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Olsen v. State4/14/2003
cut short by lack of insurance, Olsen received speech, physical, and occupational therapies and was seen by a psychiatrist and a psychologist. He was not allowed to drive or be alone with his daughter. The hemorrhaging and AVM permanently injured Olsen's brain. The part of his brain that was injured, the corpus callosum, is the structure that carries messages from one hemisphere to the other.
[ ] As part of his neurological examination, Dr. McMahon tested Olsen for concrete thinking abilities and determined that Olsen performed deficiently because of permanent injuries to the brain. The State's cross-examination revealed the possibility that Olsen's deficient performance was due to chronic alcoholism. Dr. McMahon believes that an I.Q. greater than seventy is normal intelligence but did not test Olsen's intelligence. He stated that an AVM can be diagnosed before rupture because it causes mental deficits before bursting.
[ ] The next defense expert, Dr. Linda Gummow, a psychologist specializing in neuropsychology, with publications on stroke, cognitive rehabilitation, and the effects of injury on behavior, gave Olsen neuropsychological examinations in February and August of 1997. Reviewing other tests, Dr. Gummow learned that Olsen suffered a steady decline in overall ability beginning in his early elementary years, a gradual decline through his high school years with a sharper decline after the AVM rupture. School records indicated that Olsen had no behavioral problems, was a cooperative, motivated and good student and did not have any legal difficulties. Gummow determined that the decline was primarily due to the AVM brain injury becoming symptomatic as the brain was injured from abnormal circulation and oxygen deprivation over a period of years. She also identified external factors such as Olsen's moving from Portland, Oregon, to Worland as contributing to the decline. Test scores in August improved, and Gummow attributed this to alcoholism recovery. She determined that Olsen suffered from severe depression and anxiety, attributable to the brain injury and alcohol.
[ ] Dr. Gummow testified that Olsen's first problems involving the legal system occurred in the military. The Marine Corps identified him as an alcoholic with a death wish. At that time, his personality and demeanor began to change from cheerful and witty to the beginnings of a loner with bad judgment and unpredictably physically violent. She believed that external factors and the increasingly symptomatic AVM caused the change.
[ ] After the rupture, Olsen's alcoholism, reckless behavior, numerous accidents, and mood swings continued. After the rupture, no further reports that Olsen was a witty, cheerful, and bright person were found. Instead, Olsen was observed to be a quiet, reserved person, difficult to communicate with and viewed by some people as scary. She found reports that Olsen did not understand that he generated fear and did not always remember his actions. Alcohol began to dominate his life, affecting him in ways already impacted by the AVM and its rupture.
[ ] Dr. Gummow testified that individuals with brain injuries are more prone to accidents. Olsen was in numerous car accidents, rollovers, broadside accidents, and industrial accidents. Dr. Gummow listed a number of stresses Olsen was experiencing at the time of the crime. Because of these and the brain injury that was affecting him throughout, it was her opinion that he was suffering from extreme mental or emotional disturbance. She also classified the brain injury itself as a mental or emotional disturbance that impacted judgment and caused impulsivity and explosive anger. She testified she believed that on the night of the murders, he realize
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