Presinjit Poddar: A Blame Game

The title of today's chapter is "Presenjit Poddar: A Kiss of Death" is a title that sounds straight out of a Mary Higgins Clark novel...and the story has about all the elements of one: unrequited love, an innocent young woman, and the crazed man who just wants to be with her. The trial that came out of this one is also a landmark in the history of psychology. Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California, Berkley brought about the mandate that therapists have a "duty to protect" when it comes to individuals who are in danger of harming themselves or others. The question the end result of all this raises is one of responsibility, but we'll get to that later. First I will introduce you to this interesting cast of characters and allow you to make your own decisions about who was responsible for their tragic end.

Prosenjit Poddar was in love. An exceptionally bright--some would say genius-- exchange student from the lowest caste in India, his socioeconomic situation and dedication to his studies had left him little time to think of girls. That was until he met Tanya Tarasoff, a fellow student at the University of California, Berkley, at an international student dance on campus. Tanya was a flirtatious young woman of mixed heritage who took some interest in Poddar. Although she would dance and chat with him, even call him on the phone, she was in no way exclusively pursuing him. In fact, she danced and chatted with many other men at these dances. Poddar's interpretation of Tanya's signs, however, was that she cared especially for him. Despite his long-time friend Mistree's advice to let it go, he could not shake his attraction to her nor his questions of whether she felt the same. This is all fairly normal; let's face it, girls send more than their fair share of mixed messages and to an exchange student unfamiliar with American culture you can imagine this would cause a bit of anxiety and stress.

Soon, however, Poddar's puppy-love turned into an obsession. He began recording his and Tanya's conversations with microphones in his room and listening to them over and over, trying to clarify what they meant. This practice began to take up his every waking hour, even causing him to miss a few quarters of classes. In the end, Poddar acquired over 40 hours of conversation and still felt that he did not have a clear answer. Once he even proposed marriage to Tanya; her answer was still unclear to him and he began to feel a deep sense of rejection and disgrace. That was when he first confided to Mistree that he could kill Tanya. And that he could kill Mistree if Mistree told anyone. He confided similar threats to his co-workers, but they did not warn anyone or call the police. Eventually Mistree brought him to two psychotherapists--Dr. Gold and Dr. Moore--but Poddar was very distrustful of Dr. Moore and never told him the name of the girl he was threatening. Dr. Moore, however, was nervous enough to call the police. The police interviewed him in the presence of Tanya's brother Alex (who was his roommate at the time--yeah, this story is weird) and neither the police or Alex seemed to take the treats seriously.

You can probably see where this is going. Eventually Prosenjut Poddar stabbed Tanya Tarasoff to death in her home. The psychiatric testimony diagnosed him with paranoid schizophrenia, but Poddar actually did not receive a Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity charge. He was found guilty of second-degree murder (murder without premeditation). Eventually even this charge was dropped on the grounds that the jury did not have enough information about diminished capacity to make an informed decision Poddar did serve five years in prison, but he was eventually sent home with no crime on his criminal record. The companion case, Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California involved Tanya's parents, who were suing the University for the psychiatrist's failure to warm them of the danger Tanya was in. Because Poddar had not been held legally responsible, the court decided that Dr. Gold and Dr. Moore should also not be held responsible for Tanya's death. Essentially, no one in this case was found guilty; no one failed in any duty that may have prevented Tanya's death.

So, who was at fault in this case: Poddar? The people who heard his threats but did not follow up on them? Tanya for leading him on? Was this crime actually preventable? An interesting question....one that I feel has no clear answer. I think one thing that can come out of this tragic story is our duty to our fellow man. I've been saying that we are called to "do justice and love mercy," and one way you can reinterpret this is as saying, "Look out for each other!" Take people seriously, be honest with them, go with your gut and report a concern as soon as you begin to feel uncomfortable. Working from this framework may not have prevented Tanya's murder, but those involved may have thought twice before allowing Poddar to make the choice. Yes, it was ultimately his choice, his crime, his fault (I believe)...but it could have been influenced by the right people looking out for him.

That's about all. I wish I could report a happier outcome to this case but that doesn't really seem possible. In any case, have a good week.

Kelsey