Imagine, for a moment, this sight before your eyes: an innocent man, battered and tormented by a group of strangers. What would stir within your heart? Indifference or compassion? Would you avert your gaze, assuming he deserved such cruelty? Or would your instinct and moral compass compel you to delve deeper, to unearth the truth and if injustice was discovered, lend a hand in his salvation?

 

Now, what if his torment stemmed from circumstances beyond his control?  Picture a man burdened by the weight of depression, who sought solace from a trusted physician who in turn prescribed powerful antidepressants.  Yet, in a cruel twist of fate, he experienced the more nefarious side effects of the medication which ravaged his cognitive faculties, blurring reason, and eroding awareness.

Unfortunately, I am an eyewitness to a similar tragedy. A man, known to me personally, subjected to the brutalities and indifference of others. I bear witness to his character, his reputation, and I find myself incapable of comprehending how any action he could have taken would warrant the magnitude of anguish thrust upon him by the callous judgment of strangers.

In this moment I implore you to reflect upon the values that define us as compassionate beings. As compassionate and rational minded people we cast away the blindfold of prejudice and open our eyes to the possibility that what we perceive may not always align with reality. We let empathy guide our actions, and let the search for justice be the compass that directs our steps. For it is through collective effort, through the courage to challenge the status quo, that we can rectify the grave injustices that plague our world.

Allow me to unveil the intricate web of events that led to this heart-wrenching situation. Corey Reynolds is an extraordinary soul - down to earth, compassionate, and contemplative. Yet, he carries the weight of sensitivity and the tendency to sink into the depths of depression.  After years of struggling, he mustered the courage to seek professional help. As he described "I've dealt with depression for most of my life.  This particular time I had sunk so low from a string of heart breaking events in my life and I just coudn't get out of the rut. I didn't know what else to do but see my doctor.  Man was that a mistake!" 

His family doctor prescribed him medication, intending to alleviate his suffering. However, destiny dealt a cruel hand, as these prescribed drugs bore insidious side effects, casting a shadow upon Corey's existence.
Cognitive impairment seeped into his mind, clouding his once-sharp memory and distorting his perception of reality. His judgment became a casualty. He was left vulnerable to the treacherous grasp of anxiety, akathisia, and mania. Corey remained oblivious that these menacing side effects were silently shaping his destiny.

"It's almost impossible to explain. You're doing your normal everyday life, so you think, while your body autonomously pursues its own actions, beyond your conscious decisions. You observe this process from a completely detached perspective, like it's a tv commercial."
A month into the medication regimen, tragedy struck when Corey found himself hospitalized after a harrowing suicide attempt, an incident he could not comprehend, and perceived as a dreadful accident.  His friend Dana witnessed Corey nearly take his own life and described it as him blatantly stating he was killing himself so casually as he was doing it she thought it was a joke.  He had zero emotion invested.  In fact, Corey wasn't even thinking of suicide.

Instead of reevaluating the prescription, his doctor chose to double the dosage, unknowingly intensifying the turmoil within Corey's fragile mind.  Subsequently, Corey's behavior spiraled into a whirlwind of the bizarre and the perilous. He engaged in actions that defied rationality, oblivious to the consequences and heedless of his own once better judgment. Those who cherished Corey, his family and friends, bore witness to the gradual erosion of his true essence, as they observed his uncharacteristic mood swings and bewildering conduct.

Then, on a fateful night, the crescendo of this tragedy unfurled. Corey found himself face-to-face with police officers seeking to subdue and restrain him. During a struggle, two officers were injured by Corey's legally concealed firearm, but not gravely, thankfully. To this day, Corey remains baffled and bewildered, grappling with the haunting question of why and how this tragic event transpired. "I've never dreamed of hurting anyone in my whole life and that night was no exception.  I was like a bystander to my own actions, lost in a haze of confusion. I feel sorry because hurting someone was never in my plans, and I'm still trying to figure out how it all went so wrong."  The ramifications of that night would reverberate through his life forever.

To add to this disheartening tragedy, the judicial system failed to recognize the truth that lay buried beneath the surface, a truth obscured by the medication-induced insanity that consumed Corey's mind.

The jury, unbeknownst to them, rendered a verdict without comprehending the profound impact of these life-altering circumstances. Corey was unjustly condemned to die in prison with a life sentence behind bars without possibility of parole, his voice silenced, and the root cause overlooked.

 

In this pivotal moment, let us reflect on our shared humanity and cast-off apathy and ignorance. Unite in our responsibility to challenge injustice, stripping away the blindfold of bias and embracing the profound realization that appearances can deceive. Justice may veil the truth, and what seems like criminal intent can be medication-induced insanity.

Together, we champion Corey Reynolds, a compassionate soul ensnared in a tragic plight. Our voices intertwine, resonating for reevaluation, compassion, and redemption. We solemnly vow to rewrite Corey's script, restore the stolen freedom, and unveil the injustice that plagues his existence.

Corey's story is not despair alone; it's a beacon of hope, reminding us that justice can ignite even in the darkest nights, guiding us to a brighter tomorrow. Let us stand firm, for our collective strength possesses the power to bring the change Corey deserves. Together, we speak truth to power, for Corey Reynolds and a world where justice triumphs over merciless circumstances.

A Glimpse Into The Abyss

In the fall of 2009, Corey Reynolds embarked on what should have been a thrilling chapter of his life, fulfilling a lifelong dream of living in Colorado. Little did he know, this period would unfold as a bittersweet journey marked by unprecedented challenges. Battling depression since his early teens, Corey had always leaned on the support of people and relationships to cope. However, the solitude of Colorado proved to be both exhilarating and profoundly difficult. The cascade of tragedies began with the heartbreaking loss of a close friend in an accident while they were hiking together; a shared passion that ended in devastating sorrow.

To compound the distress, after being robbed at gunpoint, and a string of unforseen events and bad luck he was left penniless and without a place to live at the closing of a Denver winter. Broken and defeated, he returned home, realizing the weight of depression was too heavy to bear alone. Seeking help, Corey turned to his family doctor, who prescribed a powerful antidepressant in an effort to alleviate his suffering. Instead, those seven weeks on the medication became a harrowing descent into chaos. Bizarre and dangerous events filled this period as Corey, in the grip of medication-induced insanity, struggled to navigate his own altered reality.

Three weeks into the medication regimen, Corey woke up in the intensive care unit, learning of his own suicide attempt; a confounding revelation, as the desire to die was not even a thought on his mind, yet he found himself oddly void of concern. In a perplexing move, his doctor doubled the dosage, plunging Corey further into the abyss of insanity. Friends and family, increasingly alarmed, observed a thoughtless, manic version of Corey emerging, devoid of the ability to form rational judgments.

However, the hands of time moved too swiftly, preventing the much-needed intervention. Corey, standing on a perilous precipice, unwittingly hurtled toward a nightmarish climax, a tragic culmination of a life altered by the very medication meant to bring relief.