Opinion ID: 2681345
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Psychological evaluations

Text: Clinical psychologist Francis Crinella interviewed defendant and reviewed the results of various neuropsychological examinations. In his opinion, defendant suffered from hypoxia at the time of his birth, likely as a result of his mother‘s two car accidents, and the hypoxia resulted in a number of medical and psychological problems that persisted throughout his life. He scored a 75 on the verbal part of the intelligence quotient (IQ) test and a 76 on the performance part of the test, for a full-scale IQ score of 74, which Dr. Crinella characterized as indicating borderline mental retardation. Defendant appeared to be out of touch with reality, and he had little imagination and extremely poor judgment. He had little ability to contemplate future events and poor adaptive behavior overall. Dr. Crinella identified defendant as a ―moral imbecile,‖ or a person with very primitive moral judgment. Dr. Crinella acknowledged on cross-examination that some facts undermined the view that defendant was intellectually disabled, including his general ability to take care of himself, his extensive work history (without any termination for incompetence), his attendance at college-level business management courses, and the absence of any observable abnormalities in a scan of his brain. Defendant told Dr. Crinella that he started using illegal drugs when he was 16 years old and that he associated with gang members. Defendant never told Dr. Crinella that he had shot Gonzales while acting under duress.
Clinical psychologist Ines Monguio interviewed defendant and his mother and administered tests to determine whether defendant had brain impairment. Monguio said that defendant ―could not put together more than maybe four or five words in a sentence that would make sense before his speech would break down.‖ 11 His speech lacked maturity and sophistication, and he had difficulty processing information. He had a ―globally impaired brain,‖ including disabilities in learning, attention, abstract thought, and verbal skills. In Dr. Monguio‘s view, defendant‘s father‘s leaving the family made defendant angry, and he was unable ―to do anything constructive with the anger.‖ Dr. Monguio thought that it was highly unlikely defendant was capable of planning and executing a complex act requiring more than one step and that he could not recognize the moral and physical significance of shooting Gonzales.
Forensic psychologist Patrick Barker evaluated defendant‘s emotional and cognitive functioning. In Dr. Barker‘s view, defendant was in touch with reality, although defendant also reported frequent delusions that some other being or presence was nearby. Defendant‘s speech was ―somewhat odd‖ and deficient. He had moderately exaggerated notions of his abilities and potential, while his insight, ability to make appropriate judgments, and comprehension were all below average. Psychological tests revealed defendant had a full-scale IQ of 73, or borderline mental retardation. Personality tests revealed that defendant was angry, antisocial, at times delusional, agitated, confused, alienated, and grandiose, and that he had poor judgment and could have psychotic-like symptoms when he was under the influence of drugs. Dr. Barker diagnosed defendant as suffering from borderline mental retardation and mixed personality disorder with strong antisocial and schizotypal traits. Defendant told Dr. Barker that he respected and feared his father, J.D. In Dr. Barker‘s view, watching the violent, X-rated videos with J.D. was confusing to defendant, but it resulted in a feeling of power and strength. Defendant indulged in persistent, aggressive, and homicidal impulses and fantasies inspired 12 by the videos. J.D.‘s departure from the family removed the severe restrictions of his childhood, and defendant began using drugs and alcohol, associating with gang members, purchasing weapons, and socializing with both men and women. J.D.‘s abandonment of the family caused defendant to hate him and to feel an increased sense of confusion about his own life. Dr. Barker and defendant had two conversations about the murder. In the first, defendant told Dr. Barker ―it just happened.‖ In the second, defendant said he shot Gonzales because Jackson told him to do so. He did not say that Jackson forced him to do so. In Dr. Barker‘s opinion, defendant knew that his shooting of Gonzales would kill her. Defendant understood the wrongfulness of that action and also the wrongfulness of the robbery and rape on Oxnard Beach.
Defendant was evaluated at the neurobehavioral teaching clinic at the University of California, Los Angeles, under the supervision of Dr. David Benson. After neurological, mental status, and neuropsychiatric evaluations were conducted, a panel of physicians, including Dr. Benson, reviewed the results and interviewed defendant. The panel‘s opinion was that defendant‘s brain was abnormal, most likely as a result of the two car accidents his mother suffered just before his birth. He lacked the ability to think abstractly or to learn complex tasks, and he had difficulty discerning right from wrong at anything but an elementary level.