Doctor in waterboarding case: State overreacting

This combination of photos released by the Delaware State Police shows pediatrician Melvin Morse, 48, and his wife, Pauline Morse, 40. / AP Photo/Delaware State Police

(CBS/AP) DOVER, Del. - A Delaware physician accused of waterboarding his 11-year-old stepdaughter says he is being persecuted by authorities because of a 2009 doctor abuse scandal in the state.

Dr. Melvin Morse tells The Associated Press that he is the victim of what he called hysteria following the prosecution of pediatrician Earl Bradley. Bradley is serving 14 life sentences for abusing scores of his young patients over more than a decade.

Melvin Morse, Delaware pediatrician, accused of 'waterboarding' his daughter

Morse ended Monday's telephone interview before he could be asked directly about the specific charges in his case.

Morse, who is out on bail, faces a preliminary hearing Thursday on felony charges of child endangerment after being accused of holding his daughter's face under a running faucet on several occasions. Court documents say the girl feared for her life, according to CBS affiliate WBOC.

Joe Hurley, Morse's attorney, argued that what Morse actually did was not close to what people think of when they hear of waterboarding.

"I happened to look up the definition of waterboarding to see what the background is, and it refers to Kymer Rouge, and it refers to being strapped on some kind of device and having a mask put over your face," Hurley told  WBOC, "so it ain't waterboarding, whatever it was."

[ksmit2]

Yeah, I'm thinking that a dictionary definition, or "panel of experts"
isn't necessary to know that someone holding a person's head under a
running faucet against their will could be considered a form of torture, producing fear and terror in that person, not unlike waterboarding. We are reminded that being in a certain profession or
having a certain level of education do not necessarily guarantee that
a person can "do no wrong".

[skeezix06]

Just a thought. My dad never tried to push my head under water. Actually, he never used water at all when we did something wrong.

[Greatnessgreg]

Sounds just like DICK Cheney saying waterboarding is not torture. I still wish I could have Cheney and running water for just five minutes!

[hsinco-2009]

Me too!

[twmat311]

"so it ain't waterboarding, whatever it was."
This is an attorney? Sounds like the doctor and his lawyer are mentally equally matched.

Use of restraint with/without intent to cause fear doesn't let a person regain control - it's imtimidation for the moment, likely with resentment to follow. How often might a child tolerate this, until thy're big enough to deliver "payback time"?

[westerng]

this is what happens when you let people in positions of authority(like the president and cops) get away with massive human rights abuse; all the dumb ass citizens that dont have anymore then two brain cells start thinking its normal and okay to do it too cause well, someone else was doing it before me, therefore why im i the bad guy? thanks g.w. bush! but dont worry, one day we'll get you for war crimes and genocide of the iraqi people ;]

[ladyang]

Another ped from DE doing the wrong thing with children.

[josephp5]

All he did was hold his daughter's face under a running faucet? Sounds like abuse to me.

[WeHappyFew]

Hardly. Any form of restrained quasi-drowning creates a total panic in the brain which physiologically busts open all the synaptic gateways in an attempt to find the survival strategy. It takes but a few seconds to realise there there zero options causing massive stresses and a total psychological break. PTSD will follow and a life time of mental illness and anxiety disorders are fairly inevitable.

So no I don't think anyone is overreacting.

[AAnnie52]

Agreed - as someone who nearly drowned at age 10 (no parents involved, it was a public pool, during swimming lessons no less) the panic is awful. My short life flashed before my eyes before somebody finally noticed I was in distress and pulled me off the bottom of the pool. That was 50 years ago and I remember it like yesterday.

[zarnon61]

Yep, this is why it's classified as torture. Some people will never get it or are purposely trolling.