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Judge: State’s own experts
By Debra Barayuga
can probe Uyesugi’s
mental state
Star-BulletinProsecution experts will examine the mental state of accused multiple murderer Byran Uyesugi as defense attorneys prepare to argue Uyesugi was legally insane when he allegedly gunned down seven coworkers at the Xerox building in November.
Circuit Judge Marie Milks granted the state's request to allow its own experts to examine Uyesugi.
At a hearing this morning, Rodney Ching, one of Uyesugi's attorneys, did not object to the state's examination. But he argued unsuccessfully that defense attorneys be present when experts interview Uyesugi. The court agreed with the state that having attorneys present could create an interference and contaminate the examination.
An examination by its own experts will allow the state to adequately prepare its case and provide the jury with relevant testimony from both sides, the prosecution said in its motion.
Milks also ordered both state and defense experts to submit written reports of their findings and opinions by April 15. The defense must also turn over copies of tests administered and any raw data.
Ching today turned over nearly 150 pages of records to the state, but it did not include Kuakini Hospital records prosecutors had been seeking. Uyesugi apparently had been treated there for a head injury after he had been involved in a car accident in October 1978.
Ching said they have attempted to get the records but have been unsuccessful.
The defense expects to rely on the testimonies of Drs. Daryl Matthews and Robert Marvit, with Dr. Park Dietz as a consultant. Uyesugi's attorneys have declined comment on what their experts have found.
The state has retained Harold Hall, a forensic psychologist, and Dr. Michael Welner to determine whether Uyesugi knew right from wrong, could conform his conduct accordingly and whether he was under extreme mental or emotional disturbance at the time of the alleged shootings.
The court earlier this month found Uyesugi, a copy machine repairman, fit to stand trial May 15 and assist in his defense based on the diagnoses of three court-appointed doctors.
The doctors found, however, that Uyesugi suffers from a delusional disorder under which he hears or imagines things that are not real, and believes that people are persecuting him.
The doctors also concluded Uyesugi was not legally insane at the time he allegedly opened fire on his coworkers.
Uyesugi's attorneys say his state of mind is an issue a judge or jury will decide.
Xerox killings
