1 CONT'D DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. BRUCK: 2 Q Okay. Can you bring the story up to the point 3 a few days before the death of the boys that you 4 think is the right place to begin, the day-by-day 5 account of what happened? 6 Maybe before we do that, if you can give us a 7 snapshot of Susan's emotional and mental state in 8 mid October of 1994? 9 A Can I begin around August 1st? 10 Q Okay. 11 A I think the reason I want to do that is because 12 I think around August 1st Susan became much more 13 seriously depressed after David left for the final 14 time. She sees herself as a single mother without 15 much money. She is subject to David coming in and 16 out of the house at random, at will, even though if 17 there was an official separation. David often comes 18 and insists on having sex, which she complies with, 19 but is no way being a consenting partner. She does 20 not enjoy it. She is worried about her sexual 21 activity, which is at this time point is beginning 22 to increase. So she is involved with Cary Findlay. 23 She's also once again becoming involved with Bev 24 Russell at this point. 25 Q With her stepfather? Page 1 1 A Her stepfather. 2 Q When you say involved, were they having sexual 3 intercourse? 4 A They were having oral sexual relations. 5 Q On a couple of occasions, maybe? 6 A On two occasions. 7 Q And other contact as well of some sort? 8 A Well, she was involved with Tom Findlay. She 9 was involved with David, and she was involved with 10 Cary Findlay, and on two occasions with Bev Russell. 11 Q I see. 12 A She is feeling desperate at this time. She 13 worries about her future. She worries about her 14 capacity as a mother. 15 One of the things that I haven't mentioned 16 about Susan yet is that what is pervasive in her 17 history is a fear of being alone. That comes 18 through from early childhood. I interviewed Susan's 19 mother Linda and she described this in great detail. 20 From earliest childhood, on, Susan has been somebody 21 who has needed some stimulation, needed somebody 22 around. The fact that she was involved with a lot 23 of people sexually at this point looks like a 24 desperate searching for somebody to deal with the 25 loneliness that she perceived was coming when she Page 2 1 was going to break up with David. I think she 2 consented to sex with David simply because she 3 thought that it might enable her to hold on to him 4 and it gave her somebody to be with. 5 I think during the month of August -- we also 6 begin to -- we also see that she begins to drink 7 more. There are a number of occasions when she gets 8 intoxicated, including on one occasion she drove 9 home while intoxicated. And that's kind of a new 10 pattern in her life. 11 I think during the month of August, all through 12 and into September, where her depression became much 13 worse. She tells me that during the sixty or ninety 14 days before the death of her boys she thought about 15 suicide just about every day. Whereas in the past 16 years it never been that frequent. There was some 17 days where she thought about it, and other days 18 where she did not. 19 And I think the next point to get to is the 20 Friday before the 25th. 21 Q Now, before we have get to that, you have 22 referred to her depression. Based on the history 23 that you have learned, was this evident to the 24 people around her - her family, her friends, her 25 co-workers at Conso? Page 3 1 A There were a few people who guessed that there 2 was something wrong with Susan, but nobody really 3 had a sense of the depth of her depression. For two 4 reasons. One is she was very good at covering up. 5 And the other reason was that she is the kind of a 6 person who, when her loneliness is satisfied, 7 doesn't feel depressed. So when things are going 8 very, very well with people, her depression at least 9 temporarily diminishes. 10 If there is any threat to those relationships, 11 if she begins to fear loneliness again, she 12 immediately gets depressed again. 13 And in that sense, her depression is little bit 14 atypical and not like the kind you see where 15 somebody is depressed twenty-four hours a day for 16 months at a time. Susan was not like that. There 17 were time when she felt okay. And it's hard to 18 assess how often those times were because she was so 19 good at covering up how bad she felt. 20 Q Through all of this, of course, she was a 21 mother? 22 A Right. 23 Q She was caring for two little boys? 24 A Right. 25 Q Do you have any opinion about how she Page 4 1 functioned as a mother? 2 A Only what I know is what other people have said 3 about her. And uniformly everybody said that she 4 was an excellent mother. 5 Q Loved the children? 6 A Loved the children. 7 Q Cared for them? 8 A And my own impressions and spending a lot of 9 time with her is that she certainly loved the 10 children. She's a highly responsible mother. 