Opinion ID: 2244853
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Sentencing Hearing and Evidence of Mental Illness

Text: At the sentencing hearing on January 12, 1996, the court had before it the reports of three court-appointed psychiatrists, medical records from Dr. Shellenberger's clinic, and the Presentence Report which outlined defendant's lengthy juvenile and adult criminal records. The court also heard testimony from the victim, defendant, Detective Chambers, and Dr. Shellenberger. The medical records and evidence before the court show that defendant has been in and out of mental health centers for evaluation or treatment since he was a juvenile. He began drinking when he was seven or eight, and continued drinking as an adult, often heavily, and sometimes as much as one or two cases of beer in a day. He also has experimented with cocaine and LSD, and regularly smokes marijuana. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, while still a juvenile, he was arrested for various theft and vandalism offenses and placed on probation several times. He was repeatedly truant from school and involved in fights, had a poor academic record, and ultimately school officials dismissed him. As a result, between 1978 and 1984, a number of mental health professionals evaluated him. They judged him at various times to be in the low average range of intelligence, to have difficulty with visual motor tasks, to have an adjustment reaction to adolescence, and to have a conduct disorder related to his lying and stealing. Mental health professionals also concluded that there was some evidence of a learning disability and parallel organic impairment, and that it was likely that defendant was experiencing some depression and emotional distress related to conforming his behavior to the limits and boundaries of his environment. (R. at 499.) While defendant was incarcerated in the late 1980s and early 1990s, he suffered from nervousness, sleep difficulties, and a bad temper. Defendant reported that sometimes he became so angry that he could not remember what happened when he had his temper outbursts, and also reported one suicide gesture in 1987 when he could not get access to a person he wanted to get even with. (R. at 529.) Defendant began taking doxepin (also referred to as sinequan), an anti-depressant. In 1992, while defendant was still in prison, Dr. Shellenberger, one of the psychiatrists who was later appointed by the court to evaluate defendant, first diagnosed defendant as having antisocial personality disorder, a disorder which generally begins at an early age and continues into adulthood. On March 30, 1994, approximately five weeks before committing the crimes at issue, defendant, on his own initiative, visited a mental health center and reported that he was aggressive, had frequent fights, and could not keep a job. He reported to Dr. Shellenberger and his colleague that he had a bad childhood, and that his father beat his mother and him. He admitted to a history of drug and alcohol abuse. He stated that when he drinks whiskey he gets angry and mean. He said he hears a voice and sometimes two voices that talk to him. Sometimes the voices tell him to go out into the woods, and sometimes they tell him to hurt himself or someone else. When the voices aggravate him, he drinks beer to calm himself down. During the interview, Dr. Shellenberger observed that defendant looked angry, looked over his shoulder several times, and rocked in his chair constantly throughout the interview. Dr. Shellenberger again noted that defendant meets the criteria for antisocial personality disorder, and diagnosed defendant as having intermittent explosive disorder. Dr. Shellenberger also diagnosed defendant as having an alcohol addiction, hallucinations with the exact etiology uncertain and the possibility of a schizophrenia spectrum disorder. He prescribed doxepin and stelazine, which is a powerful tranquilizer used mainly for treating psychosis, and recommended that defendant keep his mental health appointments. Defendant did not keep his follow-up appointments and did not begin his medication. Approximately three weeks after his interview with Dr. Shellenberger, defendant committed the crimes at issue. The court appointed three psychiatristsDr. Shellenberger, Dr. Crane, and Dr. Kaneto perform psychiatric examinations for the purpose of determining whether defendant was competent to stand trial, and whether defendant was legally sane at the time of the offense. Dr. Shellenberger met with defendant again on June 7. Defendant reported that during the week prior to committing the offenses, he was agitated and had difficulty with his temper. He threatened a co-worker, had a falling out with his girlfriend, and got into a fight with his sister who gave him a black eye. His sleep was erratic and he lost seven pounds, as he was not eating well. He stated that when he is alone and things are quiet, his voices comfort him, but when he gets agitated and angry the voices increase his agitation. When asked if he was hearing voices during the interview, he said, I don't want to say what they are saying. I don't want to hurt anyone. (R. at 457.) Dr. Shellenberger reported that, while he became increasingly agitated as the interview progressed, his thinking appeared to be logical and sequential, and he was oriented as to time, place, and person. Dr. Shellenberger again diagnosed defendant as having intermittent explosive disorder, hallucinations of an uncertain etiology, alcohol addiction and again noted that he meets the criteria for antisocial personality disorder. Dr. David G. Crane interviewed defendant on June 10, 1994. When Dr. Crane questioned defendant about the events of May 7 and discrepancies between his description of events and those which he reportedly provided to the detective who prepared the Probable Cause Affidavit, he became angry, refused to answer any additional questions, and terminated the interview early. Dr. Crane concluded that defendant was competent to stand trial, and that he was not insane at the time of the offense, but otherwise made no diagnosis. Dr. Kane reviewed the evaluations of Drs. Shellenberger and Crane and also interviewed defendant on December 14, 1994. Dr. Kane observed that, while defendant stated that he heard voices when he was angry, there did not appear to be any classically bizarre delusions or preoccupations and his thought processes were sequential. Dr. Kane further observed that while he was cooperative during much of the interview, defendant refused to answer some questions and at several points he appeared distractible. He would stare out the window or glare at Dr. Kane in a threatening manner. At one point, when Dr. Kane asked him what he would do if he made him angry, defendant said that he would probably come after him even though he was handcuffed. He stated: Society made me, now they are going to have to deal with me. (R. at 612.) Dr. Kane also observed that due to poor impulse control, problems with tolerating frustration, and frequent episodes of alcohol intoxication that he exercises very poor judgment. (R. at 612.) He also opined that defendant was feigning some psychiatric symptoms. Dr. Kane diagnosed defendant with the following conditions: alcohol dependance, cannabis dependance, malingering, and antisocial personality disorder. Dr. Kane disagreed with Dr. Shellenberger's diagnosis of intermittent explosive disorder and his finding that defendant suffered from hallucinations. Kane also concluded that defendant was competent to stand trial and not insane at the time of the offense. The Presentence Report before the trial court reflects that defendant's juvenile offenses dated back to 1978. The robbery and theft felony offenses upon which his habitual offender status was based resulted in his incarceration for four years on the 1988 robbery conviction, after he grabbed a woman by the throat and demanded money, and for eighteen months on the 1992 theft conviction. The Presentence Report also states that he was convicted of another theft offense, public intoxication, and criminal mischief, and, in addition, defendant admitted to Dr. Crane that he was convicted of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, for which he served six months in jail, although that offense does not appear in his Presentence Report. Dr. Shellenberger, the only expert who testified at the hearing, emphasized that defendant's mental illness was long-standing, and that defendant reported that he had been bothered by voices since he was a child. He testified that he had seen defendant four or five times since June of 1994, and that he had improved somewhat. Defendant reported that he sleeps better and is not as irritable and angry, and that the voices are manageable and sometimes gone. Dr. Shellenberger stated that defendant's improvement and ability to substantially control his behavior seemed to be the result of the medication, which he believed defendant was taking, and the fact that defendant probably had not had access to alcohol since being incarcerated.