Hide Article Text (OCR)
Psychiatrist testifies in Powell trialDr. Coons says machine-gunning of police was ‘goal directed’AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A psychiatrist has testified that under the circumstances of possible arrest on drug, theft and gun charges, David Lee Powell’s machine-gunning of Patrolman Ralph Ablanedo was “goal directed.”Dr. Richard Coons of Austin said Monday he found Powell, 27, to be legally sane, contradicting testimony by a Detroit psychiatrist who has specialized in homicide.A psychologist, George Parker of Austin, also said he believed. Powell was sane.Parker acknowledged, however, that his written report said Powell “probably needs environmental help (such as incarceration) to provide the degree of control that would manage his impulses for him.Powell could be executed with a lethal injection if the jury finds he killed Ablanedo deliberately and without provocation and that he would pose a continuing threat to society if allowed to live.Ablanedo died in a burst of fire from an AK-47 automatic rifle, the kind used by Communist troops in Vietnam, after stopping Powell's red Mustang on May 18.Prosecutor Steve Edwards set up a “hypotheticalsituation of a man with outstanding arrest warrants, several hot check charges and driving a car whose contents included $5,000 to $14,000 worth of metham-phetamine — “speed — and several illegal weapons, including theAK-47.“Would the reaction of killing the policeman indicate that person is mentally ill?” asked Edwards.“It certainly could be considered goal-directed behavior that could lend itself most readily to the interpretation of avoiding arrest, Coons said.Asked about the diagnosis by Dr. Emmanuel Tanay of Detroit that Powell was a paranoid schizophrenic, Coons said, “I saw no evidence of psychosis. I saw no evidence of paranoid schizophrenia.Tanay said Powell, valedictorian of his senior class at Campbell, began showing signs of mental illness at about age 16.Asked by defense lawyers whether Powell felt remorse for the Ablanedo death, Tanay testified:“He believed he was in a fire fight — a Vietnam-type fire fight. He describes it as a military encounter. There was a war. He was prepared for it. He had a machine gun and grenades,” Tanay said.Tanay said he askedPowell how he felt about being.” tragic. Life is tragic,’“killing an innocent human “He said, 'Death is not Tanav related.iteCkNOTICETO OUR CUSTOMERS!We Will Be Closed Wednesday,September 27 Until Noon In PreparationFor Our Annual HarvestSale. We Will Open At12 Noon And Stay Open
Newspaper Details
Paris News
Paris, Texas, US
Tue, Sep 26, 1978
Page 7
Full Page
Clipped by
Jared T.
NA, NA 29 May 2023
Other Publications Near Paris, Texas
Paris Weekly News
Paris Echo
Paris Red River Valley Shopper
Paris Evening News
Paris News