11 THE COURT: Counsel, we are almost ten minutes 12 to one. I'm trying to gauge time. Is this an 13 appropriate place to stop? 14 MR. POPE: This probably is a good place to 15 stop. 16 * * * * * 17 (recess taken) 18 * * * * * 19 (back on the record) 20 * * * * * 21 (jury in the courtroom) 22 * * * * * 23 CONTINUED DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. BRUCK: 24 Q Good afternoon Dr. Halleck. 25 We were just concluding the history that you Page 5 1 took or obtained in this case leading up to October -- 2 the weekend of October 21st-23rd. And you had 3 discussed some of the marital difficulties. 4 In the history that you obtained, you referred 5 to adulterous relationships on both sides of this 6 marriage. 7 Does the history indicate to you whether Susan 8 Smith was engaged in any sexual relationships with 9 anyone other than David during the period of time 10 during the marriage in which they lived together? 11 A In the history I obtained, the only time she 12 was involved with other men was when she was 13 separated from David. 14 Q And when they were living together? 15 A When she was living with David, she says there 16 was no evidence that she was involved with other 17 men. 18 Q Now, of course, this information comes from 19 Susan alone? 20 A Mostly. 21 Q Were you able to corroborate any of the marital 22 difficulty from other sources in the history as a 23 general matter? 24 A As I recall, there were many observers who were 25 aware that there was some marital strife going on. Page 6 1 There was some people who were sympathetic to Susan 2 over the way they perceived David's treating her. 3 Q I see. Well, did you interview David Smith in 4 the course of gathering this history? 5 A I did not. I did write to his attorney -- to 6 him through his attorney. 7 Q Right. 8 A Asking him to be interviewed, but I never did 9 hear from him. 10 Q So he apparently declined to be interviewed? 11 A He didn't respond. 12 Q He did not respond. And you explained the 13 purpose of why you needed to speak with him? 14 MR. POPE: Your Honor, if Mr. Bruck could not 15 testify. If he could just ask the question and not 16 lead, please, Your Honor. 17 THE COURT: As to the last question, I would 18 overrule. But in general, don't lead your witness. 19 The last question is not leading. 20 Q Did you explain in your letter why it was that 21 you needed to speak with him or why it was? 22 A Yes, I did. 23 Q Have you been able to review his recently his 24 about to be published book? 25 A I browsed through it briefly yesterday, the Page 7 1 only chance that I have had. 2 Q Now, you have spoken about depression, symptoms 3 of depression. 4 Can you summarize these symptoms of depression 5 that you have obtained in the history during the 6 period leading up to the -- two or three months 7 leading up to October 25th? 8 A The most prominent thing was sad mood most of 9 the day, accompanied by crying spells. 10 She did not stop her usual activity, so she did 11 not have that continuously. 12 She was beginning to have some difficulty in 13 concentrating. She was experiencing fairly severe 14 nausea and loss of appetite, even though she was 15 trying to diet. She was experiencing some 16 diminution of energy. 17 Q Diminution of energy? That is low energy? 18 A Low energy. She did things but she didn't feel 19 with any excessive vivaciousness. 20 She also was constantly down on herself, and 21 her self image was getting worse by the day. And 22 many feelings of guilt and worthlessness. 23 Q Did the history at this time include any 24 feeling about any findings concerning suicidality? 25 A During this time she had thoughts of suicide Page 8 1 almost every day. 2 Q Now, this picture that you -- these symptoms 3 that you have outlined, would they have been or were 4 they visible to most people? 5 A Probably not. It would depend upon when you 6 saw Susan Smith. If you saw her when she was 7 crying, obviously it would have been visible. If 8 you saw her when she let down her guard, it would be 9 visible. If you saw her when she had her guard up, 10 or at a time when she happened for awhile to be 11 feeling good, you would not be able to interpret 12 that she was depressed or suicidal. 13 Q So if there were people who saw her say at the 14 university going to a class? 15 A In that kind of setting, she probably would 16 have looked perfectly normal. 17 Q At work most of the time? 18 A Most of the time, except during the times when 19 she would break down and begin to confide in people. 20 Q Or just out in the community and going to the 21 store with the kids and doing things around town? 22 A I think she would try especially hard in the 23 community to put up a pretense or facade of being 24 okay. 25 Q And you differentiate between putting up a Page 9 1 facade on the one hand and letting her guard down. 2 Can you relate that to whether she was alone or with 3 people? Which would she be more likely to do in 4 this situation? 5 A Well, she characteristically would let go when 6 she was alone, for two reasons. One was safe to let 7 go. And the other is she was so frightened of being 8 alone. 