The Insanity Plea (34 page)

It was Friday and the jurors were
ready to hear the last of the evidence, make their decision and get on with
their lives. By now they were accustomed to the procedure. They had been
casting sideways glances at Dr. Parke for several days and figured that he
would be the last act in the drama that had played out before them. When Kate
announced she was calling Dr. Parke as a rebuttal witness, all fourteen were
already looking toward the back of the courtroom. Parke smiled at the jury as
he rose from the back bench and walked empty-handed through the swinging door
to stand in front of the judge. Carrying nothing to refresh his memory was a
subliminal means of showing the jury that he had committed the facts to a well-trained
mind and had no need to review notes or the masses of medical records. After
being sworn, he took his seat, turned to face the jury and crossed his legs…the
picture of composure and control.

“Tell the jury your name and profession,
please,” Kate began in the usual fashion.

“I’m Frederick Parke. I’m a medical
doctor and a forensic psychiatrist. I’m also a professor at the University of
Colorado School of Medicine.”

From the first row in the audience
Rita studied the witness, paying particular attention to his voice. There’s
something about that voice that’s important she thought. What is it? What is
it?

In response to Kate’s questions, the
witness laid out his credentials: Masters in Public Health from the University
of Iowa, M.D. from Harvard, residency in Psychiatry at Columbia affiliated
hospitals in New York City, fellowship in forensic psychiatry from the same
institution. Then he rose through the ranks to become a full professor of
psychiatry at Ohio State before moving to Colorado a number of years ago.

The eyes of a number of jurors were
beginning to glaze over until he described being recruited to work with the
FBI’s behavioral analysis unit in Virginia and other law enforcement agencies
to develop the means to profile serial killers. When he rattled off the names
of several of the more notorious serial killers and his involvement in their
capture, he had the jury’s attention.

“I suppose you might say that I have
been fascinated by the terrible things people do to each other. I’ve spent most
of my career trying to understand why some outwardly average person would kill,
seemingly at random, twenty or thirty people.”

Kate studied the jury, noted their
attention and decided to spend a little more time in this area. “Doctor Parke,
have you assisted law enforcement in the capture of any recent serial killers?”

“I’m sure the jury has read about the
BTK, the man in Wichita who was president of his Lutheran church, a Boy Scout
leader, and by all appearances a pillar of the community; yet, he killed at
least twenty people in Wichita. I consulted on his case; only I must admit I
can’t take a lot of credit for his capture. One of the common attributes of
serial killers is they want recognition for what they have done. Many of them
have literally gotten away with murder for years. If they don’t get caught,
they won’t go down in history. In his case, he could have laid low, but he
started contacting the papers again and that led to his capture.”

“Dr. Parke, are you also trained in
determining whether a criminal defendant meets a state’s definition of
insanity?”

Parke leaned toward the jury as if to
make sure they heard his reply. “I’ve done about two hundred insanity exams
over the years, at last count, in thirty-four states.” He slowly took off his
glasses so the jury could see his eyes. “My opinions are rarely challenged.”

“And, Dr. Parke, the prosecution
asked you to evaluate the defendant, Dan Little?”

“That’s correct. I did my usual
objective exam. I entered this case with no pre-conceived opinions. In fact, on
our first call, I told you that I would not let the fact that you paid me for
my time influence my opinion.”

Kate had the psychiatrist explain how
he reviewed every medical record available, the entire police file and the
intake interview before interviewing the defendant over nearly an entire day. He
described his interview process and the videotaping of it. As a smart lawyer, Kate
brought out that thirty minutes of the interview was accidentally erased. Parke
apologized for the mistake, pointing out that nothing of significance was lost.

Kate now wanted to get the key
question and answer into evidence. “Doctor, based on all you have described,
did you form an opinion as to whether the defendant knew his actions were wrong
on the day he murdered Debbie Robinson?”

“Objection, Your Honor,” Wayne said
as he stood. “There’s no objective evidence that Dan committed the murder and
we’ve challenged his confession.”

Judge Fernandez motioned the lawyers
to his bench. “Wayne, I assume you are doing this for appeal.”

“Judge, I still believe your decision
to admit that confession is wrong and I re-urge my motion to strike it. And,
yes, I’m making a record for appeal.”

“I understand you’re doing what you
think is necessary. My ruling stands.”

Dr. Parke had overheard the exchange
at the bench and tailored his answer to counter the objection. “Ladies and
gentlemen, I’ve seen the video of the confession, just as you have. I can tell
you that I’ve seen hundreds of such confessions, many by people claiming to
have been insane. In this case, I believe Mr. Dan Little was competent to make
that confession; however, if Ms. Rasmussen likes, I can set that aside and
still demonstrate that he knew his actions on the day in question were wrong.”

Kate leaped at the opportunity. “Please
explain, Dr. Parke.”

“First, he had her bracelet, a very
valuable one I might add, in his pocket. He told me he knew at the time that
taking that bracelet was wrong, that he could be accused of theft if caught. That’s
almost conclusive evidence that he could distinguish wrongful conduct on that
day in spite of his illness.”

Several jurors nodded in agreement.

“I asked him when he crossed the
street on the day he was caught, if he waited for the light to change to green.
‘Of course,’ he said, ‘I may be crazy, but I know the difference between a red
light and a green one.’ Last, he took off one of his coats and covered Debbie’s
head and chest. To me, that’s an obvious sign that he was covering up what he
had done, that he knew it was certainly wrong.”

Duke leaned over to Wayne and
whispered, “This is bullshit. He’s just picking out little pieces of crap.”

Wayne shook his head as he replied,
“That’s what he usually does and it usually works, particularly when the
state’s got a confession. I’ve read his testimony in five or six other cases. His
pattern doesn’t vary.”

