Posted on 03/05/2008 3:23:18 PM PST by kiriath_jearim
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) - The man convicted of killing a 10-year-old girl as part of a cannibalistic fantasy "gave up on being normal" and was driven by deviant sexual disorders and a downward spiral of depression, a psychiatrist testified Wednesday.
Dr. Martin Kafka, a clinical associate at Harvard Medical School, testified for the defense in the penalty phase of the trial of Kevin Underwood, 28, who has been convicted of first-degree murder for killing Jamie Rose Bolin.
A jury will decide whether Underwood should be sentenced to death or life in prison, with or without the possibility of parole. The girl's body was found in a plastic tub in Underwood's apartment, with her head nearly cut off.
Underwood said in a videotaped confession that he fantasized about torturing and killing a person and cannibalizing the body. No evidence has been presented that any cannibalism took place.
Kafka said Underwood suffers from a socially isolating personality disorder, a bipolar disorder and several sexual disorders. The psychiatrist spent several hours with Underwood in jail, reviewed interviews with friends and relatives and read his diaries and online journal.
"What came across in evaluating Kevin Underwood is his lifelong struggle to be normal and his complete inability to do that," Kafka said. "He just gave up on being normal."
Defense attorneys, arguing against the death penalty, say their client is mentally disturbed and out of touch with reality. Prosecutors have argued for the death penalty, citing the heinous nature of the crime and saying Underwood poses a continuing threat.
Under cross examination by district attorney Greg Mashburn, Kafka conceded: "If he walked out of here today, yeah, he'd be a danger. But we all know he's not walking out of here today."
Poor guy. Now fry him.
Give him a fair trial, and then hang him.
Who cares about his mental state, his deviant desires, his downward spiral. He’s a horrible child killer. We are a very decadant society that can not even protect our children from freaks like this. We need a fast death penalty for caess like this.
“Poor guy. Now fry him.”
It’s the only fair thing to do to him. Fair to him, that is. Would you want to live with yourself if you did something like this?
A simple injection will put him out of his misery.
Gosh, that’s sad. Please put him out of his misery immediately.
“Underwood suffers ......”
Kafka-esque.
I agree. We shoot mad dogs, so getting rid of this guy would be just one more benefit to society.
As an aside, is Kafka a great name for a psychiatrist or what? I wonder if he ever dreams of turning into a cockroach.
Put him to sleep.
Ugh.
Sick freaks must be removed from the population, end of story.
Some people are not meant to share the earth. He made his decision that he does not deserve to. Move him on and out. . .
follow the money! look at how many credentialed parasites can live by keeping him alive.
A sickening tragedy unfolded here.
Am fed up with ANY and ALL who imagine they have a right; if even a 'need' to steal another's life. They should be dealt a fast, firm and grim Justice.
Summary trial; summary execution.
If he is sane, the only safe thing to do is kill him, lest he somehow escape, and do it again.
If he is insane, the only humane thing to do is kill him, lest he be cured, and discover what he had done.
Either way, a quick, certain death.
A rabid dog has lots of disorders, too. ...but that doesn’t keep a sane man from putting the vicious animal down.
You got it backwards. That cockraoch sometimes dreams of turning into a human...and working for the prosecution.
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