Opinion ID: 4556341
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Childhood Abuse and Neglect

Text: {¶ 164} The second focus of Kirkland’s mitigation evidence was the psychological effects of childhood abuse and neglect. He presented one witness on this point: Dr. Patti van Eys, a clinical psychologist who works with children who have histories of abuse and neglect. Dr. van Eys interviewed Kirkland and administered the Adverse Childhood Experiences Survey and the Dissociative Experiences Scale. She also reviewed summaries of interviews with Kirkland, his mother, sister, brother, and a former girlfriend. She diagnosed Kirkland as suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder (“PTSD”) with dissociation and “other specified dissociative disorder.” {¶ 165} Dr. van Eys testified that Kirkland told her that when he was young, his father beat him with his hands, brooms, and extension cords. Also, family members reported that Kirkland’s mother was abused by Kirkland’s father when Kirkland was a child. From the information provided to her, Dr. van Eys determined that Kirkland’s father left the home when Kirkland was about 13 years old.3 Kirkland also told Dr. van Eys that as a child, he was sexually abused by teenaged family members and a teenaged neighbor. {¶ 166} Dr. van Eys explained that there are ten “adverse childhood experiences” that place a child at risk for adverse health, mental-health, and social outcomes. These are psychological abuse; physical abuse; sexual abuse; emotional 3. During Kirkland’s original sentencing hearing in 2010, a different expert witness indicated that Kirkland’s father left home when Kirkland was nine or ten years old. Kirkland I, 140 Ohio St.3d 73, 2014-Ohio-1966, 15 N.E.3d 818, at ¶ 147. 43 SUPREME COURT OF OHIO and physical neglect; substance abuse by family members; parental absence, divorce, or separation; mental illness in a parent; a battered mother; domestic violence by a parent; and the incarceration of a family member. When these things happen between birth and 18 years, they interrupt a child’s neurodevelopment. According to Dr. van Eys, only a small fraction of the population reports eight or more adverse childhood experiences. Kirkland reported nine. {¶ 167} Dr. van Eys testified that the amygdala is the “survival part of the brain,” the part that responds to perceived threats. Because the amygdala is connected to the prefrontal cortex, the “thinking part” of the brain, an incorrect threat alarm from the amygdala can be corrected. But toxic stress enlarges the amygdala while weakening its connection to the prefrontal cortex. As a result, the threat-response system can become overactive in abused children. {¶ 168} According to Dr. van Eys, an abused child will read a facial expression as angry that a normal child would perceive as fearful. Dr. van Eys theorized that when Kirkland encountered Esme, she may have had a concerned or fearful facial expression; Kirkland may have misinterpreted her expression as threatening, or it may have reminded him of the helpless and scared expression of his mother when she was being abused. Such a misinterpretation would throw the amygdala into “survival mode,” according to Dr. van Eys. Similarly, she noted, one of Kirkland’s victims (presumably Rolison) allegedly produced a knife during their altercation, and another (presumably either Newton or Casonya) allegedly struck Kirkland; according to Dr. van Eys, these actions could have triggered a “survival response” from Kirkland, and after that, his acts would have been “survival actions, not thinking actions.” {¶ 169} Much of the information Dr. van Eys relied on in evaluating Kirkland’s childhood came from Kirkland. Many of Kirkland’s childhood memories lacked specificity, and Dr. van Eys admitted on cross-examination that this lack of specificity could raise questions about their credibility; however, she 44 January Term, 2020 testified that Kirkland “presented like a person who has had trauma,” not like somebody making things up.