9 Q Can you expound on that a little bit? 10 A Well, Susan consistently had a fear of being 11 alone and needs constant stimulation. Without that 12 stimulation, she begins to get panicky. 13 Q Stimulation is a word with different meanings. 14 What do you mean by stimulation? 15 A She needs to be interacting with people. She 16 needs to have somebody to talk to, somebody who is 17 involved with her in one way or another. 18 Even in her prison cell, she tries awfully hard 19 to talk to whoever will talk to her. The officers 20 in the prison, or any other inmates, are not 21 supposed to talk to her. Her worst moments are at 22 night in the prison when they turn off the TV and 23 when nobody is around to talk. And that's when she 24 begins to get all these goblins to make her feel 25 terrified. Page 10 1 Q Okay. I would like you to, if you would, pick 2 up the story on Friday, October 25th, and relate to 3 the jury what, according to your understanding, 4 happened. 5 A Well, Friday morning began with David coming 6 over I believe it was six in the morning. And it 7 was initially friendly, and then ended up vacuuming 8 the carpets, following which he had sex with Susan. 9 Following that he began to give her a hard time 10 in the sense that he told her that he knew that she 11 was fooling around with somebody other than this Tom 12 Findlay. That he knew about Tom Findlay, and he 13 knows who went on there and he was going to find out 14 about it. He also told her that he was watching her 15 and that he was going to report her to the IRS for 16 cheating. So it ended up in a fairly large scale 17 fight. Susan -- not physical, just argument. Susan 18 afterwards was very desperate. 19 Q Now, you mentioned -- was there any mention of 20 Cary Findlay at this time? 21 A Yes, there was. 22 Q And how did that come out? 23 A Well, actually my recollection is that Susan 24 eventually told David about Cary, assuming that he 25 knew it anyway, and then worried about whether she Page 11 1 should have told him in the first place. 2 Q Right. 3 A Once she had told David about Cary Findlay, 4 Susan became panicked. She began to get frantic, as 5 she so often gets, and felt like she had to do 6 something at that point to resurrect the situation. 7 Also on Friday there were some problems with 8 her girlfriend, Donna Garner. Apparently Susan had 9 told her something about her boyfriend, Donna's 10 boyfriend, running around. So there was a lot of 11 emotion about that. And the boyfriend came over. 12 They made up again. But those were the significant 13 events on Friday. 14 Q Why, if you know, was she not at work on that 15 day? 16 A She was feeling bad. She was feeling bad many 17 of these days, and it looks like she was taking off 18 a number of days. And also was drinking a lot. 19 Some days was having a hangover. 20 Q Okay. If you could tell us about the events, 21 any significant events, that occurred on the 22 weekend? 23 A The major thing is that on Sunday she went to 24 see Tom Findlay. 25 Q See, or speak to, if you know? Page 12 1 A I don't really recall that. I know she spoke 2 to him. I thought she saw him after he got back 3 from a trip that he had been on. And she revealed 4 to him that she had been involved with her 5 stepfather Bev Russell. 6 Q Okay. And what, if you know, was her mood 7 during that conversation? 8 A She apparently was tearful, was afraid that he 9 would be upset with her and angry with her, and 10 generally depressed. 11 Q If you recall, was there any discussion with 12 Tom about David and what he knew and what he might 13 do, any of that? Realizing you weren't here for Mr. 14 Findlay's testimony, but from the history? 15 A I don't know if she discussed that with Tom. I 16 think she was very worried about what David was 17 going to do. 18 Q Right. 19 THE COURT: Counsel, if you could keep your 20 voice up, please. 21 MR. BRUCK: Yes, sir. 22 Q All right. What, if anything, occurred on the 23 following day; that is, Monday the 24th of October? 24 A As I recall, it was a relatively uneventful 25 day, with the exception of David coming over that Page 13 1 evening and once again trying to have sex with 2 Susan, which she turned down. 3 Q Okay. And what effect, if any, did that have 4 on David and on the interaction between them? 5 A He was angry when he left. This was one of the 6 really rare occasions when she turned him down. 7 Q When she turned him down. 8 If you could, relate for us in the history and 9 the events as you have learned them of Tuesday, 10 October the 25th. 11 A Susan picked up the kids and brought them to 12 the baby-sitter, and then went to work. She was 13 driving somebody around town by the name of Ryan in 14 the morning. She then went out to lunch with her 15 usual group, including Tom Findlay, and that was 16 uneventful. 17 About two o'clock she asked to talk to Mr. 18 Findlay alone and told him that there was something 19 she had to tell him, and prefaced that with what she 20 usually says is "you are going to hate me. Please 21 don't hate me if I tell you." 22 At this point she revealed to him that she had 23 been having sexual relationships with Cary Findlay. 