Analysis of the American Sniper - Case Study Example

Research Paper The American Sniper Case of submission The American Sniper Case 1. The Case The American Sniper case pertains to the killing of Chris Kyle, a former sniper with the US Navy SEALs and his friend Chad Littlefield on February 2, 2013. The two men were shot to death by Eddie Ray Routh, an Iraq war veteran, at a shooting range at the Rough Creek Lodge resort near Stephenville, Texas a small town about 100 miles southwest of Dallas. After a 9 day-trial which ended on February 24, 2015, Eddie Ray Routh has been found guilty of these murders and sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. This case has been named the American Sniper Case in the media after the book “American Sniper” that Chris Kyle wrote on his military service as a sniper in the Iraq wars between 1999 and 2009. His record of 160 confirmed kills (out of 225 claimed kills) makes him the most successful sniper in American Military history. In Iraq, the insurgents offered a bounty for his head and he was shot twice and was involved in six IED (Improvised Explosive Device) attacks. He was awarded several military medals for his bravery and military skills including the Bronze and Silver Star. After his honorable discharge from service in 2009, he started a security company and devoted time to helping war veterans settle back into civilian life. His book has been made into an extremely popular movie that was released in January 2015 (Chriskyleameicansniper.info). 2. The Investigation into the killings There was never any doubt about Eddie Ray Routh being the person who had killed Chris Kyle and Chad Littlefield. After the shooting, Eddie Ray Routh had driven in Chris Kyle’s pickup truck to his sister Laura Blevins’s house and told her that he had killed two people. He ignored his sister’s advice to turn himself in to the police and said he was going to flee to Oklahoma. After Routh left their house, Laura Blevins and her husband called the police and went to the police station and gave a written and videotaped statement (Tsiaperas 1, 2015). Hours after the killings, Eddie Ray Routh returned to his home in Lancaster driving Chris Kyle’s truck. Police officers failed to get him to come out of the pickup truck and surrender. He told the police that “he had taken a couple of souls and he had more souls to take”. Eddie Ray Routh was also videotaped making statements such as “I didn’t sleep a wink last night”, “I don’t know if I am going insane” and “if apocalypse was on them now”. Routh then sped away in his vehicle and was chased by the police who at one point rammed his vehicle. Routh’s vehicle then became disabled and came to a stop at which point he surrendered to the police (Stengle, 2015). Later, Eddie Ray Routh confessed to the killings in a videotaped interview with Texas Ranger, Danny Briley. Routh said he shot Kyle first, because he was the one he could identify. He then shot Littlefield. Talking of the killing, he said “If I did not take down his soul, he was going to take down mine” (Tsiaperas 2, 2015). There was no reason whatsoever for Routh’s killing of Chris Kyle and Chad Littlefield. They met for the first time on the day of the killing. Routh’s mother had heard of Kyle’s work with veterans and asked for his help with her son who had changed from a charismatic outgoing person to one who was in and out of mental hospitals, had violent outbursts and problems with alcohol and drug abuse. These changes in his behavior occurred after his military service in Iraq in 2007 and 2008 and his deployment in Haiti in 2010 after the earthquake there (Jervis, 2015). 3. The trial strategy for the defense At the trial of Eddie Ray Routh, there was no dispute to the fact that he had shot and killed Chris Kyle and Chad Littlefield. The prosecution had already stated that they would not seek the death penalty for Routh but instead seek life imprisonment without parole. In Texas, the death penalty is imposed by district courts only in cases of capital felony which is defined as one in which the person “intentionally or knowingly causes the death of an individual” or under special circumstances such as during the commission of specified felonies such as kidnapping, burglary, robbery, rape or arson (Tarlton Law Library, 2014). The prosecution clearly saw that this killing would not qualify as a capital felony. The Texas Law does provide for multiple murders to be treated as a capital felony and Routh’s killing of two people could qualify for this classification. The defense strategy was therefore for Routh to plead “not guilty” by reason of insanity and to say that this was caused by Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) induced by Routh’s wartime experiences. The defense strategy, if successful, would only earn for Eddie Ray Routh confinement in a mental institution in place of imprisonment. 4. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder An August 2013 booklet titled “Understanding PTSD” published by the US Department of Veterans Affairs says that PTSD can occur after someone experiences a traumatic event such as combat exposure, child sexual or physical abuse, terrorist attack, sexual/physical attack, serious accident or natural disaster. The booklet says that 61% of American men and 51% of American women experience at least one traumatic event. 