Post by Anja on Aug 14, 2006 3:55:38 GMT -5
Prosecutors: Stanko's actions after crimes show he was sane
Prosecutors told jurors in closing arguments Friday that Stephen Stanko's
actions after killing his live-in girlfriend and raping a teenager in the
home prove that he was sane.
The defense has argued that Stanko, 38, suffers from a congenital brain
defect and was insane when he strangled 43-year-old Laura Ling in April
2005.
"He's anti-social. He's mean. He's narcissistic. He wants what he wants
when he wants it," assistant prosecutor Fran Humphries said. "He knows the
difference between moral and legal right and moral and legal wrong."
Humphries said that after the killing and rape, Stanko took Ling's car,
used her bank card and called her employer to say she wouldn't be in
because she was suffering from food poisoning. Humphries said that shows
Stanko was trying to cover his tracks because he knew what he had done was
wrong.
Stanko was arrested in Augusta, Ga., four days later after investigators
had launched a nationwide manhunt.
In his closing, Humphries noted that experts for the defense said Stanko
had a brain defect and his behavior the day of the slaying shows he was
insane.
"How convenient a standard that is," Humphries said. "If your conduct gets
really bad you are insane. When I am really really bad, when I am evil,
you can't hold that against me."
Gerald Kelly, defense attorney, urged the jury to "let the truth be the
light."
Kelly said Stanko has a defect in the front lobes of his brain, which
controls behavior and he was in a blind rage at the time of the crime.
"Until he was put on trial for his life, he had no idea" about the brain
damage, Kelly said. "The blind rage can come out of your brain. It comes
roaring out in the same way water stacked up against the dam finally comes
rushing through."
Circuit Judge Deadra Jefferson told attorneys before closing arguments
that under state law she had to tell the jury they had four options:
guilty, not guilty, not guilty by reason of insanity and guilty but
mentally ill.
If found guilty or guilty but mentally ill, he could face the death
penalty.
Stanko attorney Bill Diggs objected to the charge for guilty but mentally
ill saying the defense's reason for arguing mental defect was to prove
Stanko was not guilty.
"It's fundamentally unfair," Diggs said. "It gives the state the ability
to reach a compromise verdict.
"The state has 2 options on this verdict form which can result in a death
sentence."
Jefferson said under state law she was required to include the verdict of
guilty but mentally ill and that such a charge to the jury has been upheld
by the state Supreme Court.
Stanko was released from a Ridgeville prison in July 2004 after serving
more than 8 years of a 10-year sentence on kidnapping charges in Berkeley
County.
While in prison, he co-wrote a book, "Living in Prison: A History of the
Correctional System," with the help of professors at East Tennessee State
University in Johnson City, Tenn.
Stanko also is charged with killing Henry Lee Turner, 74, of Conway whose
body was found about 24 hours after Ling's slaying. A trial date has not
been set in the Horry County case.
(source: Associated Press)
Prosecutors told jurors in closing arguments Friday that Stephen Stanko's
actions after killing his live-in girlfriend and raping a teenager in the
home prove that he was sane.
The defense has argued that Stanko, 38, suffers from a congenital brain
defect and was insane when he strangled 43-year-old Laura Ling in April
2005.
"He's anti-social. He's mean. He's narcissistic. He wants what he wants
when he wants it," assistant prosecutor Fran Humphries said. "He knows the
difference between moral and legal right and moral and legal wrong."
Humphries said that after the killing and rape, Stanko took Ling's car,
used her bank card and called her employer to say she wouldn't be in
because she was suffering from food poisoning. Humphries said that shows
Stanko was trying to cover his tracks because he knew what he had done was
wrong.
Stanko was arrested in Augusta, Ga., four days later after investigators
had launched a nationwide manhunt.
In his closing, Humphries noted that experts for the defense said Stanko
had a brain defect and his behavior the day of the slaying shows he was
insane.
"How convenient a standard that is," Humphries said. "If your conduct gets
really bad you are insane. When I am really really bad, when I am evil,
you can't hold that against me."
Gerald Kelly, defense attorney, urged the jury to "let the truth be the
light."
Kelly said Stanko has a defect in the front lobes of his brain, which
controls behavior and he was in a blind rage at the time of the crime.
"Until he was put on trial for his life, he had no idea" about the brain
damage, Kelly said. "The blind rage can come out of your brain. It comes
roaring out in the same way water stacked up against the dam finally comes
rushing through."
Circuit Judge Deadra Jefferson told attorneys before closing arguments
that under state law she had to tell the jury they had four options:
guilty, not guilty, not guilty by reason of insanity and guilty but
mentally ill.
If found guilty or guilty but mentally ill, he could face the death
penalty.
Stanko attorney Bill Diggs objected to the charge for guilty but mentally
ill saying the defense's reason for arguing mental defect was to prove
Stanko was not guilty.
"It's fundamentally unfair," Diggs said. "It gives the state the ability
to reach a compromise verdict.
"The state has 2 options on this verdict form which can result in a death
sentence."
Jefferson said under state law she was required to include the verdict of
guilty but mentally ill and that such a charge to the jury has been upheld
by the state Supreme Court.
Stanko was released from a Ridgeville prison in July 2004 after serving
more than 8 years of a 10-year sentence on kidnapping charges in Berkeley
County.
While in prison, he co-wrote a book, "Living in Prison: A History of the
Correctional System," with the help of professors at East Tennessee State
University in Johnson City, Tenn.
Stanko also is charged with killing Henry Lee Turner, 74, of Conway whose
body was found about 24 hours after Ling's slaying. A trial date has not
been set in the Horry County case.
(source: Associated Press)