Opinion ID: 2571644
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The rape of Kim, J.

Text: On May 28, 1984, Kim J. attended a barbecue party given by defendant's sister, Gloria Hanks. Kim and defendant smoked marijuana together at the party, and then they went to Kim's house and smoked some more. Kim considered defendant to be like a brother. However, when she suggested it was time for him to leave, defendant grabbed her by the throat, told her he would kill her if she screamed, and then raped her at knifepoint. While defendant was attacking Kim he seemed to be in a trance. His eyes got big and glassy and his whole demeanor changed. [11] It was like he took on a new person, like he was in a trance, and then afterwards, he seemed to snap back. Defendant apologized and asked Kim whether she was going to tell anyone. She said she would not, but later, urged by her mother to do so, Kim called the police. She testified against defendant at a preliminary hearing, but then dropped the charges because she had known defendant practically all of his life and she was best friends with two of his sisters. [F]or whatever reason I was thinking he needs a second chance. 2. The Defense Case In the words of an aunt, defendant's home life was a living hell. Defendant's father and mother were alcoholics. They also used marijuana in front of their children. The father and mother had pretty rough fights with one another, and on one occasion the mother stabbed the father in the hand. The mother had numerous affairs. Once, the father caught the mother in bed with one of the father's friends, and defendant and his sister were in the bed at the time. After that incident, the father began beating the mother and stomped her in her vagina. When the father left the family, the mother and her boyfriend drank heavily and often the family had no money for food. The mother beat the children. Whatever she had in her hands, she might hit them with it. In defendant's presence, defendant's mother told his father that defendant was not in fact his child. In the opinion of James Park, a corrections consultant and retired Department of Corrections employee, defendant was likely to be a good prisoner and unlikely to become involved in violence. Mr. Park based his opinion on the following factors: Younger prisoners are more likely to be violent, and at 30, defendant was older; during his previous eight-year prison term, defendant had relatively few infractions, and only one for fighting; finally, defendant had completed the requirements for a high school degree. In the opinion of Dr. Claudewell S. Thomas, a psychiatrist appointed by the court at the request of the defense, defendant suffered from schizoaffective schizophrenia, a major psychiatric disorder. In reaching his diagnosis, Dr. Caldwell interviewed defendant and reviewed various documents: a 1985 report by a psychologist concluding that defendant's mental processes were intact and he was not psychotic; a 1985 report by a psychiatrist concluding defendant suffered from a chronic underlying depressive mental illness exacerbated by alcohol and drug abuse; a report by a psychologist who examined defendant in 1994 concluding that defendant was schizophrenic.