "antisocial personality disorder," US military officials said. Investigators say Steven D. Green and other soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division plotted to rape a young Iraqi woman they first saw at a checkpoint in the village of Mahmoudiya. Green is accused of rounding up three family members and shooting them before raping and killing her. Previously, in a federal court affidavit,...

PADUCAH, Ky. - A jury convicted a former soldier yesterday of raping and fatally shooting a 14-year-old girl after killing her parents and younger sister while he was serving in Iraq. Private First Class Steven Dale Green faces a possible death sentence when the penalty phase of his trial begins Monday. Green, 24, of Midland, Texas, was being tried in civilian court because he had been discharged from the Army for a personality disorder before he was charged with the Iraq crimes.

CAMBRIDGE - Standing before a Harvard lectern, Miami Dolphins wide receiver Brandon Marshall looked every bit an NFL player with his broad shoulders, perfectly tailored beige suit, and bold purple tie. Then, he opened his mouth and talked for 30 minutes with only a small slip of paper for notes and sounded nothing like an NFL player. Marshall last night told an audience of roughly 250 students about his battle with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). He described how pressure, the NFL, and fame changed him, how the intense emotion and ferocity that made him successful...