We discuss the fifteenth day of Richard Allen's trial. We heard from Allen's sister Jamie Jones and daughter Brittany Zapanta, as well as testimony from Brad...
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Notes from MS Day 15
[things in parentheses are MY comments]
Dr Polly 'Westcott- on direct w/D:
She did 2 hr interview 5 hrs of testing for evaluation on RA
[only 2 hr interview?]
She also interviewed KA to gather bio and childhood info
She wrote 100 pg report
RA childhood:
Anxious/fearful from childhood
Abandoned by father /intense fears about school-severe separation anxiety/
Very overly worried about what others think about him
Meds for anxiety/severe depression
In adulthood:Fears/anxiety in workforce
Had meltdowns/fear of failure/anxiety about giving orders to others when promoted
Felt powerless, overwhelmed
Had crying fits and nervous breakdowns and would get demotions--they liked him so not fired just demoted a few times
Kathy had to help him recover/literally relied upon her
Dependent Personality Disorder
Feels worthless when alone/can’t function alone/abandonment fears are severe and debilitating
Greenlee:—in Holeman interview he seems different than described by Westcott--does not seem weak or powerless
Dr Westcutt main points
1.Essentially he’s a fragile egg— [is he though?]
So easy to crack, so vulnerable
2. Lying/exaggerating/malingering —assessments can be done to determine if that is being done [she didn’t see any malingering or deceit in her objective tests]
3. RA is slow to understand/not a problem solver/ruminastes about same things and obsesses but does not fix problems
4.She said he had a steep decline seen in April ==psychosis, suicidal, mumbling, defecating, poo, etc
[Diener objected to the diagnosis ? and JG agreed it was not substantiated?]
5. totality=major depressive disorder that can go into psychosis/spiralling
Aine says: question comes up—could this description of him, being so emotionally fragile mean he could be capable of anger, violence>?
6. Factors-dependent disorder/stress can change brain chemistry
Dr W claims RAs handwriting declined in quality/more fragmented, like his thought patterns
She compared letters he had written in Nov then in April
MCMI tests—they are objective [are they though?]
--- supposedly he fears rejection, fears confrontation, pulls away from conflict, is passive/resilient —prefers lack of confrontation
Aine:
in Liggett/Mullin interviews—RA seemed angry and vocal, not weak, passive
Also with KA he seemed strong—not weak
Dr W= Passive/submissive=according to her evaluation ——[Is he though?]
Diener—Cross:
Q:You say he had sensory deprivation—but didn’t he have rec time, showers, 3x wk,and Wala every day?
A: Dr W conceded yes
Diener made good point=records used for exam she used 30 to 50 days of Wala's—but there were a lot more than that—so who decided which ones you were given to evaluate?
MS SAID= it created ^^ impression that D only gave her limited scope of notes to create the diagnosis they wanted
Dr Westcutt said he was making confessions that were incompatible with the facts of case—Diener said how do u know that? Were you given case information by the Defense? Westcutt said , 'not really' but seemed that she was
Dr Westcutt used as example "He said Satan killed them" ----[but was he speaking figuratively again?]
Greenlee===if wife and mom were the 2 people he trusted the most, and those are who he confessed to, that is interesting.
Dr Westcutt= 'No evidence of deception or malingering on the test'— Aine, wonders how about in his behaviour?
Diener asked if he transferred trust to Dr Wala? Dr W said NO [that doesn't make sense to me]
Diener asked, why should your opinions matter more than Dr Martin or Dr Wala who had a lot of contact in real time when this was happening? [YES, GOOD ONE]
Westcutt Answer=I looked at their reports and the suicide companions—and took them all into account—[not a strong answer, imo]
Diener==only 30 to 50 notes of wala are included in reports —missing discussion about confessions to wife and mother[apr 5, may 3rd]
Westcutt=Answer—'my job is more about depth and context of the mental health symptoms rather than if the confessions are true '
Diener was able to point to that^^^ distinction and bring it to jurors attention