8% of men and 20% of women exposed to trauma develop PTSD. Experience of combat and sexual assault increases chances of PTSD (USVA Booklet, 2013). The booklet describes the common stress reactions after a trauma as Fear or anxiety – feeling tense or afraid, being agitated or feeling on alert Sadness or depression – having crying spells, losing interest in things you enjoyed earlier, wanting to be alone all the time or feeling tired or numb. Guilt and shame – feeling responsible for what happened or feeling guilty that you survived where others died or were injured. Anger and irritability – lashing out at your partner or spouse, having less patience with your children and over reaction to small misunderstandings. Behavior changes – abuse of alcohol, drugs or tobacco, aggressive driving, neglect of health or avoiding certain people or situations. An October 2012 article in the Huffington Post quotes a study of 1,388 combat veterans by researchers at the University Of North Carolina School Of Medicine. This study has found that 23% of people with PTSD and high irritability had been arrested for a criminal offence. The study also found that factors not related to military service such as growing up in a violent home and a prior history of substance abuse raised the risk that combat veterans will commit crimes. The article also says that the link between war experience and crime is also shown from the estimated 223,000 veterans from the Viet Nam era being in US prisons and the 17,000 active-duty soldiers being in military detention awaiting judicial proceedings (Wood, 2012). 5. Case Law relating to PTSD as a Criminal Defense A 2012 article in the Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law” says that PTSD has been offered as the basis of criminal defense including insanity, unconsciousness, self-defense and diminished capacity. It has also been offered as the basis for sentence mitigation. PTSD was introduced into the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in 1980 and thereafter started to appear in criminal defense cases. In a search of the legal database LexisNexis in 2010 with the search term PTSD showed up a total of 194 criminal cases and in 47 of these cases criminal defense was based on PTSD. A total of 39 of these cases reached the appellate courts which have been tabulated in the article (Berger, at al, 2012) The results in these cases are mixed with several convictions by lower courts having been affirmed by the appellate courts while others have been reversed. The article suggests that this mixed treatment has occurred after the reform of the insanity defense statutes in 1984. The changed statutes placed the burden of proof on the defendant to show the presence of severe mental disorder and the proof to be clear and convincing (Berger, et al, 2012). The article summarizes some of the cases where PTSD based defense has been successful. The three below are relevant to the American Sniper case. Dissociative State - In the case State v Percy, a Viet Nam veteran was accused of sexual assault and kidnapping. The Supreme Court of Vermont reversed the decision of the trail court in 1988 and accepted the defense argument that the defendant experienced a flashback during the commission of his crimes and was in a dissociative state and not in control of his thinking and behavior. Unconscious State – In the case of People v Lisnow, the defendant was convicted of unprovoked assault and battery in a restaurant. The California Supreme Court reversed the judgment accepting that the defendant was unconscious at the tie due to a fugue state brought on by his Viet Nam service. Self-defense – In the case of State v Sullivan, the defendant was convicted of aggravated assault for shooting into a crowd at a bar after altercation with a bar patron. The trial court refused to accept that the defendant was acting in self-defense to a threat perception induced by PTSD. The Maine Supreme Judicial Court accepted the defendant’s contention. Other cases have accepted arguments of mens rea (state of the mind) due to PTSD and PTSD as a mitigating circumstance These cases laws suggest that the defense lawyers’ strategy of using PTSD as the basis for reduced liability was sound and there could be grounds for an appeal against the present judgment. The evidence presented at the trial could be interpreted to support relevance of the case for reduced liability for Eddie Ray Routh. 6. Case law relating to insanity in criminal defense The 1984 enactment of the Insanity Defense Reform Act (IDRA) has made it difficult for the use of insanity defense in criminal cases. This law was enacted following the acquittal of John W. Hinckley Jr., who had attempted to assassinate President Ronal Reagan in 1982. At the time Hinckley was tried, the American Law Institute’s Model Penal Code permitted the acquittal by reason of insanity if “at the time of the crime, as a result of mental disease or defect, the defendant lacks substantial capacity either to appreciate the criminality of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law” (Morse, 2013). The 1984 IDRA placed the burden of proof on the defendant to prove insanity by “clear and convincing evidence”. The IDRA also replaced the phrase “lacks substantial capacity” in the previously used Model Penal code to the phrase “unable to appreciate the nature and quality of the wrongfulness of his acts”. The IDRA added further that “Mental disease does not otherwise constitute a defense” (Morse, 2013). Kenneth B. Chiacchia in his article on the subject of insanity defense in the Psychology Encyclopedia points out that the notion that mentally ill people should not be held responsible for their crimes dates back to the Roman Empire. He says that after the enactment of the IDRA, successful NGRI (Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity) defenses are rare. He says that on average less than one defendant in 100 uses insanity defense. He says that even in these few cases over 70% of