24 He appeared to handle that in a relatively calm way, 25 and said to her -- well, he was upset about it, and Page 14 1 this really meant that they couldn't be lovers, but 2 that he still wanted to be friends. He still cared 3 about her. 4 Q I should mention, by the way, doctor, before 5 you came here, of course, Mr. Findlay has testified, 6 so all that needs to be related is is to make clear 7 the basis of your opinion. 8 A She went to see him again a couple of hours 9 later and felt like she wanted some sign of 10 affection from him, which didn't come. 11 And then a couple hours after that she went to 12 see him again and said she had just made up the 13 whole story. And he was offended and asked her to 14 leave. 15 Q All right. What happened next with Susan? 16 A She went home. She tried to call the Hickory 17 Nuts place where she knew Tom was to see if there 18 was anybody there who could talk to her. Susan 19 Brown was sitting next to Mr. Findlay and she 20 elected to talk. Mr. Findlay was sitting next to 21 her. 22 Susan also made dinner for the children. She 23 cooked pizza for them. 24 She then called her mother and said she wanted 25 to come over. Her mother indicated that she was Page 15 1 going to see I think one of the grandsons in some 2 kind of sport events, but she would be home at eight 3 o'clock. 4 By this point Susan is frantic. Susan feels 5 that she is losing everybody. That she's losing 6 David, that she's losing Tom, and is very fearful of 7 the aloneness. She's crying in the house. The 8 children can hear her crying, and they are crying 9 too. 10 Q I should ask you. During this time, do you 11 recall whether or not there were any phone calls 12 from David? 13 A David called right before Susan left the house 14 and wanted to know what was wrong, because he sensed 15 there was something wrong at this point. 16 Q Okay. Were the children crying at this time? 17 A I don't know if you could hear the children 18 crying in the background or not. 19 Q But they were crying at that time? 20 A They were crying, yes. 21 Q And was Susan crying? 22 A Susan was crying, yes. 23 Q If you could now relate for the ladies and 24 gentlemen of the jury what happened as Susan left 25 the house. Page 16 1 A Well -- 2 Q Where was she going when she left? 3 A She didn't know where she was going. She began 4 driving rather aimlessly. During the drive she is 5 crying constantly. 6 Q Now, you have mentioned that she had told her 7 mother that she was going to go to her mother's 8 house? 9 A Right. 10 Q Was -- if you know, was this the initial plan 11 as she left? 12 A This was the initial plan, but I don't think 13 she went in that direction. 14 Q Okay. 15 A But as she is driving, she is constantly 16 crying. Uncharacteristically for her she turns off 17 the car radio, which she usually doesn't. She finds 18 her body shaking uncontrollably. She feels 19 nauseous. She bit her nails during that one hour 20 drive off completely. She showed me -- the last 21 time she told me about it was on July 7th she showed 22 me the size of her nails on that date, and said they 23 were bitten down to the very end just in the course 24 of that. She said they were about that big when she 25 started to drive, but at the end of the drive they Page 17 1 were gone. 2 So she was driving and thinking that she has to 3 kill herself, and thinking that that's the only 4 solution, because there is nobody around who cares 5 for her. 6 She eventually reaches a bridge over the Broad 7 River and stops the car on the bridge and 8 contemplates jumping in the river and contemplates 9 taking the children with her. She hears Michael 10 crying and decides not to do that. 11 Q Had the children been asleep previously? 12 A They were asleep on and off, but at the point 13 she was at the bridge Michael was crying. 14 She resumes driving and a couple of times 15 almost went off the road because she was shaking and 16 so distressed she gets to the lake. She gets to the 17 lake -- 18 Q Had she intended to go to the lake when she 19 left the bridge? 20 A I don't know how she got to the lake. I don't 21 know if she intended that or not. She just seemed 22 to drive and she ended up there. 23 It's interesting that she had gone to the lake 24 previously when she -- to commit suicide. 25 The events at the lake, as I understand them, Page 18 1 are that she drove the car to the ramp, that she set 2 the hand brake, that she then released the hand 3 brake, and then pulled it up again. Then she then 4 released the hand brake again and jumped out of the 5 car. 6 Q Was there a time when she got out of the car 7 and walked around or got out all, if you recall? 8 A I don't believe so. 9 Q If you could tell us what her thoughts were, as 10 you have been able to reconstruct them, during the 11 time at the lake? 12 A The main thought she had was that she had to 13 die. She also at various time she was driving to 14 the like and before she got there felt that she had 15 to take the kids with her. She felt that she had to 16 take the kids with her because she was concerned 17 that they would be raised without a mother. She 18 worried about her own upbringing without a father. 