Davies v. State
758 N.E. 2d 981 (Ind. Ct. App. 2001)
Davies pled guilty to murder and several other crimes. We was
sentenced to consecutive terms in prison totalling 108 years. He appealed
the length of the sentence.
Davies argued that he should have received a shorter sentence
because he had FAE. Indiana Law states that one of the mitigating factors
at sentencing is whether "the defendant's capacity to appreciate the
criminality of the defendant's conduct or to conform that conduct to the
requirements of law was substantially impaired as a result of
mental disease or defect." 758 N.E. 2d at 988 (Emphasis added).
The sentencing judge recognized that Davies had FAE, but gave that
factor only minimal weight in his sentencing decision. The sentencing
judge explained that the FAE was
"mild at best. There's no evidence that they're severe in
[Davies'] case. And although mild [FAE] are consistent with problem
solving deficits, impulsivity, high levels of frustration and so forth, as
the testimony
came out, there is no evidence that mild [FAE] leads to violent
sociopathic behavior. While [FAE] may help to explain [Davies], the
evidence does not support a conclusion that he committed these horrible
crimes because of FAE]."
758 N.E. 2d at 983. The report of Davies' expert
"did establish that Davies' behavior problems include
'impulsivity; poor planning; poor reasoning skills; difficulty in
multi-tasking; difficulty in integrating information; memory impairment;
and poorly controlled
behavior.' It also indicated that Davies has neurocognitive strengths
including an average IQ, reading and spelling scores at the high school
level, arithmetic scores at a post-high school level, and an average
capacity for social judgment and reasoning."
Davies' expert witness was a Dr. Paul Guastadisegni, who was described
as a "neuropsychologist who frequently works with children suffering from
fetal alcohol syndrome and FAE." 758 N.E. 2d at 988 n. 10.
The court of appeals concluded that the sentencing judge did not
abuse his discretion in giving only minimal weight to FAE as a
mitigator.