Opinion ID: 2756888
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Affidavits from experts and family members

Text: {¶ 20} Dr. Jolie Brams, a psychologist, submitted an affidavit stating that the jurors were presented “no meaningful psychological information” about Herring’s “problematic functioning over the course of his life.” She stated that no lay or expert testimony was presented that “would have given the jurors an opportunity to understand the sociocultural, psychological, developmental and intellectual factors that operated to bring Mr. Herring to that particular point in time.” 5 SUPREME COURT OF OHIO {¶ 21} Dr. Brams indicated that the testimony of Herring’s mother and sister during the mitigation hearing presented a distorted picture of Herring’s upbringing. As to their testimony, Dr. Brams stated: “The jurors only saw two supposedly caring individuals which did nothing to educate them regarding the marked dysfunction in Mr. Herring’s family and the amazingly dysfunctional role models by whom this young [man] was raised. Instead, they were presented a picture of a family that cared.” {¶ 22} Dr. Brams discussed her own evaluation of Herring’s family, his history, and his past and present functioning that could have been presented during mitigation. She stated that Herring’s “childhood was remarkably dysfunctional in almost every aspect.” She stated that Herring “was raised in an environment in which basically every parental figure, caregiver, family member, and associate was involved in illegal activities, significant drug and alcohol abuse, and to whom the consequences of violating the law evoked little anxiety.” Dr. Brams described Herring as a “ ‘feral child,’ who roamed the neighborhood aimlessly, without any adult having meaningful or consistent concern.” {¶ 23} Dr. Brams stated that Herring began using marijuana and alcohol on a frequent basis by the time he was 13 or 14. Herring’s active substance abuse was a primary factor leading to his failure in school and his eventual decision to drop out of school. {¶ 24} Herring’s family members introduced him to gangs and drug dealing, which was described to Dr. Brams as “the family business.” Dr. Brams added that Herring’s mother asked him to purchase drugs for her own consumption and that his mother and other family members used drugs openly. {¶ 25} Dr. Brams stated that no psychometric tests were conducted prior to trial assessing any aspect of Herring’s mental capacities. There was also no exploration of his intellectual and academic capacity from other sources, such as interviews with Department of Youth Services (“DYS”) personnel and public 6 January Term, 2014 school teachers or a review of his institutional records. Dr. Brams also stated that a neuropsychological evaluation should have been conducted prior to trial to establish whether Herring suffered from organic brain impairment. {¶ 26} Dr. Brams’s staff administered various tests to Herring. Test results on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Third Edition (“WAIS-III”) showed that Herring had a verbal IQ of 85, a performance IQ of 91, and a fullscale IQ of 87. Results on the Beery Buktenica Developmental Test of VisualMotor Integration (“VMI”) placed Herring in the third percentile nationally and showed his difficulty with visual-motor functioning. Results on the Matrix Analogies Test (“MAT”) showed that Herring has the perceptual-learning skills of a ten year old. {¶ 27} Dr. Brams also indicated that Herring’s DYS records provided information about Herring’s positive characteristics. She stated that the DYS records “reflect that Mr. Herring was able to meet the expectations of the staff in many areas and complete goals that were set out for him in terms of socialization and education.” {¶ 28} Finally, Dr. Brams set forth her diagnoses of a number of psychiatric disorders as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Psychiatric Disorders (“DSM-IV”). She concluded that Herring presents (1) alcohol abuse, chronic, (2) cannabis abuse/dependence, (3) polysubstance abuse/dependence, (4) depressive disorder, (5) personality disorder with narcissistic and antisocial features, and (6) learning disabilities. {¶ 29} Dr. C. Ronald Huff, the Director of the School of Public Policy and Management at Ohio State University, submitted an affidavit about Herring’s gang involvement. Dr. Huff stated that Herring “grew up with a host of gang members as role models, especially on his father’s side of the family.” He stated that Herring became a gang member when he was 11 or 12 years old and that 7 SUPREME COURT OF OHIO Herring’s substance abuse, drug trafficking, and other crimes were greatly influenced by his gang involvement. {¶ 30} Herring also presented affidavits from his paternal grandmother, two aunts, two uncles, his sister Nicole, his mother, and a cousin. These affidavits discussed Herring’s gang involvement, his life as a drug dealer, his mother’s drug use, and other family members who have been incarcerated. Herring’s cousin and grandmother and an aunt and an uncle would have testified at trial if they had been asked. {¶ 31} Herring’s sister, Nicole, stated that their grandmother took care of her and Herring until he was about 12, when their grandmother moved out of their home. Nicole indicated that their grandmother provided them with structure and discipline. She was strict and made Nicole and Herring do chores and complete their homework. {¶ 32} Herring’s mother, Deborah, stated that she has seven children by four different fathers. Deborah said that she was overwhelmed with caring for her children. Herring’s father had been shot to death over a drug dispute when Herring was four years old. Deborah admitted that she has had a longstanding drinking problem and had been addicted to crack for 12 years. She knew that Herring sold crack but did not think that he had a substance-abuse problem.