Opinion ID: 1593630
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: ASPD and Sexually Violent Predator

Text: Murrell's second argument that ASPD does not distinguish him from the common criminal is focused on the definition of sexually violent predator. He argues that even if ASPD is a mental abnormality, it provides insufficient evidence to support a finding that he is more likely than not to engage in predatory acts of sexual violence in the future if not confined. Again, while Murrell is correct that ASPD is not, in and of itself, sufficient to provide a basis for a finding that an individual is more likely than not to engage in predatory acts of sexual violence if not confined, ASPD will be sufficient when combined with other evidence of sexually violent behavior. There was evidence of sexually violent behavior in this case. The jury heard from both Dr. Hoberman and Dr. Gunnin that ASPD predisposes Murrell to commit sexually violent offenses. They heard testimony of Murrell's past sexually violent crimes. On one occasion, Murrell raped two women. Prior to the rape, one of the victims asked to use the bathroom. Murrell followed her and before she could pull her pants back up he put his arm around her, rubbed her on her thighs and in between her legs while holding a knife to her, and made her grab his penis. The second victim testified that after they arrived at a house Murrell ordered them to remove their clothes while holding his shotgun, and he and the other men took turns with them. Specifically, she told the jury that Murrell raped her several times vaginally and orally, and made her perform oral sex on him. While she was being raped, he told her he would kill her if she told anyone, and he grabbed her hair and smacked her head on the floor. The jury heard accounts of the sexual molestation of a 13-year-old girl. Dr. Hoberman noted that although Murrell tried to wait until he was alone with the girl to fondle her, he did it in a house in which his ex-girlfriend was present, and the girl's friend did, in fact, see the incident occur. When Murrell fondled the young girl's breasts under her bra, she asked him to stop, but he continued to fondle her breasts over her bra and shirt. The jury heard two experts in this case, Drs. Gunnin and Hoberman, testify that based on their clinical evaluations and on actuarial instruments, they believed Murrell's ASPD makes it more likely than not he will engage in sexually violent behavior in the future if not confined. Dr. Hoberman testified that the actuarial tools he used put Murrell in the high risk category for reoffense. He stated that Murrell refuses, at times, to take the medication that helps him control his behavior and that he has had aggressive outbursts in prison at least twice in 2004. The evidence showed that Murrell has never completed a drug treatment or sex offender treatment program. Murrell himself indicated that when depressed he feels like someone else takes over him and endorsed the statement, behaviors occur due to instinct and you have no control over them. Dr. Hoberman's opinion was based in part on the fact that Murrell has been free, collectively, for only a little over a year since he was 18 and in that time has committed multiple sexual offenses, each involving more than one act of assault. While on conditional release after his arrest for stabbing a man, Murrell abducted two women at gunpoint and repeatedly raped them. When Murrell was released after his incarceration for rape, he molested a 13-year-old child only 4 months later.