-Caveat Lector- "Under hypnosis, Shawcross gave Lewis graphic accounts of sexual abuse inflicted by his mother and of an incestuous relationship with his younger sister. He displayed multiple personalities, sometimes talking in the voice of his mother, of his sister, of a 49-year-old man who introduced him to women, of a man who said he learned to eat human flesh in medieval England."
~~~~~~~~~ The Post-Standard (Syracuse, NY) December 12, 1990 Wednesday City Edition SECTION: METRO; Pg. B1 LENGTH: 833 words HEADLINE: SHAWCROSS: IS HE LIKE NORMAN BATES? JURY NOW DECIDES WHETHER HE'S INSANE< BYLINE: Barbara Stith Staff Writer DATELINE: ROCHESTER The jurors in the trail of accused serial killer Arthur J. Shawcross have heard 10 weeks of testimony, listened to nearly 70 witnesses and viewed more than 300 exhibits, but during deliberations they'll focus on a single issue: Whether Shawcross is, in the words of prosecutor Charles Siragusa, "an insane madman or a calculating killer." Shawcross, a 45-year-old native of Brownville in Jefferson County, killed 8-year-old Karen Ann Hill and 10-year-old Jack O. Blake in Watertown in 1972. He was on parole after serving 14 1/2 years for manslaughter in Hill's death when the serial killings of the Rochester women began. SHAWCROSS ADMITTED killing 11 women -- most of them prostitutes and drug users -- when police arrested him on Jan 3. He still faces trial on one count of murder iin neighboring Wayne County. The testimony in the Monroe County trial has revealed tales of psychological abuse and sexual torture that Shawcross says he endured, and of cannibalism and mutilation that he claims to have inflicted while in delusions. What jurors must do, defense lawyer David A. Murante said in his closing argument Tuesday, is "to kind of climb into his mind." To do that, the jurors will weigh the stories of two high-profile psychiatrists: Dr. Dorothy Lewis, who also testified for the defense in the trial of serial killer Ted Bundy, and Dr. Park Dietz, who testified against John Hinckley after an assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan. LEWIS TESTIFIED Shawcross was driven to kill after suffering horrendous sexual abuse and brain damage coupled with trauma in Vietnam. Dietz believes Shawcross is a fake who modeled himself after the character Norman Bates in the movie "Psycho." Under hypnosis, Shawcross gave Lewis graphic accounts of sexual abuse inflicted by his mother and of an incestuous relationship with his younger sister. He displayed multiple personalities, sometimes talking in the voice of his mother, of his sister, of a 49-year-old man who introduced him to women, of a man who said he learned to eat human flesh in medieval England. The sexual abuse, genetic factors, brain damage and Shawcross' experiences in Vietnam "led him to be the type of person he is," Murante said. But Siragusa reminded the jurors that none of the abuse nor any traumatic experiences in Vietnam could be corroborated. He hammered away at the demeanor and credibility of Lewis, who once explained her disorganized behavior to jurors by saying she couldn't walk and chew gum at the same time. SIRAGUSA DREW an analogy to Shawcross' love of fishing. "He went fishing and caught Dorothy Lewis," the prosector said. "She swallowed his stories hook, line and sinker." Murante argued that Dietz was biased toward the defense account of the slayings. He also referred to the psychiatrist's assertion that Shawcross modeled himself after the "Psycho" character. Dietz had raised the same possibility in the Hinckley trial, he said, only suggesting that Hinckley had patterned his life after the movie "Taxi Driver." Murante called his client a "Jekyll and Hyde." "If you passed him on the street or sat next to him in a doughnut shop, he'd be a regular Joe," Murante said. But he said that several of the victims were cannibalized or mutilated, that Shawcross hid the bodies instead of burying them so that he could return to them. "A SICK mind is operating here," Murante said. Shawcross could not have become the brutal killer he became without suffering abuse, without suffering from "a lot of psychosis," he said. Siragusa disputed the tales of cannibalism, saying the defense raised them as the "ultimate indication of craziness." Shawcross knew enough to choose victims who were easy prey, Siragusa said. He knew how to dispose of their clothing when he needed to, how to slip away from a murder scene undetected, he said. The 10 victims "speak of method, not madness, on the part of the defendant," he said. It was the Hinckley trial that spurred many states, including New York, to revamp their definitions of legal insanity. To prove a defendant is legally insane, the defense must prove that the accused, because of a mental defect or illness, didn't know what he was doing was wrong, or didn't understand the nature or consequences of his action. Monroe County Judge Donald J. Wisner was expected to charge the jury early this afternoon, and the panel of 10 men and two women will be sequestered until they reach a verdict. IF THE jurors do not find Shawcross guilty on 10 counts of second-degree murder, they could either find him not guilty by reason of insanity or reduce the charge to manslaughter because he was emotionally disturbed at the time of the slayings. Shawcross was the picture of passivity during arguments Tuesday. Paunchy, gray-haired, he entered the courtroom with his eyes downcast and his shoulders sloping. He sat between his attorneys, motionless as a cardboard cutout, never speaking to or looking at either of his lawyers. GRAPHIC: PHOTO; The Associated Press; ARTHUR SHAWCROSS sits in the posture he's used during much of his; trial on charges he killed 10 women. At right is lawyer David Murante. www.ctrl.org DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! 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