attorney general's office. deaths in 1980, 25-year-old robert cooper died of a hemorrhagic bowel obstruction. the institution was criticized for driving him to the hospital in a private vehicle rather than calling for an ambulance. in 1981, danny aswad, a 14-year-old autistic boy, died at the jrc (then called the behavior research institute) while restrained face-down to a bed. the institute was not authorized to use restraints on its residents at that time, and aswad had previously had a rod surgically implanted in his back to treat a degenerative back disease that had resulted from his treatment there. the coroner's report concluded that aswad had died of "mental retardation" and "cerebral malformation" and recorded his death as from natural causes. in 1985, vincent milletich, a 22-year-old autistic man, died at the institute. he had been restrained and forced to wear a white noise emitting sensory deprivation helmet when he died of asphyxiation after having an epileptic seizure. milletich had a history of epileptic seizures, and had been made to wear the helmet as punishment for "making inappropriate sounds". the judge who presided over a hearing on milletich's death declared that two staff doctors were negligent for approving the therapy, and that the center's director, matthew israel, had been negligent in authorizing the helmet's use. milletich's mother said that she did not want charges pressed against the institute, but did sue the jrc for $10 million. in 1987, abigail gibson, a 29-year-old woman with a seizure disorder, was detained at the behavioral research institute and subject to regular physical aversives by the program there. she had a heart attack in her room at night, and died two days later at sturdy memorial hospital. in 1990, linda cornelison, a 19-year-old non-verbal and intellectually disabled resident, died of complications related to a ruptured bowel. at the time of her death, cornelison was on a contingent food program where food was withheld as a punishment for undesired behavior. in the days leading up to her death, cornelison's expressions of pain were interpreted as misbehavior by staff, who administered 56 physical aversives over five hours before calling an ambulance. cornelison was unconscious when the ambulance arrived. an investigation of cornelison's death, conducted by the massachusetts department of mental retardation, reported that the treatment was "inhumane beyond all reason" and violated "universal standards of human decency", but failed to find enough evidence to link the jrc to cornelison's death. however, a massachusetts court found in 1995 that the jrc had exhibited negligence. at the time of her death, cornelison had been a resident of the institute for seven years, and had been subjected to 88,719 aversives. in 1998, disabled 16-year-old silverio gonzalez died in the institute's custody. he was housed there for 11 months before making an attempt to free himself by jumping from a transport bus. he died from head trauma from the fall. his mother, olga cepeda, sued the center after his death. andre mccollins in 2002, an autistic teenager from new york city named andre mccollins was restrained on a four-point board and shocked 31 times over the course of seven hours. the first shock was given after he did not take off his coat when asked; subsequent shocks were given as punishments for screaming and tensing up while being shocked. in the video, mccollins can be heard shouting "someone, help me, please!" the jrc staff listed this as a "major disruptive behavior", for which he was administered a ged shock. the day after the incident, mccollins' mother had to drive him to the hospital, as he was unable to speak and had burns on many parts of his body. the doctor diagnosed him with acute stress disorder, which was a direct result of the center's aversives. his mother subsequently claimed that "there is no counseling for the there... and the staff there lied to all these years..." in 2012, a video of the incident was released as part of a lawsuit by mccollins' mother, which was settled for an undisclosed sum. the video aired on national news, and caught the attention of the hacker group anonymous, which announced in a youtube video that the center and those affiliated with it were targets. anonymous hacked the jrc's website, retrieved confidential information about individuals and groups associated with it, and posted that information to pastebin. the doxed information included the names and addresses of the center's sponsors, lobbyists, lawyers, supporters, and founder. opposition condemnation for torture in 2010, the american human rights organization, disability rights international, filed an appeal with the office of the united nations special rapporteur on torture, stating they believed the residents were being subjected to human rights abuses due to the center's use of aversives. the then-special rapporteur, manfred nowak, sent what he described as "an urgent appeal to the u.s. government asking them to investigate." in 2013, the special rapporteur declared that the use of the ged device violated the united nations convention against torture. fda bans the ged in april 2014, the united states food and drug administration (fda) announced a public hearing where a panel of neurological devices experts would consider whether or not the fda should issue a ban of electric shock aversive conditioning devices like the ged. in april 2016, the fda took the further step of formally proposing a regulatory ban on electric shock aversive conditioning devices. in 2020 the fda issued the final rule banning the device with only minor changes from the 2016 draft. the ged was the third medical device ever banned by the fda in the organization's history. however, the fda issued an "administrative stay" in march 2020, that allowed the center to continue using shock on "individuals who would need a physician-directed plan" indefinitely, pending the end of the covid-19 pandemic which limited physician contact with many residents. in july 2021, the d.c. circuit court of appeals ruled that the fda could not issue a "partial stay" but must issue a blanket ban or no ban at all, thus allowing the jrc to continue subjecting 55 people to shock in the meantime. first attempt soon after the death of