19 She feared conflict between her mother and David and 20 feared what would happen to the children if she 21 wasn't there. 22 I should add all of this is irrational. I do 23 not think that she was thinking rationally at that 24 point. 25 And here I think it's important to emphasize Page 19 1 her strong religious convictions. She firmly 2 believed that the children would go to heaven, and 3 she firmly believed that she would go to heaven. 4 Q What occurred, if you know, at the moment that 5 she released the hand brake the last time and the 6 car rolled into the lake? 7 A I can only make the assumption that -- when she 8 released it and ran out of the car, do you mean? 9 Q Right. 10 A When she ran out of the car, that her self 11 preservation feelings took over. And although up to 12 that moment she fully intended to kill herself, she 13 got frightened and her survival instincts took over. 14 Q And what of the children? 15 A It's unclear from my discussions with her 16 whether she remembers whether the children were 17 actually in the car at the moment she ran out. Of 18 course, she said they were there later. And, of 19 course, they were there when they were driving 20 there. 21 But her level of anxiety, her level of despair, 22 her level of franticness was such that it is 23 possible that she blocked out the awareness that 24 they were in the car. She's told me different 25 stories about this, and out of that I have concluded Page 20 1 she doesn't really remember. 2 Q Now, I want to pursue that. You say that 3 there has been some variation in what was in her 4 mind? 5 A Yes. 6 Q Well, wouldn't that lead you to conclude that 7 she's just telling more lies about this? 8 A No, because the answer she often gives is the 9 one that you would think she would want me to hear. 10 So some of the times she says "I knew the kids were 11 in the car. I must have known." 12 Q "must have known." 13 A "I must have known." And she says it in such a 14 way that I don't really believe that she knew. 15 Q And at other times she says -- 16 A At other times she says "well, I couldn't have 17 known they were there, or I wouldn't have done 18 that." And she says that in such a way, so I'm not 19 convinced she really remembers. 20 Q So what conclusion do you draw from that? 21 A The main conclusion is that I don't know. I 22 don't think that she knows. 23 Q You don't know? 24 A I don't know whether she had full awareness 25 that the children were in the car. Page 21 1 Q You simply don't know? 2 A I don't know. 3 Q You are unable to form an opinion? 4 A That's right. I don't think she knows. 5 Q You don't think she knows? 6 A Correct. 7 Q Well, do you have an opinion as to whether she 8 knew shortly thereafter she ran up the hill? 9 A She certainly did. By the time she ran up the 10 hill and stopped and turned around, she became very 11 much aware that the children were there. 12 Q If she had not been before? 13 A If she had not been before, yes. 14 Q And what all happened as she ran up the hill? 15 Let me ask you something first. Did she watch 16 the car go into the lake? 17 A I don't believe so. She ran screaming, ran to 18 the top of the hill, looked back and couldn't see 19 the car, and at that point continued to run. At 20 this point she was fully aware that the children 21 were in the car and the car was in the lake. 22 Q Well, is it really believable that she would 23 have known before she arrived at the ramp that they 24 were there and tt she knew moments later, but that 25 she might not have fully been aware at the time that Page 22 1 she actually committed the act? 2 A It's certainly possible. I think people who 3 are experiencing as agonizing a stress as she was 4 experiencing are capable of blocking things out. So 5 my answer to that is that's possible. 6 Q But you do not have an opinion that that is 7 probable, or that you do not have a medical opinion 8 within a reasonable degree of medical certainty? 9 A I can't use the word probable. 10 Q Okay. Tell us what happened as she ran up the 11 hill towards Shirley McCloud's house. 12 A As she ran up the hill, she began thinking 13 about what she would tell people. And her first 14 impulse was that people will hate me, people will 15 reject me, I cannot tell people anything that's 16 horrible. And it will, you know, do something to my 17 image of myself that I will let people think of me 18 which I will find unbearable. 19 Q Well -- excuse me. 20 A As she was running up the hill, she was making 21 up a story. 22 Q Well, if she had wanted to be dead a few 23 moments before, why would she be worrying about 24 these things now? 25 A I think at this point her self preservation Page 23 1 instincts took over. 2 Q And she went to the house? 3 A She went to the house. 4 Q And told the story? 5 A And told the story. 