Kate had a smug look on her face. “Anything
else, Doctor?”

“Oh, I’m not through,” he smiled. “Going
back to that bracelet, I asked him if he would have taken it if a cop had been
looking down from the seawall. He said he wouldn’t. He obviously knew that
theft was wrong and if he knew that, he had to know that murder was wrong.”

Kate had one more question. “What
about his conduct on the day he was caught by the police?”

 
“On the morning he was caught, he refused to
obey the police but ran down the beach when they hailed him to stop. When I
asked him about that, he said he knew that it was wrong to refuse to obey a
direct order from a police officer.”

“But, Dr. Parke,” Kate asked, “wasn’t
he hallucinating that day, and, if so, how can he be responsible for his
conduct?”

Wayne knew what was coming and knew
that he would just have to take this opinion apart on cross examination.

“Ms. Rasmussen, ladies and gentlemen,
clearly he had a mental illness on that day just as he has had for about twenty
years. However, I asked him if he was hallucinating on that day. As a matter of
fact, every doctor who examined him did so and he always said that he was not. Sometimes,
even with the mentally ill, we can’t look into their minds and have to accept
what they tell us. In short, he knew what he was doing on the day of Debbie
Robinson’s death in spite of his mental illness. He knew what he did was wrong
in the eyes of society and the eyes of the law.”

“Pass the witness, Your Honor.”

The judge looked at the clock and
then at the jury, saying, “Okay, let’s take our morning break. See you in about
twenty minutes.”

As the jury filed out, Dan reiterated
Duke’s comments about it all being just little pieces of crap, and again Wayne
pointed out that they had a confession, a very well-credentialed and credible
expert and more than enough about his conduct to convict. Then he tried to
reassure his brother that he would keep his promise about his questioning of
Dr. Parke. Dan could only shake his head. Then he buried his face in his hands.

Wayne walked over to the window and
gazed off into space, again wondering why he’d ever agreed to take on this
task. Rita joined him and squeezed his hand. Wayne nodded to her and continued
to stare out the window. He knew that he had to be at the top of his game. Deep
down, he just wanted it to be over. Finally, he looked at his watch and realized
that the recess would end in a couple of minutes and returned to the counsel
table. As Wayne studied his notes, Barney came from the judge’s chambers.

“Gentlemen and lady, the judge had to
get on a conference call with the administrative judge, something about that
new courthouse they’re building and a decision that has to be made today. He
said to send the jury to lunch early and be back here at one o’clock.”

Once the jury was seated after lunch,
Wayne walked to the witness.

“That tweed coat, that’s part of your
courtroom image, isn’t it?”

“Sir, I often wear this coat to
class.”

“Fair enough, but when you lecture to
your peers, you’re dressed in a five thousand dollar Pierre Cardin suit and
wearing a Rolex instead of that Timex watch, aren’t you? In fact, one of your
most attended lectures is titled
How To
Convince
Anyone of Anything
,
right, Dr. Parke?”

Dr. Parke straightened himself in the
witness chair and turned to look at the jury. “All of that is factual, Mr. Little.
What you must understand, and would know if you ever heard one of my lectures,
is that I can convince no one of anything if I do not truly believe it myself.”

Wayne shrugged off the reply and walked
to the defense counsel table, his back to the witness, “All of this, the coat,
the glasses, those loafers that haven’t been shined in a month, all of it is
because you’re a psychiatrist and you’ve studied what will make you most
credible to these fine folks from Galveston, right, Dr. Parke?”

Now the jury was looking at the
witness, wondering just how much of him to believe. Parke had not answered.

“Come on, Doctor, all of this is
planned and rehearsed just like your answers to Ms. Rasmussen.”

Dr. Parke regained his composure. “Certainly,
Mr. Little, I chose my wardrobe carefully and discussed my testimony with Ms.
Rasmussen.” He turned in his chair to face the jury. “However, these jurors
must understand I’m trying my best to give them the benefit of my thirty years
of experience in these matters. I have strongly held conviction in my opinions.”

In the first row of the audience
Claudia was mentally cheering Wayne on and glanced over at Rita to get her
reaction. She was surprised to see Rita’s eyebrows raised and her hand over her
mouth. “You all right, Rita?”

Rita nodded. Then she folded her arms
and stared at Dr. Parke.

Wayne took his seat and continued,
“Since you brought it up, Dr. Parke, let’s fill the jury in on your experience.
First of all, you go around the country, lecturing at forensic psychiatry
seminars, where you’re paid to show other experts how to persuade a jury to
believe what they are saying.”

Parke’s eyes lit up as he was given
an opportunity to accentuate his stature among his peers. “I’m often asked by
my professional colleagues to lecture. I think that shows their respect for me
and is certainly not something to be criticized.”

“We’ll let the jury decide that, sir.
You also testify in many other states on questions of the sanity of a
defendant? Thirty-four is the number you told Ms. Rasmussen?”

Parke nodded.

“And you know, don’t you, Doctor,
that not all states have the same definition of insanity.”

Kate started to object and decided to
give it a couple more questions to see where Wayne was going.

“That’s correct, Mr. Little. Each
state is entitled to its own definition under our Constitution. I have to
accept how each state defines insanity.”

Wayne looked over at the jury and saw
several expressions of puzzlement as he continued. “In fact, if Dan were
accused of this same crime in a state where we could plead that his actions
were a result of his mental illness, you might have a different opinion on this
question of insanity?”

Concern crossed the witness’s face
before he responded. “Possible, sir.”

Kate was on her feet, only a little
too late.
 
“Objection, Your Honor,
objection! We’re in Texas, not some other state. What Dr. Parke’s opinion would
be in those states is completely irrelevant.”