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State v. Flake8/5/2003
mines when he arrived at Western and no test was performed to confirm this result was a false positive. Dr. Zager also admitted that no tests were performed to determine whether the defendant was intoxicated at the time these offenses were committed, although she testified that no information relating to the offenses indicated that he was intoxicated.
Finally, notwithstanding expert proof to the contrary, the record contains proof suggesting that the defendant realized his conduct was wrongful. With the exception of Dr. Craddock, the mental health professionals who offered an opinion on the defendant's competency testified that the defendant had been unable to appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct in shooting the victim. Dr. Craddock opined that the defendant was aware that killing is wrongful, but he opined that the defendant felt morally justified in shooting these victims because he believed them to be terrorists. However, the prosecution pointed out that the defendant did not report his successful elimination of these "terrorists" to law enforcement authorities. While some testimony indicated that the defendant believed the police were part of the conspiracy, other testimony indicated that the defendant trusted his father, so the defendant's failure to report the successful elimination of these "terrorists" to his father, an FBI agent, is a factor the jury could have considered in rejecting the insanity defense. Moreover, at the time of his arrest, the defendant appeared to realize he had committed a crime. The defendant indicated that he knew why the officers were at his house, and in response to questioning, he told them the weapon was in the glove compartment. When asked if he had an altercation at the A.A. meeting, he again responded in the affirmative, and when further asked, "what happened," he responded, "I shot the guy." Although the defendant showed little emotion and appeared "tired," the officers observed no bizarre behavior. After his arrest, the defendant complied with his attorney's instruction not to speak with anyone alone, refusing to speak to Dr. Hutson until receiving permission from his attorney. Evidence suggested that the defendant had feelings of hostility toward all the victims because he believed them to be homosexual, and hostility toward Mike Fultz in particular because of his low wages and his belief that Fultz was fraudulently collecting insurance proceeds. The defendant had previously reported having homicidal thoughts toward persons who frustrated him. The defendant had thought about purchasing a gun for some time, falsely completed the paperwork so that he could obtain the gun, picked up the gun on the first day it became available, and committed these crimes the very next day. When discussing these shootings with mental health professionals, the defendant said that he had 140 names on a list, that he had intended to kill them all, and that he did not believe he would be "caught." Dr. Craddock agreed that the use of the word "caught" indicates that the defendant recognized that his actions were wrongful. Finally, when asked by defense counsel if a schizophrenia sufferer knows right from wrong, Dr. Goldin responded, "unless a person is so totally scrambled that he just has no contact with reality, he can usually tell the difference between right and wrong. However the material that he's basing his decision on might distort what he chooses to do."
It is appropriate to reiterate the following points made in Flake I:
Where the proof is contested, appellate courts should rarely reverse a jury's rejection of the insanity defense . . . . ppellate courts are not fact finders, and reversal is not appropriate where the evidence might appear to us clear a
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Tennessee DUI Attorneys
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