vincent milletich in 1985, the massachusetts office of children issued an order to close the center, which was then called the behavior research institute (bri). the bri counter-sued the office of children, and after seeing the institute's presentation of one of his worst self-harming residents, judge ernest rotenberg sided with the bri. in the settlement that followed, the office for children agreed to pay $580,000 to the bri in legal fees. the head of the office of children later resigned and was sued by a group of parents for $15 million, who claimed that her attempt the shut down the center was a violation of their children's rights. the behavior research institute soon after changed its name to the judge rotenberg center to honor the judge for his ruling. second attempt in the mid-1990s, the massachusetts department of mental retardation launched a second attempt to shut down the center. a judge described the case as a "war of harassment" against matthew israel and ruled against the attempt to close the center and ordered the state to pay $1.5 million to the jrc in compensation for legal fees and other costs. additionally, he stripped the agency of its power to regulate the center and awarded it to the courts, and the commissioner of the department of mental retardation was forced to resign. further attempts attempts to shut down or limit the jrc at the legislative level have been made in every legislative session since the late 1980s. however, none have passed due to a combination of lobbying from the jrc and the protests of parents. at one time, a group of parents sued the state for $15 million, contending that the state's attempts to close the institute violated their children's rights to treatment. additionally, massachusetts state representative jeffrey sanchez, whose nephew, brandon, has been detained at the jrc since 1992, is a major proponent of the jrc and their practices. sanchez has repeatedly blocked the passage of legislation that would threaten the center. massachusetts state senator brian joyce tried repeatedly during his tenure in office to close down the center without success. he went on to voice his frustration: if this same treatment were allowed on terrorists in guantanamo bay, there would be worldwide outrage. there have been repeated attempts to shut down the center by autism rights advocates, disability rights advocates, and human rights advocates. other notable people who have opposed the center include ari ne'eman, shain neumeier and lydia brown. organizations that oppose the center include the autistic self advocacy network, disability rights international, and community alliance for the ethical treatment of youth. financials it costs $275,000 per year to keep a resident at the jrc, which is paid for in tax dollars. the center advertises a near-zero rejection rate, and has said that it is a good fit for any teen who is failing school, refusing to attend, or in a psychiatric or correctional setting. the center has sent out promotional materials to various institutions, and has had some success in picking up inmates from new york's juvenile jails and from rikers island. some residents are sent to there by the foster care system. as of 2017, the jrc had an annual revenue of $70 million. the jrc is incorporated as a tax-exempt nonprofit organization. in 2020, it received $1.7 million in covid-19 relief funds. overbilling in 2006, it was found that 14 of the center's 17 psychologists, including the director of psychology, lacked proper licenses. because the state reimburses the jrc for services rendered by doctors, the jrc had overbilled the state by nearly $800,000. as of 2008, the state had not collected the money. for misrepresenting licensing status of the psychologists, the board of registration of psychologists fined the jrc $43,000, and matthew israel $29,600. lobbying the center regularly lobbies the government to prevent the passage of legislation that could threaten it. in 2010, it spent over $100,000 to lobby against the passage of a bill that would have made the use of electric shocks illegal. the center has also lobbied against bills that would have banned the use of restraints and other aversives in massachusetts schools. as of 2011, the jrc had spent over $1 million on lobbying efforts. legal in 2007, the jrc spent $2.8 million in legal fees. advertising and promotion in 2008, the jrc spent over $390,000 on advertising and promotion. the jrc advertises at psychiatric and juvenile justice conferences, where it attempts to get professionals to recommend the institution to parents and guardians. it also places ads on new york city radio. if a parent or guardian expresses interest in the center, a jrc recruiter will contact them to provide gifts and promotional materials. they will also help the parents sue their school district into paying the jrc's tuition and housing fees. salaries in 2007, matthew israel was paid $321,000. lawsuits by jrc in 1986, the institute filed a lawsuit for $15 million against the director of the massachusetts office of children, alleging that her attempt to shut the center down was a violation of the residents' rights. several critics of the jrc claim that the center harassed them, and that it sued them for defamation or threatened to sue them if they did not revoke their statements. according to disability rights international, former residents, teachers, state officials, and legal advocates have expressed fear about publicly criticizing the jrc. the jrc has filed numerous other lawsuits. by parents some parents and former residents have filed lawsuits against the jrc. in 2006, the family of evelyn nicholson sued the center over the use of electric shocks, claiming that the treatment was inhumane and violated her civil rights. the lawsuit was later settled for $65,000. the mother of andre mccollins sued the center, settling in 2012 for an undisclosed sum. some parents have filed and won lawsuits against their local school districts to keep their children enrolled at jrc. enrollment under the individuals with disabilities education act, the federal government requires that all states must provide a "free and appropriate" education to all students. any school district that cannot provide an appropriate education to a student is required to send that