State of WA v. Kevin Cruz No. 00-1-00284-6 SEA
Defense Attorney:
Eric W. Lindell
Lindell Law Offices, PLLC
8015 SE 28th St.
Mercer Island, WA. 98040
tel. (206) 230-4922
fax. (206) 230-4982
Defense Expert:
Dr. Harold J. Bursztajn
Associate Clinical Professor, co-Director
Program in Psychiatry & the Law
96 Larchwood Drive
Cambridge, MA 02138
617-492-8366 email: harold_bursztajn@hms.harvard.edu
Summary:
Defendant Cruz was charged with two counts of aggravated first degree
murder and two counts of attempted murder for shooting four men on November
3, 1999at the Northlake Shipyard in the Freemont District of Seattle.
The prosecution alleged that Kevin walked into the shipyard office and
opened fire, hitting all 4 men in the office. He then dumped the murder
weapon in some bushes and fled the scene. Several weeks later, a bike
rider discovered the gun. Police traced the gun to Kevin and he was ultimately
identified by some witnesses.
Prior to the shooting, in 1998, Kevin had been employed at the Northlake
Shipyard for approximately 5 months. The prosecution attempted to portray
Kevin as having a grudge against the shipyard for terminating some benefits
he was to receive from a minor on the job injury.
Washington uses a bifurcated trial process in death penalty cases. During
the guilt phase of Kevin's trial Defense Attorney worked primarily to
prepare jurors to accept the mental health evidence that Dr. Bursztajn
planned on presenting at the penalty phase of the trial.
Kevin was 30 years old at the time of the shootings. Testimony was offered
that Kevin lived a truly tragic life. He had suffered years and years
of physical and psychological abuse at the hands of his step-father.
As a child Kevin was beaten several times a week by his step-father.
Kevin began to exhibit signs of mental illness approximately a decade
before the shootings. Over the next several years he informed acquaintances
he was being followed, people were listening to him, he had auditory
hallucinations and believed he could speak to dead people. At the time
he was arrested for the shootings, the walls of his bedroom were lined
with foil. He was suffering a variety of symptoms consistent with one
of schizophrenic disorders.
At the penalty phase of the hearing, testimony was presented from Cruz'
mother, brother, sister, two neighbors, the head of the Washington State
Corrections system, a psychologist (to interpret some standardized tests)
and Dr. Harold J. Bursztajn.
Attorney Lindell, the defense attorney, and Dr. Bursztajn were able to
effectively present evidence of Kevin's mental illness in a manner jurors
could easily understand. Dr Bursztajn was able to provide them with some
commonsense answers and place many of Kevin's actions in the context
of mental illness.
At the time of the trial the movie, A Beautiful Mind, was extremely popular.
Dr. Bursztajn even referred to it during the trial.
Dr. Bursztajn testifies that Kevin's mental illness involved severe neuropsychiatric
impairments which diminished Kevin's mental capacity. He states that
Kevin's mental capacity at the time of the killings was so diminished
that it constitutes eligibility for a lower sentence. After a five month
trial, the jury in Kevin's case was out approximately 4 hours before
deciding to spare Kevin's life.