The psychologist for Jodi Arias' defense made numerous mistakes in his PTSD diagnosis of the defendant, and never attempted to rectify them - and that's coming from him. If this is the "expert witness" testimony that was supposed to somehow be the panacea to Arias' myriad lies and bizarre behavior, the prosecution should send this guy a thank you card.
(See live stream below)
A 32-year-old photographer from California, Arias is charged with the the grisly first-degree murder of her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander in June 2008, when she stabbed the 30-year-old man 27 times, shot him in the face, slit his throat from ear to ear and left his bloodied corpse crumpled over in the bathroom shower of his home. Arias' fate depends on whether the jury believes she killed Alexander in self-defense, as she contends, or was actually a jilted lover exacting jealous revenge, as the prosecution argues.
A psychologist and self-advertised "expert witness" on PTSD, Richard Samuels is the first part of the defense's attempt to demonstrate how Arias' purported foggy memory, bizarre behavior, and numerous admitted lies were a result of PTSD, and dissociative amnesia. Samuels' credentials as an "expert witness" have been on trial since he took the stand.
Prosecutor Juan Martinez has already gotten him to admit "oversight" in his analysis of Arias earlier in the trial, noting that when the psychologist tested her for PTSD she was still been lying to people that Alexander had been killed by masked intruders. In another day full of defense objections and judge sidebars, Martinez continued to deflate Samuels' professional credibility Monday by drawing attention to inaccuracies and admitted instances of oversight in his diagnosis of Arias.
Martinez once again set about poking holes in Samuels' ability to accurately diagnose PTSD, pointing out that not only had he scored Arias' tests differently, but had done so after six months had elapsed. Samuels admitted that he scored the first Arias test Jan. 15, 2010, and the second about six months later because he misplaced his notes.
"For some reason you decided to re-score it sometime later, right?" Martinez asked, according to The Huffington Post.
"That's right," Samuels responded.
Samuels claimed he misplaced his notes on the tests, so he was forced to re-score them later.
Martinez said he didn't understand why Samuels wasn't prepared with all his notes and other materials for the tests. Samuels failed to directly answer the question, only providing vague explanations, and then claimed anew that he scored the test about "three or four months later."
Asked to further explain his PTSD diagnosis, Samuels said that Arias' actions show she was trying to avoid thinking or feeling anything associated with Alexander's killing.
Martinez pointed out that Arias had called and left Alexander a voicemail, and sent him texts as well as an email after he was dead, and also sent flowers to his grandmother.
"That's not an effort to avoid thoughts, feelings or conversations associated with the killing, is it?" asked Martinez.
"It's an effort to distance herself from the reality of the fact that she did the killing," Samuels replied.
"And that effort requires thinking, doesn't it?" Martinez asked.
"Yes," said Samuels.
Martinez noted that Arias had written about Alexander numerous times in her diary following his killing.
"She talked over and over about him, didn't she," Martinez said, referring to the journal entries.
"Yes, she did," Samuels admitted.
"It required thinking to write down what she did in her journals, didn't it," Martinez asked.
"Yes," Samuels said.
Martinez moved on to argue that key portions of the behavioral profile necessary for a positive the PTSD diagnosis were present in Arias long before Alexander's slaying; something the prosecutor said Arias' diary and violent history with her mother proved. Samuels contended the information was irrelevant to his diagnosis.
After another day Martinez's rapid-fire questioning, Monday ended with the defense's brief introduction of its next "expert witness," Alyce LaViolette, an expert on domestic abuse who has experience as an expert witness for both the prosecution and defense in about 30 criminal trials, and has also delivered speeches about PTSD.
The trial resumes Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. EST with more testimony from LaViolette.