PTSD On Trial:Judge to rule on whether psychiatrist can testify

Judge to rule on whether psychiatrist can testify about capital murder defendant's PTSD


By MARTHA DELLER

mdeller@star-telegram.com

FORT WORTH -- State District Judge Scott Wisch is expected to decide today whether a defense psychologist can testify that Marine Corps veteran Eric Acevedo had post-traumatic stress disorder when he fatally stabbed his former girlfriend two years ago.

Tarrant County prosecutors say that on March 22, 2008, Acevedo, 23, broke into a Saginaw town house he had once shared with Mollieann Worden and fatally stabbed her. Because he broke in, what would have been a murder charge was elevated to capital murder.

Prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty, so if convicted, Acevedo will automatically be sentenced to life without parole.

Acevedo's attorneys, Jim Lane -- a former Army captain and military lawyer -- and David Richards, do not dispute that Acevedo killed Worden but say that because he was diagnosed with PTSD after returning from his third tour of Iraq in four years, he should not be convicted of capital murder.



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