His defense attorneys had argued unsuccessfully that antidepressants led him to commit the crimes and that he was involuntarily intoxicated by them and therefore didn't know right from wrong. His attorneys said the trial judge used the wrong standard for jurors to determine involuntary intoxication. His attorneys had also argued that he was denied a speedy trial by before being sentenced to 30 years in prison in 2005 when he was 15.
But the Supreme Court discarded all those arguments in reaching its decision to uphold the sentence.
Pittman turned 18 in April. He is in an adult prison and his attorneys said they might appeal.
Zoloft's manufacturer has said that the drug didn't cause Pittman's problems or cause him to kill his grandparents, the Associated Press reports.
About 32.7 million prescriptions for Zoloft were written in 2003, it is the most widely prescribed antidepressant in the U.S. Although there is not a tie to antidepressants and an increased risk of homicide, the Food and Drug Administration ordered all antidepressants to carry a warning that they increase the risk of suicidal behavior in children.
