The Sarasota County School Board has unanimously agreed to a $600,000 settlement with the families of three students who committed suicide after apparently undergoing hypnosis by former North Port High School Principal George Kenney. Mr. Kenney admitted he hypnotized more than 70 students, seemingly in attempts to assist them in overcoming various problems. He was convicted of practicing therapeutic hypnosis without a license and sentenced to probation and community service; he also gave up his teaching license in 2013. More from the Sarasota Herald Tribune here, from Slate here.
We're not talking here about stage hypnosis or entertainment, here, but stage hypnotists have been sued over after-effects of their shows. Michael Heap writes about some instances here. See also Garrett Epps, "When You Wake You Will Feel No Remorse:" Stage Hypnotism and the Law," in Law and Magic: A Collection of Essays 263-278 (CAP, 2010).
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