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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings & Torture |
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May 19th,
2009 - Neurologist: Mistakes Made in Ex-Soldier’s Tests News article from the
Associated Press |
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Neurologist:
Mistakes Made in Ex-Soldier’s Tests By Brett Barrouquere Associated Press May 19, 2009 Paducah, Ky. - It's nearly impossible
to tell if a former soldier convicted of killing an Iraqi family has brain
damage because of the method used to scan his brain, a neurologist testified
Tuesday. Dr. Helen Mayberg, a
professor at Emory University in Atlanta, said the wrong protocols were used
during an MRI of former Pfc. Steven Dale Green. Instead of what amounted to a
complete scan of Green's brain, his MRI included pauses between each scan,
Mayberg said. The group he was compared to
consisted of full brain scans, rendering any comparison between Green and the
group invalid, Mayberg said. "He was done
differently," said Mayberg, the final witness for the prosecution.
"It's no big surprise that there are some areas that look
different." Mayberg's testimony closed
the penalty phase of Green's rape and murder trial. Jurors will hear closing
arguments on Wednesday about whether Green, 24, of Midland, Texas, should be
sentenced to death or imprisoned for life. The jury convicted Green on
May 7 of raping and killing 14-year-old Abeer Qassim al-Janabi and shooting
her family to death in March 2006, near Mahmoudiya, Iraq, about 20 miles
south of Baghdad. Prosecutors called Mayberg
to the stand to rebut the May 12 testimony of Ruben Gur, director of
neuropsychology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Gur, called by the defense,
reviewed a 2008 MRI and found Green has brain damage. He made the diagnosis
after comparing Green's MRI to scans from 41 other men of roughly the same
age without brain injuries. People with such injuries have "major
difficulties" restraining their impulses, he said. "They won't have the
brakes and they'll be easily aroused into action," said Gur, who is not
a medical doctor. On Tuesday, Mayberg said the
method used for Green's MRI was substantially different from the method used
on the 41 other men. Those differences mean a comparison between Green and
the group is invalid, Mayberg said. Defense attorneys have
argued that Green's lack of impulse control was a factor in him taking part in
the slayings of the al-Janabi family. Defense attorney Scott
Wendelsdorf, while questioning Mayberg, said MRI's don't necessarily tell the
entire story of what is happening in someone's brain. "A normal MRI doesn't
mean nothing is wrong with a brain, does it?" Wendelsdorf asked. "That's a very true
statement," Mayberg said. Green, who is in federal
custody, is being tried in civilian court in western Kentucky because he was
discharged from the military before criminal charges were brought. Green was assigned to the
Fort Campbell, Kentucky-based 101st Airborne Division when the crimes were
committed. External link: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/6431473.html Calm Before The Storm - Day 15 By Evan Bright Steven Green Trial Blog May 19, 2009 If I tried to tell you that
my "young" mind wasn't beginning to show signs of wear from doing
this for ... nearly three weeks now, I'd be lying. Regardless, if you have
any ideas about what I should do with this blog or what should become of it
after the trial is over, please comment or email me. The defense rested today.
While some were surprised that the jury would not get to hear testimony from
any of Green's direct family, while others expected it. For the prosecution, Jim
Lesousky called a single rebuttal witness, as previously predicted. Dr. Helen
Mayberg, a clinical neurologist at Emory University, was called; Dr. Ruben
Gur was also listening via muted phone so as to hear what her response to his
testimony would be. Mayberg was called to respond
to the testimony of Gur. She told the court of her medical degree from USC
and of her certification in neurology. Her testimony did not last nearly as
long as Gurs. She told the jury that "testing one person deemed possibly
mentally disabled ... against a control group of forty-one 'healthy' people,
would not always produce accurate results." She told the court that she
did not note the same variations within Green's MRI that Dr. Gur previously
testified to the jury. She also testified that in Gur's study of the forty
one "healthy" subjects, they were tested using MRI's of a 1.5 tesla
strenth, as well as two other measurements/settings that were to equal or be
set to "one;" she told the jury when Gur reviewed Green's MRI, he
failed to notice that his MRI was given at a 3.0 tesla strength, and that the
two other aformentioned settings were also different, meaning that Green's
MRI would not have matched the control group results regardless. For the most
part, the defense has been excellent, but if they've ever suffered a setback,
this would be it. For the defense, Scott
Wendelsdorf crossed Dr. Mayberg on her witness history and her pay grade. She
admitted that in her "twenty plus" years of testimony, she had
never testified for the defense, only prosecution. She also admitted that
while amount of pay doesn't affect her testimony, she was getting paid $500
per hour of testimony today. Just after the judge
stipulated the jury on a few menial matters, court adjourned at 10:50AM.
Prosecution and Defense needed time to prepare both closing statements and to
agree on jury instructions. Closing statements start at
9AM sharp tomorrow, Wednesday, May 20th. After completion, the judge will
instruct the jury and the waiting game will begin. Personally, I'm predicting
that we'll have a verdict by this time (9:05 PM CST) tomorrow. I, Evan
Bright, am also predicting a sentence of life in prison, one way or another. External link: http://trialcoverage.blogspot.com/2009/05/calm-before-storm.html |