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Jonathan Carr's expert cites abusive childhood
By Ron Sylvester - The Wichita Eagle - Wed, Nov. 13, 2002
Jonathan Carr shows signs of being morally depraved, cold-hearted and ruthless, a forensic psychologist testified Tuesday.
"The fundamental issue here is how two young men could be so void of empathy and attachment to other humans that they could do this to other young people," Mark Cunningham said of the kidnapping, rapes and robberies that led to a quadruple murder on Dec. 15, 2000.
Jonathan and Reginald Carr face the death penalty for those crimes.
Cunningham was the latest in a battery of psychologists called by the Dodge City brothers' defense teams to explain to the jury the psychological drives behind what he called a "horrifically disturbed event."
Prosecutors, meanwhile, continued to spend hours trying to discredit such testimony, even though each expert agreed that the Carrs knew what they were doing and knew right from wrong in killing Aaron Sander, Heather Muller, Brad Heyka and Jason Befort in a snowy soccer field.
Cunningham's exchanges with Chief Deputy District Attorney Kim Parker became so heated that Judge Paul Clark had to interrupt the cross-examination several times.
Meanwhile, a female cousin of the Carrs took the stand Tuesday to confirm stories about incest and other inappropriate sexual behavior within the family.
Cunningham agreed with previous psychologists that such introduction to sex, as early as grade school, is just one of the many problems that shaped Jonathan Carr into a killer.
"There is evidence of long-standing psychological disturbance," Cunningham said.
Cunningham repeated tales of the Carr brothers' mother taking off for weeks at a time, often shipping her children off to live with relatives. She sometimes made them fend for themselves by scraping up whatever food they could find in the cupboards.
Individually, those situations might not have done much harm, but they piled up into what Cunningham called a "catastrophically cumulative" life.
Jonathan Carr's life revolved around what Cunningham called "the five Hs."
"Hopeless, helpless, homeless, hungry and hug-less," he said.
"You can't just treat children like pets or used cars," Cunningham added. "Neglect is more damaging than abuse."
Such psychological trauma often can lead to criminal violence, said Cunningham, who, like other experts, cited studies sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Of 26 family and lifestyle problems that the Department of Justice recognizes as contributing to criminal behavior, Cunningham identified 24 in the Carr family. Another forensic psychologist gave similar testimony last week about Reginald Carr.
One of those areas is alcohol and drug abuse. Cunningham said that Jonathan Carr told him he and his brother drank close to 27 ounces of cognac and smoked several "blunts" -- marijuana joints the size of cigars -- the night of the quadruple murder.
On cross-examination, Parker spent most of the afternoon trying to get Cunningham to answer "yes" or "no" to questions the psychologist said needed more explanation. That led to several bouts of bickering.
"If you all want a record made of this, you're going to have to talk one at a time," Judge Clark said at one point.
Parker made her strongest points by emphasizing Cunningham's evaluation that Jonathan Carr knows right from wrong. He just doesn't value human life, the psychologist said.
"There is no question he has awareness of wrongful behavior," Cunningham said on cross-examination.
"He doesn't care," Parker said.
"That's correct," Cunningham answered.
Part of that inability, Cunningham said, came from not being able to carry on any substantive relationships within his household.
The woman cousin who grew up with the Carr brothers testified to the inappropriate relationships fostered within the family, crying as she talked about the sexual abuse she experienced. She said the abuse began when she was 6 and continued until she was 13.
The Eagle is not naming her because she is a victim of sexual assaults.
"When you're doing that all your life, you don't really think about what you're doing being wrong, until you're old enough to realize," she said.
The woman said the experiences still haunt her, even though the abuse stopped years ago.
"It didn't stop at my request," she said. "It just stopped."
http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/4506025.htm

"Wichita Massacre" murder trial "Ping List"

Please let me know if you want on (or off) this list.

For detais about the murders see: The Wichita Massacre

Good to know..when is the hanging?

When is this jury abuse going to end so they can finally get on with the hanging?

I never realized that the Witchita suspect had the same name as the famous phono cartridge designer. How embarrassing!

