Mindy McCready 's death makes 5 dead from 'Celebrity Rehab' cast

Mindy McCready is the fifth cast member to die after appearing on “Celebrity Rehab” with Dr. Drew Pinsky, putting the doctor under much scrutiny today. According to Google News on Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013, the Internet was buzzing with criticism of Dr. Drew as soon as Mindy’s death was announced.

Dr. Drew was compared to Dr. Jack Kevorkian, the suicide doctor, on Twitter by singer Richard Marx. The other contestants who met with an early demise were Alice in Chains bassist Mike Starr, Joey Kovar from “The Real World,” Jeff Conaway and Rodney King. Mindy McCready makes number five for cast members who have died an early death.

All five of the former cast members who have died had very serious addiction problems and maybe trying to deal with them in such a public venue wasn’t such a good idea. It is not entertainment, it is a sad infliction that these people struggle with. It seems unfair to say this show or Dr. Drew played a major part in their death. The blame doesn't belong to this show or Dr. Drew.

McCready recreated the suicide of her boyfriend, who died a month earlier. She used a gun to kill herself, just like her boyfriend, David Wilson. McCready even picked the exact spot on her porch where Wilson died. She used the same spot to pull the trigger and take her own life. Mindy’s body was found in the same place in her home where Wilson’s body once lay lifeless.

The other cast members of "Celebrity Rehab" who died appeared to have died due to substance issues, except for Conaway. Kovar and Starr overdosed and King was found dead in his pool with marijuana and alcohol in his system. Conaway was originally thought to have overdosed, but his actual cause of death was listed as pneumonia and an infection.

Addicts and alcoholics die everyday after doing time in rehabs, it’s a sad part of the addiction cycle. Many people who struggle with addiction started with their drug of choice to self-medicate their depression, anxiety or some other mental health problem. Many have gone undiagnosed for their mental health condition. So to put any blame on Dr. Drew is a stretch, but using addicts’ and their personal struggles as a form of entertainment on T.V., just doesn’t seem ethical.