Melvin L. Morse

Melvin L. Morse is an American medical doctor who specialized in Pediatric medicine. He was voted by his peers as one of “America’s Best Doctors” in 1997-98,2001-2002 and 2005–2006. He has published numerous scientific articles in medical journals over the course of his thirty year career. As the author of several books, Morse has appeared on many talk show and television programs to discuss his extensive research on near death experiences in children.
His 1991 book Closer to the Light was a bestseller. Oprah Winfrey interviewed Morse about this book in 1992. Larry King interviewed Morse in 2010. The PBS show Upon Reflection produced a half-hour episode devoted to Morse. He was the subject of an article in the Rolling Stone magazine in 2004 entitled "In search of the Dead Zone".
In 2012, Morse and his second wife were charged with felony child endangerment based on allegations made by his eleven-year-old step-daughter. During Morse’s 2014 trial, he was dubbed as the “waterboarding doctor” by the media.Trial testimony did not substantiate any instances of “waterboarding” as the term is generally understood; however, Morse was convicted of reckless endangerment and was sentenced to serve three years in prison.
Morse was released from Sussex County Correctional Institution (SSCI) in 2016. According to Kahlil Peterkin, Clinical Supervisor of the prison’s therapeutic Key program and Morse’s therapist of thirteen months, Morse underwent a transformation while incarcerated. Peterkin also reported Morse was well-respected by his fellow inmates and considered a leader in prison. He taught fellow inmates meditation techniques which Peterkin also described as ‘transformative” in the lives of the men who learned and practiced them.
Following his release, Morse co-founded The Recidivism Prevention Group, a company dedicated to assisting addicts and former inmates in developing spiritual understandings to re-enter society as productive members. The group uses meditation techniques to accomplish these goals. Morse now resides in Washington, DC.

Morse graduated from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland in 1975 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Natural Science. Morse earned a medical degree from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. in 1980. He interned in Pediatrics at the University of California at San Francisco, and then completed a residency in Pediatrics at Seattle Children's Hospital. He subsequently completed a two-year fellowship in Hematology/Oncology and a one-year fellowship in Behavioral Pediatrics.

Morse practiced Pediatrics in Renton,Washington for 20 years [16]. He was an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Washington in Seattle. [15] In 1986, Morse worked for a year as a pediatrician at Fort Hall, Idaho for the Indian Health Service. [1] He retired from the full-time practice of Pediatrics in 2006 before moving to Delaware in 2007. Prior to his arrest, he was working as a pediatrician at an office in Milton, Delaware. After his arrest on child endangerment charges in 2012, his Delaware license was suspended.

In 2007, Morse became the Research Director of the Institute for the Scientific Study of Consciousness (ISSC) founded by Charles Tart in 1979. While Director of ISSC, he was awarded the Warcollier International Prize for consciousness research in 2011.

Publications

• Morse, Melvin (1991). Closer to the Light. Random House Digital. ISBN 9780804108324. Retrieved 2012-08-10. 
• Morse, Melvin; Perry, Paul (1994). Parting Visions:: Pre-Death Visions and Spiritual Experiences. Random House Publishing Group. Retrieved 2012-08-10. 
• Morse, Melvin; Perry, Paul (1992). Transformed by the Light: The Powerful Effect of Near Death Experiences on People's Lives. Random House. 
• Morse, Melvin; Perry, Paul (2001). Where God Lives: Paranormal Science and How Our Brains Are Connected to the Universe. Harper Collins. 
• Morse, ML, Castillo P, and Venecia D; et al. (November 1986). "Near Death Experiences in a Pediatric Population" (PDF). American Journal of Diseases in Children. Vol 140 No 11 1110-1115.  CS1 maint: Explicit use of et al. (link) CS1 maint: Multiple names: authors list (link)
• Morse, Melvin (1994). "Current Problems in Pediatrics" (PDF). Near Death Experiences and Death Related Visions for the Clinician (Mosby). vol 24 55-83. 
• Morse, ML; Williams, L (December 2011). "Benefits of Reiki Therapy to a Severely Neutropenic Patient with Associated Influences on a True Random Number Generator". J Alt Comp Med. 
• Christenson, PJ, Hardoin, RA, Hennsley, JA, Morse, ML (October 1993). "The Effect of Premonitions of SIDS on Grieving and Healing" (PDF). The SIDS Survival Guide.  CS1 maint: Multiple names: authors list (link)

• "Melvin L. Morse: Curriculum Vitae" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2012-08-10. 

Morse has been married twice, and has six children, five of whom are adopted. He is in regular contact all his children. Delaware Family Court has not restricted his access to his daughter Melody.

Reckless Endangerment Conviction

In August 2012, Morse and his wife Pauline were arrested for felony child endangerment based up allegations of "waterboarding" made by his eleven-year-old step-daughter. He was also accused by Delaware State Police of force-feeding the eleven-year-old girl until she threw up, among other child abuses.

Morse's trial started on January 28, 2014 at the Sussex County Superior Court in Delaware. The accusations made by the State Police were not substantiated at trial. The step-daughter testified at trial that she vomited due to overeating, not to force feeding.

Morse placed her in the bathtub and ran water over her head to rinse the vomit out of her hair. This was the testimony which spawned the term “waterboarding” by the prosecution and the media. The trial transcripts contain no testimony regarding any instances of “waterboarding” in the context of torture as it is known today.

In spite of the defense discrediting the step-daughter’s testimony at trial, Morse was convicted of one felony and five misdemeanor charges of reckless endangerment. He was sentenced to three years in prison. His wife pled guilty to misdemeanor charges.

Later in 2014, Eugene Braxton, in "America's Mystic solves Near Death Riddle", attributed Morse's waterboarding to his desperation to "win the near-death crown.

This sensationalized theory gained traction in the media, but had no basis in truth, and has never been substantiated.