Justina Pelletier 'Should be in Connecticut,' Mass. Gov. Says

Rev. Patrick Mahoney confronted Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and asked him to release Connecticut teen Justina Pelletier.

"I agree," replied Governor Deval Patrick today, April 24, but said it is a matter for the courts.

Rev. Mahoney reminded the Governor, that the teen, currently housed at Wayside in Framingham, has "not been allowed to go to church in 14 months" and is "not being educated."

"You need to release her now," said Mahoney. "We need a re-unification plan."

Mahoney told the Governor he appreciated his work with civil rights in the past, and let's now "work on this girl's civil rights."

"She can't even walk and she is not being educated," Mahoney told the Governor Wednesday.

"She should be in Connecticut," said Patrick. "We have appeared in court to have her sent home to Connecticut. Believe it or not the court has jurisdiction not us."

Editor's Note: You can watch the Governor's conversation with Rev. Mahoney as Patch attached the video to this report.

Justina has been at Wayside Youth & Family Services in Framingham since January 2014.

The custody case has garnered national attention and created a FreeJustina movement. A judge recently decided she should remain under the care of Massachusetts' Children & Families division.

Pelletier, who has been diagnosed and treated by Tufts Medical Center doctors for mitochondrial disorder, a rare genetic disease, was sent to Boston Children’s Hospital for a bout with the flu in February 2013. Her regular doctor was unavailable at the time.

Doctors at Boston Children’s Hospital reportedly disagreed with the diagnosis and instead diagnosed Pelletier with somatoform disorder, a mental illness characterized by pain and gastrointestinal symptoms that have no identifiable physical cause.

The Massachusetts Department of Children and Families then took custody of Justina, when the Pelletiers, who live in West Hartford, CT., disagreed with the Boston hospital's treatment.

Pelletier has only been allowed one, one hour supervised visit per week with her mom and dad and they have not been permitted to take photographs of their daughter, reported newlife.com

Following new legal pressure asserted by Liberty Counsel, the Massachusetts Department of Children & Families permitted the most recent visitation to be unsupervised. 

Rev. Mahoney, a nationally known pro-life activist, accompanied Lou and Linda Pelletier to visit Justina.

Justina, now 15, told her parents and Rev. Mahoney, “I feel like a prisoner," reported lifenews.com.

Justina also asked, “Why can’t I go home with my parents?”

There have been weekly protests in Framingham to #FreeJustina.

The most recent was on Easter Sunday.

Related Articles

• Justina Pelletier to Stay in Massachusetts, Judge Says

• Pelletier Case: Judge Delays Ruling Until Tuesday

• Pelletier Case: Judge Could Rule on Custody This Week

• Protest Planned to Fight Hospital’s ‘Kidnapping’ of West Hartford Girl [Updated]

• West Hartford's Justina Pelletier to Leave Boston Children's Hospital [Updated]

• Will West Hartford's Justina Pelletier Ever Be Released?

• West Hartford's Justina Pelletier Transferred to New Facility

• Judge Reportedly Open to Justina Pelletier Returning Home to West Hartford

• Report: Mass. DCF 'Actively Working' to Return Justina Pelletier to Her Parents

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared on Framingham Patch