Opinion ID: 77561
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Testimony of Mental Health Experts

Text: 50 The state presented the testimony of Dr. Afield, the psychiatrist who examined Stewart before trial and testified in the penalty phase. 20 Dr. Afield stated that he had been certified as an expert witness in psychiatry, neuropsychology, and neurology hundreds of times since 1970. 51 Dr. Afield was aware of Stewart's suicide attempts and testified about those attempts in the penalty phase as part of his diagnosis. Dr. Afield also noted that his penalty phase testimony described in great detail the effect that Stewart's history of childhood abuse had on his mental state. Dr. Afield recalled that his penalty phase testimony concluded that Stewart suffered from antisocial personality disorder triggered by his childhood abuse and revelations about dead family members at age thirteen. Dr. Afield also noted that his penalty phase testimony mentioned Stewart's substance abuse. 21 Based on the neurological testing conducted on Stewart, Dr. Afield found that Stewart had average to above average intelligence and no organic brain damage or psychosis. 52 Dr. Afield testified that Stewart never told him about Mr. Scarpo's alleged abuse during their three meetings, and Barbas never informed him about any mistreatment by Mr. Scarpo. Dr. Afield conducted no independent investigation aside from his testing and interviews with Stewart, and he was unaware of any abuse by Mr. Scarpo. 22 Despite this lack of knowledge, Dr. Afield concluded that information about Mr. Scarpo's mistreatment would not have modified his opinion in any manner, stating, I said [Stewart] had been badly abused. [That] [t]here was more history of abuse . . . from Mr. Scarpo wouldn't have made any difference. We still had the same end product[:] a badly abused unfortunate soul. 53 In order to critique Dr. Afield's analysis, Stewart's 3.850 counsel presented the deposition testimony of Dr. Faye Sultan, Ph. D., a clinical psychologist. After Stewart's conviction, Dr. Sultan interviewed and tested Stewart on three occasions. Dr. Sultan also reviewed Stewart's jail records and competency evaluations, read penalty phase trial transcripts, and interviewed Stewart's stepsisters. Additionally, Dr. Sultan reviewed Stewart's juvenile court records from the South Carolina Department of Youth Services, which mentioned a suicide attempt at age sixteen and drug and alcohol abuse. 54 Based on this evaluation, Dr. Sultan concluded that Stewart suffered from depression, antisocial personality disorder, and other mental illnesses. Dr. Sultan agreed with Dr. Afield's diagnosis that Stewart suffered from extreme disturbance and that Stewart's ability to conform his conduct to the law was substantially impaired at the time he murdered Harris. Dr. Sultan also agreed with Dr. Afield's conclusion that Stewart had average intelligence and no organic brain damage. In reviewing Dr. Afield's penalty phase testimony, Dr. Sultan believed that Dr. Afield was missing significant information that would have made his assessment more accurate. Dr. Sultan also refuted Dr. Afield's penalty phase testimony that Stewart was programmed to be a killer at a young age, claiming that no mental health expert could determine a person's destiny at age five.