Judge blocks abuse angle in Atkinson trial
Posted on 12/10/2002 2:59:23 AM PST by MeekOneGOP
Judge blocks abuse angle in Atkinson trial
'Battered husband' testimony inadmissible in Hutchins girl case
12/10/2002
The jury hearing the case of a Hutchins man accused of locking his stepdaughter in a squalid closet will not hear testimony that Kenneth Atkinson was a "battered husband," the judge in the case ruled Monday.
Much of the testimony Monday - the first day of the defense presentation - tried to show that Mr. Atkinson cared for his children, worked long days at a cabinet shop and was abused by his former wife.
Mr. Atkinson is charged with causing serious bodily injury to a child and sexual assault of a child but is only being tried on an injury to a child charge. If convicted, Mr. Atkinson faces up to 99 years in prison. A jury sentenced the girl's mother, Barbara Atkinson, to life in prison in January.
Police rescued the girl, now 9, in June 2001 after Mr. Atkinson told a neighbor about the girl, who lived in the closet for months at a time without adequate food, water, clothes or a toilet. She is not being identified because she was sexually abused.
The girl has since been adopted by the Van Zandt County couple who tried to adopt her at birth but were forced to return her because of a technicality. The girl is thriving but will need continued therapy and still has physical problems from muscle atrophy.
Dr. William Tedford testified outside the presence of the jury that Mr. Atkinson suffered from low self-esteem and confidence, is easily manipulated and "fits the almost perfect profile of a battered spouse." He also said that Mr. Atkinson has an IQ level of 89, which puts him in the low average range.
"If you want to sum it up in one word, he's a wimp," Dr. Tedford said, adding that Mr. Atkinson looked to his wife for guidance with the children. "He certainly knows right from wrong. He doesn't know wrong from bad wrong."
State District Judge Cliff Stricklin deemed much of Monday's testimony and evidence submitted by defense attorney Malcolm Dade inadmissible after prosecutors objected.
"I just haven't heard anything to show me how this is reliable," Judge Stricklin told Mr. Dade about Dr. Tedford's testimony regarding tests he performed on Mr. Atkinson.
Mr. Atkinson's mother, Sheila White Stewart, told the jury that Ms. Atkinson controlled her son. She also testified that her son was in special-education classes for nearly all his years in public school.
Lead prosecutor Patricia Hogue, on cross-examination, asked why her son never asked for help with the child. Mrs. Stewart frequently helped the family pay rent, find a car and pay other bills.
"He could call 911, couldn't he?" Ms. Hogue asked. "He could pick up the phone and say, 'I need some help here.' "
Mrs. Stewart said she was led to believe that the girl was living with her adoptive parents and never knew that the child was locked in the bedroom closet.
"I had no reason to question that," she said as she began to cry.
Several witnesses testified that the homes where the Atkinsons lived with their six children were filthy, smelly and roach-infested. The couple had divorced but continued living together in a Hutchins trailer with the children.
They said Ms. Atkinson, who did not work, watched television or slept and did not care for the children. They said Mr. Atkinson cleaned and cared for the children when he returned from work.
Two witnesses testified that they saw Ms. Atkinson threaten Mr. Atkinson with a knife and a shower curtain rod.
"She gets pretty violent when things don't go her way," said Michael Sipes, who once lived across the hall from the Atkinsons at an apartment complex and worked with Mr. Atkinson. "Kenny was afraid of her."
E-mail jemily@dallasnews.com
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