Washington Brain Injury
Washington Brain Injury Plays Role in Death Penalty Trial
May 23, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
Testimony on Wednesday in the sentencing phase of the death-penalty trial of Michael Ledford, 46, focused on damage to areas of his brain that control anger and impulse. Decades of alcohol abuse and a childhood fall from the top of a 50-foot tree were blamed for the injuries.
Dr. Thomas Sacky, a forensic psychiatrist, used pictures taken in an MRI of Ledford’s brain to explain to a Paulding County jury one of the reasons Ledford went “fearless into a rage” and battered cyclist Jennifer Ewing, 53, of Sandy Springs when she bit him during an attack on the Silver Comet Trail.
Another defense witness —- W. Alexander Morton, a professor emeritus in psycho pharmacology at the University of South Carolina —- testified earlier Wednesday that Ledford had a “long history of violence when he drinks.”
The jury convicted Ledford on Monday of murder, kidnapping, aggravated sodomy, aggravated battery and aggravated assault. It is now hearing testimony to decide whether he should be condemned, sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole or life with the possibility of parole.
