Post by CCADP on Aug 13, 2005 20:41:42 GMT -5
Mobile judge hears testimony about drug allegedly given to Jones
An antipsychotic drug allegedly given to serial killing suspect Jeremy
Jones could have altered his mental capacity but was not administered in
doses large enough to make him lose touch with reality, medical experts
testified Friday at a court hearing.
Circuit Judge Charles Graddick heard the testimony following a defense
motion to suppress statements Jones made to investigators, including an
alleged confession to the 2004 murder of a Mobile County woman.
Graddick did not rule on the motion Friday but did schedule Oct. 17 as the
start date for Jones' capital murder trial in the death of Turnerville
resident Lisa Nichols.
Defense attorneys for Jones argue that he was administered the drug
Risperdal while at the Mobile County Metro Jail. They say the drug
hindered Jones' ability to think clearly and prompted him to tell
investigators what they wanted to hear as they interviewed him repeatedly
and plied him with bribes.
Prosecutors argued Friday that Jones is a manipulator starved for
attention whose confession included details only a killer could know.
Jail psychiatrist Dr. Carl Smith testified that he did not prescribe
Risperdal and ordered an end to its administration when he found out Jones
was taking it.
The hearing did not reveal who might have given Jones the drug or the
length of time that he could have been under its influence.
A pharmaceutical expert and a psychologist testified for the defense that
the drug can cause a subject to lose the ability to resist exhortation,
become apathetic and become unable to understand the implications of
waiving the right to remain silent.
But assistant attorney general Don Valeska, who is prosecuting the case,
said that it was not investigators who hounded Jones but the suspect,
himself, who sought them out. Valeska said Jones initiated the meetings
and requested privileges such as meals and phone calls.
Authorities say that, in addition to Jones' alleged confession to Nichols'
murder, he has confessed to multiple other killings. Jones is charged with
murders in Louisiana and Georgia and is a suspect in several others across
the nation, authorities have said.
(source: Associated Press)
An antipsychotic drug allegedly given to serial killing suspect Jeremy
Jones could have altered his mental capacity but was not administered in
doses large enough to make him lose touch with reality, medical experts
testified Friday at a court hearing.
Circuit Judge Charles Graddick heard the testimony following a defense
motion to suppress statements Jones made to investigators, including an
alleged confession to the 2004 murder of a Mobile County woman.
Graddick did not rule on the motion Friday but did schedule Oct. 17 as the
start date for Jones' capital murder trial in the death of Turnerville
resident Lisa Nichols.
Defense attorneys for Jones argue that he was administered the drug
Risperdal while at the Mobile County Metro Jail. They say the drug
hindered Jones' ability to think clearly and prompted him to tell
investigators what they wanted to hear as they interviewed him repeatedly
and plied him with bribes.
Prosecutors argued Friday that Jones is a manipulator starved for
attention whose confession included details only a killer could know.
Jail psychiatrist Dr. Carl Smith testified that he did not prescribe
Risperdal and ordered an end to its administration when he found out Jones
was taking it.
The hearing did not reveal who might have given Jones the drug or the
length of time that he could have been under its influence.
A pharmaceutical expert and a psychologist testified for the defense that
the drug can cause a subject to lose the ability to resist exhortation,
become apathetic and become unable to understand the implications of
waiving the right to remain silent.
But assistant attorney general Don Valeska, who is prosecuting the case,
said that it was not investigators who hounded Jones but the suspect,
himself, who sought them out. Valeska said Jones initiated the meetings
and requested privileges such as meals and phone calls.
Authorities say that, in addition to Jones' alleged confession to Nichols'
murder, he has confessed to multiple other killings. Jones is charged with
murders in Louisiana and Georgia and is a suspect in several others across
the nation, authorities have said.
(source: Associated Press)