defendants withdrew their plea when a state-appointed expert found them to be legally sane (Chiacchia, 2011). The article also points out that the high rate of psychiatric illness in the US prison population suggests that many defendants were perhaps denied the NGRI defense. Chiacchia also questions the benefit of confining NGRI convicts to mental institutions since the focus on rehabilitation is completely lost (Chiacchia, 2011). In Texas, where Eddie Ray Routh was tried and convicted, the only possible verdicts for the jury were “Not Guilty, Guilty or Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity”. Chiacchia’s article points out that in some states a fourth verdict “Guilty but Mentally Ill” has become possible where the convict is imprisoned but also treated for mental illness (Chiacchia, 2011). The article also points out that the quality of the expert witness in such trials varies. The expert could be a psychologist or psychiatrist and may not have any additional certification. Mock jury studies indicate that jurors are unable to understand the legal definition of insanity required in the law of the specific state and are influenced by their personal feelings (Chiacchia, 2011). Eddie Ray Routh’s defense team has always had a difficult task with insanity defense. Six of the jurors, in media interviews after the verdict, said that they were convinced that Routh “knew the difference between right and wrong” when he pulled the trigger. They also said that alcohol and substance abuse was the reason for his aggressive behavior that day (Good, 2015). 7. Several questions unanswered in the trial There are several questions relating to the killing of Chris Kyle and Chad Littlefield that have remained unanswered after the trial. Why would Chris Kyle take Eddie Ray Routh to a shooting range on the very first day they met? Since Chris Kyle knew of Routh’s behavioral issues, you would expect that he would perhaps first try to establish some personal rapport with Routh in conversations with him and not take him to a shooting range. Testimony at the trial showed that Chris Kyle had texted Chad Littlefield during the drive to the resort that that “Routh was nuts and the need to watch their backs”. How did they, then, allow Routh access to a gun? How is it that both Chris Kyle and Chad Littlefield were shot in the back? As soon as the first shot was fired, the other person would have turned towards the gunman. How was Routh able to get access to Chris Kyle’s own gun to fire the shots? If there is an appeal against the verdict, perhaps some of these questions could get answered. 8. Summary and Conclusions The American Sniper Case received heightened media coverage primarily because of the book and the movie which made the victim Chris Kyle into a celebrity. The legal issues relating to the case are not particularly significant. Given the mindless nature of the crime and the defendant’s military background the use of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as the reason for an insanity defense are quite predictable. The trial itself was quite short, lasting only 9 days and the jury reached its guilty verdict in less than 3 hours of deliberations. In an insanity defense, since the burden of proof is on the defendant, the defense team quite clearly was unable to make a persuasive case. The sentence for the defendant of life imprisonment without parole followed from the guilty verdict. Even if the jury had found him not guilty by reason of insanity, Routh would have been committed to a mental institution for life. The verdict perhaps made no material difference to Eddie Ray Routh. References: Berger, Omri, Dale E. McNeil and Renee L. Binder, (2012). “PTSD as a Criminal Defense: a Review of Case Law”, The Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law”, Vol 40, Number 4, p509-21, 2012. Web, Feb 26, 2015. Accessed at . Chiacchia, Kenneth B., (2011). “Insanity Defense- Insanity Defense Statistics, Problem with NGRI, Guilty but mentally ill”, Psychology Encyclopedia, 2011. Web, Feb 27, 2015. Accessed at . Chriskyleamericansniper.info, (2015). “Chris Kyle American Sniper”, Web, Feb 25, 2015. Accessed at . Good, Dan, (2015). “American Sniper Trial: How the Jurors reached their Guilty verdict”, ABC News, Feb 25, 2015. Web, Feb 27, 2015. Accessed at Jervis, Rick. (2015). “American Sniper trial likely to increase stigma of PTSD”, USA Today, Feb 25, 2015. Web, Feb 27, 2015. Accessed at . Morse, Stephen J., (2013). “Insanity Defense Reform Act”, Encyclopedia of Psychology and Law, Sage Publications, Oct 3, 2013. Web, Feb 27, 2015. Accessed at . Stengle, James, (2015). “Police Officer: Ex-Marine charged in ‘American Marine’ case said ‘he took a couple of souls’”, Star Tribune, Feb 12, 2015. Web, Feb 25, 2015. Accessed at . Tarlton Law Library, (2014). “Texas Death Penalty Law”, Tarlton Law Library, University of Texas School of Law, July 7, 2014. Web, Feb 26 2015. Accessed at Tsiaperas 1, Tasha, (2015). “Man accused of killing ex-navy SEAL Chris Kyle, Kyle’s friend had a quick temper, ex- girl friend testifies Wednesday”, The Dallas Morning News, Feb 18, 2015. Web, Feb 25, 2015. Accessed at . Tsiaperas 2, Tasha, (2015). “Killer of ‘American Sniper’ and friend apologized but said ‘people were eating my soul’ ”, The Dallas Morning News, Feb 16, 2015. Web, Feb 25, 2015. Accessed at . USVA Booklet, (2013). “Understanding PTSD”, National Center for PTSD, US Department of Veterans Affairs, August 2013. Web, Feb 26, 2015. Accessed at . Wood, David, (2012). “Combat Veterans with PTSD, Anger Issues more likely to Commit Crimes: New Report”, The Huffington Post, Sept 10, 2012. Web, Feb 26, 2015. Accessed at . Read More