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10/1/1994
Lankster also said Johnson, knowing he had diabetes, did not take his medicine, did not eat regularly and took several drinks of gin. "Does that give you a license to go out and shoot someone, even your friend?" he asked the jury. The final day of testimony included Dr. Van Rosen of Mobile, a clinical and forensic psychologist, and Dr. David Hodo of Selma, a psychiatrist and general practitioner.Both men said after examining the defendant that they diagnosed him as having an "acute psychotic disorder."Dr. Rosen said he gave Johnson a battery of tests on March 30, 1993, 23 days after the homicide, and concluded, "He was certainly psychotic the day of the incident."He said he based his decision on the fact that Johnson took "sudden and inexplicable motiveless" action. "There was no rational motive to what he did."He also said Johnson's IQ score tested at the bottom two to three percent, or the lower 70s, which is the area considered to be mental retardation.Dr. Rosen also said that Johnson, 63 at the time of the killing was showing a "dementing process, " or a lowered ability to think from advancing age.Contributing to Johnson's mental state, said Dr. Rosen, was the question whether he was treating his diabetic condition properly and a history of paranoia in his family.Dr. Hodo said he examinee Johnson three times over a period of about a month beginning in September 1993.His decision was based on mot only his testing but on interviews with Johnson and his wife, Cora.He said from information the two gave, he understood Johnson had begun acting strangely sometime prior to the incident. The Selma doctor said Johnson continued to display some psychotic behavior and "incipient dementia."On Wednesday, the court also heard from several expert witnesses who gave their opinions on Johnson's mental and physical condition at the time of the shooting.Dr. A.R. Bochele, an endocrinology specialist from Birmingham who is the executive director of the Alabama Diabetes Trust Fund, said Johnson's case matched the "classic pattern" of a hypoglycemic attack that would cause an individual to lose his inhibitions and commit acts that "he wouldn't normally do."He cited the fact that Johnson hadn't eaten and had consumed alcohol, which, the doctor claims, dropped the blood sugar level below hypoglycemic level. "The brain needs glucose (sugar) to operate," he said. "Alcohol shuts down the body's ability to get sugar from internal organs."The doctor said that, while the effects vary from person to person, the attack usually begins by knocking out the "thinking centers of the brain" and if allowed to continue, will affect parts of the brain that control bodily functions, resulting in a comatose condition.When Lankster asked the doctor why Johnson was in the diabetic or hyperglycemic stage when he reached the hospital in Meridian, Bochele replied that stress to the body automatically raises the blood sugar " to maintain life.""It usually take a great deal of stress to do that," the doctor told the DA, "but he was shot and wounded badly."Dr. Cathy Ronin, a psychologist who does evaluations for the state on suspects who plead guilty by insanity, examined Johnson prior to the trial at the order of the court.She concluded, after talking with experts, that Johnson probably was not in control of his actions at the time of the shooting due to the diabetic condition and a case of mild dementia, which was uncovered by Dr. Hodo.Upon questioning by Asst. DA Billy Coplin, Dr. Ronin said the gin that Johnson drank probably contributed to his actions, but she noted the he had consumed gin before "without incidents of violence."Dr. Kenneth Elliott Warner, a state forensic examiner who conducted an autopsy on Compton's body, said Compton's blood alcohol level was /0263 grams per deciliter, well above the .01 level used for drunk driving arrests."Some people have died from levels that high," the doctor said. He stated that a shotgun blast from 2-3 feet away killed Compton."The pellets basically severed his heart," the doctor told the court. He they showed pictures to the jury which showed a gaping hole in Compton's chest that was apparently from the blast.Coplin then asked him what he thought the cause of death was."Homicide," Warner replied.After Warner finished testifying, a large group of character witnesses took the stand for the defense. (see related story).The first day of testimony Tuesday saw the prosecution call law enforcement officers called to the scene and friends and neighbors of Johnson who witnessed the defendant's condition during the incident.Johnson's defense team consisted of Gilmore and Lamar Johnson of Grove Hill, Walter Chandler of Gulf shores and Taylor T Perry of Demopolis.By Jan McDonald and Marcus GordonThe Demopolis Times
The Demopolis Times
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