Opinion ID: 1201575
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Dr. Tatro

Text: Dr. Donald Tatro, a psychologist retained by defense counsel, examined Defendant first. In a twenty-three page report, Dr. Tatro described in detail the results of his examination, and concluded that Defendant suffered from a serious personality disorder. He stated: The adult Mr. Stuard, thus, is a man who is very out of touch with his own less-than-positive characteristics. He does not recognize his intellectual shortcomings. He is not aware of his own socially unacceptable hostile and sexual impulses. He does not see himself as having motives other than the ones that fit his high-blown, fault-free estimate of himself. He cannot admit to failings of any kind, even cognitive failings that are obvious to the casual observer.       When the stresses build, however, and negative impulses begin to intensify, instead of recognizing that it is he who is feeling negative, the surface look of things about him changes in a negative direction. It is as if an inner poison builds up and spills over onto the outer skin of the world around him, and all of the objects in it  excluding him and the people he includes in his image of himself  take on malignant coloration. His mood becomes correspondingly malignant, since he sees himself as the object of all of the negativity around him. He is much more inclined to respond in a hostile, aggressive way to people when this kind of murkiness descends over the surfaces to which he typically reacts. Tatro Report at 13-14. Dr. Tatro continued: The defensive habits which give shape to Mr. Stuard's personality are best understood as indications of serious personality disorder, which is maladaptive, usually longstanding, pattern of coping with internal conflicts and environmental stresses. The personality disorder that is in evidence in Mr. Stuard's case appears to be a mixed one, combining histrionic, paranoid, and narcissistic traits. Id. at 18. The report also revealed a troubled childhood, including the lack of a maternal upbringing, an absent father, and an oppressive grandmother who would, for example, force Defendant and his brother to get naked and whip each other with a razor strap as punishment. [10] Dr. Tatro also determined that Defendant's verbal IQ (73) was toward the low end of the borderline range, which is just one step above the mentally retarded range. In addition to a personality disorder, Dr. Tatro also inferred that Defendant had sustained organic brain damage as a result of his boxing career. He stated: Intelligence-test indications that Mr. Stuard may have suffered some impairment of earlier higher levels of cognitive functioning raise the question of possible brain damage resulting from his career as a prizefighter. Brain damage is a common consequence of lengthy involvement in a sport where the object is the continual violent pummeling of the opponent's head. It was not surprising, therefore, when Mr. Stuard's handling of the Bender Visual-Motor Gestalt Test also turned out to be consistent with the likelihood of organic brain damage. Id. at 10-11. Importantly, Dr. Tatro surmised that the organicity may have contributed both to the stresses that were building up in [Defendant's] life and to the weakening of defenses that, up till this late point in his life, [Defendant] had successfully employed to keep repressed.... Accordingly, Dr. Tatro concluded that there is a strong possibility that the organic brain damage  may have contributed significantly to [Defendant's] acting-out of violent impulses.  (Emphasis added). He recommended that Defendant be tested further to determine whether Defendant was suffering from a condition known as organic personality syndrome. Dr. Tatro's testimony at sentencing tracked his report in most respects. However, after reviewing the results from the subsequent examinations (discussed below), he revised his initial diagnosis and agreed with the state's expert that Defendant was in fact suffering from dementia, a related but more serious ailment. Dr. Tatro nevertheless adhered to his initial belief that Defendant was brain damaged  a finding that the state's expert did not dispute and ultimately confirmed.