6 Q Had she formulated this story in her mind 7 before the car went into the lake? 8 A I could find no evidence that she had. And it 9 is entirely credible to me that a story with this 10 many loopholes could have been created in those few 11 seconds when she was running up the hill. 12 Q Now, you considered, did you not, the tenacity 13 with which she clung to this story over the next 14 nine days? 15 A Yes. Yes. 16 Q Do you have any assessment of that? 17 A There were two things going on. One is she has 18 told me that she was very content on trying find a 19 way to kill herself during that time, but there was 20 no access to weapons. Apparently her stepfather had 21 hidden the guns. And she had looked for the guns 22 during that time. 23 The other thing is that she -- 24 Q I should ask also, was she alone during this 25 time? Page 24 1 A She was never alone. 2 She also became, you know, caught up with the 3 lies she had already begun to tell and kept 4 wondering at what point she would have to tell the 5 truth. And was just terrified of what she would 6 have experienced at that moment. 7 Q Now, this, of course, is the point I suppose of 8 which you talked about the need for skepticism? 9 A Yes. 10 Q What basis, if any, do you have for confidence 11 that this account is accurate? 12 A You need to clarify for me what you mean by 13 this account. Do you mean her account? 14 Q Her account of what happened and didn't happen 15 at the lake. 16 A I have no reason to doubt her account of what 17 happened. I mean, she's acknowledging that account 18 that she's lied. And that in every other way with 19 me during the interview she has consistently not 20 lied and consistently has not tried to portray 21 herself as a sympathetic person. 22 I should say in no way did she try to get my 23 sympathy or anyone else's. From the beginning of 24 our interview, she portrayed herself as a bad 25 person, as an evil person. Page 25 1 Q Did she seem to feel any remorse? 2 A Any? 3 Q Remorse. 4 A Yes. 5 Q You said at the beginning that one of the 6 things that you did during your psychiatric 7 interview was to assess her current functioning; 8 that is, when you saw her, I believe, beginning in 9 the late winter and going on into early summer in 10 prison. Could you relate to the jury how she was 11 doing then? 12 MR. POPE: Your Honor, I object to the current 13 function as to relevance of this as to the guilt 14 phase. 15 MR. BRUCK: I can lay a foundation. 16 THE COURT: All right, sir. 17 Q Is part of your evaluation on the issue of 18 suicide and depression, does it require you to 19 assess the current as well as the past functioning? 20 A Yes. 21 Q And why is that important, to assess? 22 A Well, if you know what somebody is like now, 23 it's a little bit easier to predict what they might 24 have been like before. Of course, she's in 25 unusually bad circumstances now. Page 26 1 Q Right. So you had to factor in -- 2 A That factors in, yes. 3 Q Okay. With that understanding, did you make an 4 assessment of how she is currently functioning? 5 A When I first saw her on the 23rd of February, I 6 thought she was quite seriously depressed. And I 7 think I talked with you about the possibility of 8 suicide in prison. 9 Q Yes. 10 A And kind of warned that she needed to be 11 watched much more carefully. 12 Q Uh-huh. 13 A On the 23rd I was even more concerned. After I 14 left, I think I talked to you again about that 15 possibility. And really wondered if she shouldn't 16 be on antidepressant medication, which I think was 17 started. 18 Q Eventually? 19 A Either then, or shortly after Dr. Morgan saw 20 her. 21 When I saw her on the 13th of June, she was 22 still very depressed, although on a lot of 23 medications, so it was very hard to tell where she 24 was coming from. She seemed calmer on medication. 25 Q She seemed calm? Page 27 1 A Calmer, with a lot of medication. 2 Q This included sedatives? 3 A It included sedatives. But if anything, more 4 depressed. 5 Q Okay. 6 A When I saw her on the 7th of July, she was 7 looking a little more lively, a little less sedated, 8 but still depressed. 9 I should say that on every interview I had with 10 her, each of the four interviews, she told me that 11 if she had a chance to kill herself, she would. 12 That if she were not being watched constantly, and 13 if she had the means to kill herself, that she would 14 do it. 15 Q Now, of course, could this be simply due to the 16 fact that her children are dead and she's in prison 17 awaiting trial for the murder? 18 A It could be, but it's such a -- it is so 19 consistent with her history and with the 20 suicidalities since age thirteen, that I can see it 21 as manifestation -- a continuing manifestation of 22 her illness. 23 Q Now, did you detect any difference in her 24 condition between the time before she was on 25 antidepressant medications, when you say were Page 28 1 started in prison, and the last time that you saw 2 her? 3 A She told me the last time that I saw her that 4 being on the Prozac makes it harder for her to cry. 5 Q Yes. 6 A And that she really feels somewhat better on 7 it. She feels less depressed, but still suicidal. 