Antidepressants and murder: case not closed

Samuel Johnson observed in 1734 that it was “incident among physicians to mistake subsequence for consequence.” His observation might apply more to journalists; and especially the BBC Panorama programme “A Prescription for Murder,” broadcast on 26 July. The programme’s premise was that a rare side effect of antidepressants may be to induce violent thoughts; and it offered as evidence the case of James Holmes, who in July 2012 went into a cinema in Aurora, Colorado, and shot into the audience, killing 12 people and injuring 56 others. Holmes did not deny his role in the massacre, although at trial he offered a defence of not guilty by reason of insanity, which was not accepted by the jury.

A current trend among journalists is to review criminal cases and suggest that …