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A “broken” soldier who served heroically for Canada in Afghanistan only to come home with post traumatic stress disorder so severe it culminated in him stabbing his wife to death should be found not criminally responsible for his actions, his lawyer told a jury Tuesday.
Howard Richmond didn’t kill his wife Melissa out of jealously or revenge because his wife was cheating on him or planning to leave, but because he was so sick after years of having a front-row seat to the atrocities of war, defence lawyer Joe Addelman said in the closing submissions of the 52-year-old warrant officer’s first-degree murder trial.
“Howard would come home a broken man, with a broken mind,” said Addelman, who urged the jury to find Richmond not criminally responsible of the July 2013 killing in a wooded area near the South Keys shopping mall.
“Howard lost himself in the dark recesses of tortured mind, unable to banish the thoughts, images and feelings of all the evil he had faced in 25 years of service.”
Richmond admits to stabbing his 28-year wife to death with a knife and a screwdriver. A psychiatrist and psychologist called by the defence testified that they believed Richmond had entered a dissociative state at the exact moment of the killing and couldn’t distinguish right from wrong.
Richmond testified that the two had met at the spot as part of a planned rendezvous for role-playing, rape fantasy sex. He was playing the “bad man” when a loud noise flashed him back to the day in 1992 when he watched helplessly as a little girl was executed right in front of him in Croatia. Richmond — who initially denied killing his wife — testified he had a recovered memory of seeing the girl and stabbing Melissa. When it was over, Richmond went home and hid his bloody clothes, screwdriver and knife behind the ductwork in his Winchester home.
Richmond’s mental state at the moment he killed his wife is the critical issue of the trial. A psychiatrist called by the prosecution accepted Richmond had PTSD and may have dissociated the night of the killing, but not at the moment where he stabbed his wife to death. That doctor believed Richmond was criminally responsible for his actions.
The jury has heard that Richmond’s condition deteriorated steadily after he returned home from his last tour of duty in Afghanistan, a place where he was stationed with the Joint Task Force hunting and killing Taliban fighters, Addelman said.
Richmond had suppressed his illness for years but “mentally disintegrated” after that mission to the point he was sleeping in closets and struggling with the pressure of day-to-day life, Addelman argued.
“The Crown wants you to disregard his exemplary military career and the subsequent mental illness. The crown wants you to ignore all the evidence which proves that Howard was not in his right mind as a result of PTSD when Melissa died,” said Addelman. “The Crown wants you to hang the label of murder around his neck and be done with him.”
Addelman argued that the evidence doesn’t prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Richmond planned and carried out the murder. The evidence points to a husband who had no idea his wife had been having a physical affair with his close friend and gave no hint that he suspected she planned to leave him.
Prosecutors make their closing submissions Tuesday afternoon.
Addelman said the jury would have to believe that Richmond was a “comic book supervillain” capable of luring his wife from their home to the spot where he killed her on a moment’s notice after allegedly finding out about the affair.
“You stand between Howard Richmond and a wrongful conviction,” Addelman told the jury. “Justice in this case is a verdict of not criminally responsible .”
aseymour@ottawacitizen.com
Twitter.com/andrew_seymour
查看原文...
Howard Richmond didn’t kill his wife Melissa out of jealously or revenge because his wife was cheating on him or planning to leave, but because he was so sick after years of having a front-row seat to the atrocities of war, defence lawyer Joe Addelman said in the closing submissions of the 52-year-old warrant officer’s first-degree murder trial.
“Howard would come home a broken man, with a broken mind,” said Addelman, who urged the jury to find Richmond not criminally responsible of the July 2013 killing in a wooded area near the South Keys shopping mall.
“Howard lost himself in the dark recesses of tortured mind, unable to banish the thoughts, images and feelings of all the evil he had faced in 25 years of service.”
Richmond admits to stabbing his 28-year wife to death with a knife and a screwdriver. A psychiatrist and psychologist called by the defence testified that they believed Richmond had entered a dissociative state at the exact moment of the killing and couldn’t distinguish right from wrong.
Richmond testified that the two had met at the spot as part of a planned rendezvous for role-playing, rape fantasy sex. He was playing the “bad man” when a loud noise flashed him back to the day in 1992 when he watched helplessly as a little girl was executed right in front of him in Croatia. Richmond — who initially denied killing his wife — testified he had a recovered memory of seeing the girl and stabbing Melissa. When it was over, Richmond went home and hid his bloody clothes, screwdriver and knife behind the ductwork in his Winchester home.
Richmond’s mental state at the moment he killed his wife is the critical issue of the trial. A psychiatrist called by the prosecution accepted Richmond had PTSD and may have dissociated the night of the killing, but not at the moment where he stabbed his wife to death. That doctor believed Richmond was criminally responsible for his actions.
The jury has heard that Richmond’s condition deteriorated steadily after he returned home from his last tour of duty in Afghanistan, a place where he was stationed with the Joint Task Force hunting and killing Taliban fighters, Addelman said.
Richmond had suppressed his illness for years but “mentally disintegrated” after that mission to the point he was sleeping in closets and struggling with the pressure of day-to-day life, Addelman argued.
“The Crown wants you to disregard his exemplary military career and the subsequent mental illness. The crown wants you to ignore all the evidence which proves that Howard was not in his right mind as a result of PTSD when Melissa died,” said Addelman. “The Crown wants you to hang the label of murder around his neck and be done with him.”
Addelman argued that the evidence doesn’t prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Richmond planned and carried out the murder. The evidence points to a husband who had no idea his wife had been having a physical affair with his close friend and gave no hint that he suspected she planned to leave him.
Prosecutors make their closing submissions Tuesday afternoon.
Addelman said the jury would have to believe that Richmond was a “comic book supervillain” capable of luring his wife from their home to the spot where he killed her on a moment’s notice after allegedly finding out about the affair.
“You stand between Howard Richmond and a wrongful conviction,” Addelman told the jury. “Justice in this case is a verdict of not criminally responsible .”
aseymour@ottawacitizen.com
Twitter.com/andrew_seymour
查看原文...