8 Q Okay. Now, the fact that Prozac had this 9 effect, if it did, is that something which factors 10 into your psychiatric assessment of her condition 11 going back in time? 12 A Well, it supports the idea that she's had 13 serious depression. 14 Q Do you have an opinion as to whether 15 antidepressant medication would have made a 16 difference to her functioning on October 25th, 1994? 17 A Yes, I do. 18 Q And what is that opinion? 19 A I think if she had been adequately treated with 20 Prozac in the preceding weeks and months, the death 21 of her children would never have happened. 22 Q Now, I began this examination some hours ago by 23 laying out for you the issue that we needed you to 24 help the jury decide, that being was this a suicide 25 attempt or was it a planned murder of her children Page 29 1 for an ulterior motive. And I would like to ask you 2 on the basis of everything that you have learned, if 3 you have an opinion on that? 4 A I have a very strong opinion, that the intent 5 was suicide. 6 Q If you would bear with me just a moment. 7 (off the record) 8 (back on the record) 9 Q Dr. Halleck, I have no further questions for 10 you. 11 MR. POPE: If it please the court? 12 THE COURT: Yes, sir, counselor, 13 cross-examination. 14 CROSS EXAMINATION BY MR. POPE: 15 Q Doctor, if you would, bear with me. I have 16 been making a few notes here. 17 Doctor, you related basically to the jury 18 almost a story of what your understanding of what 19 happened to Susan Smith that night, from the time 20 that she got in the car, drove to the lake, and so 21 on and so forth. Is that correct? 22 A That's correct. 23 Q And it flowed even as far as -- I recall you 24 saying where she had run off the road and 25 uncharacteristically turned off the radio. She Page 30 1 didn't know where she was going. She was just 2 crying, so on and so forth? 3 A That's correct. 4 Q You said uncharacteristically she turned off 5 the radio so it was silent in the car? 6 A Correct. 7 Q How do you know that that is uncharacteristic 8 for her? 9 A She tells me that she always drives with the 10 radio on. And I have intended to believe that 11 because she is the kind of person who wants the 12 stimulation of outside forces, of sounds. 13 Q So based on your analysis of her and your 14 interviewing her, you are able to determine whether 15 she's the type of person who leaves the car radio on 16 in her car or not? 17 A Well, she says she does. 18 Q Okay. So, again, when you were going through 19 the story and -- I mean, basically you gave a 20 narrative of how she drove and what she did, is that 21 correct? 22 A That's correct. 23 Q You think she had to kill herself, stopped at a 24 bridge, almost went off the road. These were all 25 things that she related to you, is that correct? Page 31 1 A That's correct. 2 Q Okay. Doctor, you have also reviewed her -- 3 the different accounts, I presume, that she gave of 4 what happened when the black man with the toboggan 5 entered her car? 6 A Yes. 7 Q And so you are aware in those instances she 8 also said she stopped at the light, a man entered my 9 car, he said certain things, he smelled a certain 10 way, and he had a gun, etcetera. You are aware of 11 that, aren't you? 12 A Yes. 13 Q Doctor, you said -- and forgive me if I 14 misquote this, but you said that you felt like she 15 had a major depression? 16 A I felt that in the months preceding this event, 17 beginning in August, that she had many of the 18 criteria of major depression. She might not 19 technically have qualified for that diagnosis, for 20 the reasons I can get into if you want to. 21 Q Okay. First let me understand. When you say 22 qualified -- the criteria, that was referring to the 23 DSM -- 24 A The DSM-4 criteria. 25 Q And the DSM-4 criteria. What mental illness Page 32 1 are we talking about? Or is it a mental illness? 2 Is it disorder? Could you explain that to the jury? 3 A Well, the DSM-4 does not use the term illness. 4 Only uses the term disorder. 5 Q Yes, sir. 6 A And that is because it's so difficult to define 7 the term illness or disease. 8 Q So as a disorder, what we are talking about 9 here is depressive disorder? Is that what it would 10 be in DSM? 11 A The diagnosis -- if I were forced to use DSM 12 criteria? 13 Q Yes. 14 A The diagnosis I would use, simply because of 15 the criteria are so rigid, would not be major 16 depressive disorder, but would be depressive 17 disorder not otherwise specified. 18 Q Okay. 19 A And underneath that there are a number of 20 examples of situations in which that diagnosis 21 applies. And the one that's most relevant to Susan 22 Smith is brief intermittent depressive disorder. 23 Q Brief intermittent depressive disorder. Is 24 that subcategory, is that basically saying what it 25 appears on its surface? That the periods of Page 33 1 depression are brief and they are intermittent? Is 2 that what that means? 3 A Yeah, it's a research category. The only 4 reason Susan Smith does not qualify for major 5 depression for years is that she has good days. And 6 one of the strict criteria for being called major 7 depression is you can't have any good days for at 8 least two weeks at a time. 9 Q All right. 