If you don't believe it, go look:

http://www.lyraaudio.com/

All I've heard about in this sentencing hearing is how bad The MURDERERS had it. I am sick to death of this liberal victim-villain dyslexia show.

Its time for some talk about the people who no longer exist because these turds snuffed them out for their own sick entertainment? It's time to talk about the VICTIM'S childhoods, their wants, goals, dreams, their families, the people who will miss them.

and I don't know if its admissable but I'd sure like the jury to see this (an excerpt from another article KS put up)-- "Authorities say (Reginald Carr) harassed prosecutors and threatened courtroom and jail guards. He also has winked and smiled at families of the victims he and his younger brother are convicted of raping, robbing and killing. He has shown no remorse."

These turds need to be flushed, not lamented.

Again, the only thing this shows me is how bleeped up the brothers were from the beginning.

The people around them were depraved too, but sadly that's just the way black inner city culture is. If you want something, whether its sex, or someone else's money you just take it. If you don't like something someone does you deal with them violently. If you want to live on welfare and get high all day, or be an able bodied young man hanging out with friends on the street corner instead of working,hey so what?

Entitlement, envy, covetousness, no respect for others especially authority figures, an if it feels good do it mindset, an "its always someone else's fault" mentality, and a tendency to hate the police and identify with criminals. These are the cultural norms in black inner cities.

until the people that comprise that culture are ready to take a serious look at themselves and change it, it will continue to turn out miscreants like these in large numbers.

One wonders what the heck "a genetic predisposition to substance abuse" is.

OW! [Tilts head left side down and thumps right temple] I was playing the world's smallest violin for Carr, and it fell in my ear....

Jonathan had what I call the five H's of attachment damage: hopeless, helpless, homeless, hungry and hugless.

Oh, man...that is SO over the top...

The defense rests (finally).

http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/4510351.htm
Posted on Wed, Nov. 13, 2002 - The Wichita Eagle
Radiologist says Carrs' brains are normal
A radiologist testified today that brain scans prepared for the defense of Reginald and Jonathan Carr showing alleged brain damage had been purposefully manipulated and the results skewed.
Dr. Norman Pay testified that his analysis showed the brothers both had normal brains.
He testified for the state as a rebuttal witness in the penalty phase of the capital murder trial. The defense for the brothers rested their cases earlier today.
Pay said he analyzed the scans for the first time on Tuesday after being called by prosecutors to examine defense evidence.
David Preston, a retired doctor and former professor from the University of Kansas Medical Center, testified for the defense last week that the brain scans performed on both brothers showed problems in the part of the brain that handles short-term memory and assigns risk to situations.
But Pay said his analysis shows that the color-coded scans prepared for jurors had been deliberated skewed. He also said the scan was not in the proper anatomical location, but tilted in such a way that it showed diminished area of the brain.
Pay discounted Preston's earlier testimony that the Carr's brain function was diminished.
--Associated Press

From the Psychologist's past:

Psychologist Dr. Mark Cunningham would have us believe he and his wife, county commissioner candidate Melinda Cunningham, filed only a business bankruptcy and not a personal one.
Well, it was pretty personal to their dozen employees, the local vendors and the bank that were left holding the bag for $368,008 in debt while Dr. and Mrs. Cunningham continued to live in a luxurious Lytle home with a pool and drive a year-old Suburban.
The bankruptcy was filed in February 1992, the same month Mrs. Cunningham became president-elect of the local Junior League. One wonders why she didn't go to work and help to pay the debt instead.
Is the bankruptcy relevant to her qualifications for public office? Yes, I think so.
TRAVIS SNIDER
Abilene
Strong presence

Closing arguments begin in Carr trial
Posted on Wed, Nov. 13, 2002 - The Wichita Eagle
Lawyers have begun closing arguments in the sentencing phase of the capital murder trial of Reginald and Jonathan Carr.
The jury is expected to begin its deliberations this afternoon. The jury is charged with recommending whether the brothers should receive the death penalty for the crimes they have convicted of, or some lesser sentence.
http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/4511109.htm