Judge rejects defense effort to suggest Chism had schizophrenia- Teen has never been diagnosed with the illness
Posted: Thursday, December 3, 2015 8:05 pm
By Julie Manganis Staff writer
DANVERS — The judge presiding over the trial of accused killer Philip Chism ruled Thursday that the teen’s lawyers cannot call an expert on brain development to tell jurors that a recent MRI showed similarities between Chism’s brain and those of people with schizophrenia and traumatic injuries.
It was a piece of information that the prosecutor compared to a “bomb” — and one that Salem Superior Court Judge David Lowy said would be unfair to allow.
“There is a danger that the jury would use the evidence for an improper purpose,” said Lowy, who also said it would be “unduly prejudicial.”
The defense proposed expert Dr. Ted Satterthwaite of the University of Pennsylvania testify about the MRI. Satterthwaite never actually evaluated Chism. And no one, not even New York psychiatrist Dr. Richard Dudley – the defense’s main expert witness – ever diagnosed Chism with schizophrenia.
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Neither Chism, nor the jurors, were present for the three-hour hearing Thursday afternoon. Satterthwaite and a second proposed witness, University of Pennsylvania neuropsychologist Ruben Gur, testified via video. Both are affiliated with a long-range study called the Philadelphia Neurodevelopment Cohort.
Defense lawyer Denise Regan sought to have one or both testify about the results of MRI examinations conducted on Chism in the fall at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
Gur, in particular, is an advocate of using MRI results as part of the diagnosis of mental illness. Under questioning by prosecutor Kate MacDougall, however, he was forced to acknowledge that schizophrenia can only be diagnosed through observation of a person’s behavior.
The professors also said they noticed an asymmetry to Chism’s brain, which could be associated with traumatic brain injury — something else the teen has never been diagnosed with having.
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