10 A So the category brief recurrent depressive 11 disorder was created to describe people who are very 12 very ill, but who do not meet the criteria, the 13 current criteria, for major depressive disorder. 14 Q And so that would account for the fact that 15 it's intermittent -- and I guess thi answers my 16 first question. A major depressive -- depression 17 episode, and I apologize if I'm using the wrong 18 terms, the major depression, one of the 19 characteristics is -- and there are a number of 20 criteria, but is an ongoing pattern, is that 21 correct, like a continuous nature? 22 A There has to be either an ongoing pattern of 23 sad mood for over two weeks or a pattern of complete 24 withdrawal from activities for two weeks. And since 25 Susan has never fit either one of those, I would be Page 34 1 hesitant to use the diagnosis of major depressive 2 disorder. 3 Q Okay. And, again, because, like you say, it 4 was intermittent, it would be up and down? 5 A Correct. 6 Q And does that account for why it is that all 7 the standard symptoms that you would see in the 8 depressive disorder, I think like the number that 9 you hit on, loss of appetite, personal hygiene, 10 energy, all the different things -- you named a list 11 of things, is that right? 12 A Yes, she had quite a number of these things on 13 the list, but not all of them. 14 Q She didn't always have those in the period that 15 would have made it major depression, is that 16 correct? 17 A She didn't have enough of those, plus the 18 consistency of the sad mood and the withdrawal from 19 activities. 20 Q So sometimes she may have one, and then the 21 other, and different? 22 A That's true. 23 Q Is the fact that it's intermittent, is that why 24 no one, you know, with few exceptions at work ever 25 sees -- I think you said work, community, and -- is Page 35 1 it public or -- or with friends? You had indicated 2 that normally nobody -- everybody saw the happy 3 side? Nobody ever saw these symptoms, right? 4 A Well, again, there are two reasons why people 5 didn't see it. One was that it wasn't intermittent. 6 The other was that she tried to cover up her 7 sadness. 8 Q She tried to conceal it? 9 A Conceal it. 10 A That's right. 11 Q Doctor, what I would like to do is kind of just 12 briefly track and hit the high points back through 13 the chronology that you gave and the information 14 that you based your decision on. 15 First, let me ask you, had you talked with Mr. 16 Bruck about the different issues, and you are also 17 an attorney, is that correct? 18 A No, I'm not. I'm a law professor, but I'm not 19 an attorney. 20 Q Okay. You teach at the law school? 21 A I teach at the law school. 22 Q Now, you understand that the defense is not 23 saying that Susan Smith is insane? Do you 24 understand that? 25 A That's my understanding. Page 36 1 Q And is that what you say, that she's not 2 insane? 3 A That's my understanding. That's my opinion. 4 Q Your opinion -- and so in laymen's terms, we 5 talk about insanity, that means knowing legal and 6 moral right from legal and moral wrong, is that 7 correct? Or knowing that the act is legally or 8 morally wrong? 9 A I think she knew the act was legally and 10 morally wrong -- was legally wrong. 11 Q Okay. 12 A There is a question about morally, but she knew 13 it was legally wrong. 14 Q You said morally, based on her strong religious 15 beliefs? 16 A Well, I think she was irrational at the time 17 and made irrational decisions to take her kids with 18 her. 19 Q She was irrational? 20 A And also she had strong religious beliefs that 21 the kids would survive with her in heaven. So it's 22 possible she may not have known it was morally 23 wrong. But she certainly knew it was legally wrong. 24 Q Okay. Going back to the morally aspect of it, 25 you had indicated that based on her irrational Page 37 1 belief or her religious belief, that she would have 2 believed that the children and she would all go to 3 heaven if she committed suicide, is that correct? 4 A That's correct. 5 Q And that was based on that's where she felt her 6 father was? 7 A That's correct. 8 Q And you told the jury that you reviewed all the 9 information that Ms. Andrews had spoke yesterday 10 provided, is that correct? 11 A Yes. 12 Q Are you aware of Dr. Sweet, the counselor at 13 the school that she went to in I believe in '85? 14 A She was one of the names mentioned, yes. 15 Q Are you aware that Susan Smith told her -- 16 MR. BRUCK: Objection, Your Honor. 17 Q -- that she had concerns as to her father being 18 in hell because -- 19 THE COURT: All right, counselor before you 20 publish that, your objection is the same one that 21 you -- 22 MR. BRUCK: Yes, I'm objecting to the 23 foundation. 24 THE COURT: Counsel, if you will approach the 25 bench over to the side bar. Page 38 1 (Lawyers approached the bench) 2 THE COURT: Counsel, you may proceed. 3 Q If it please the court, doctor, you had 4 indicated earlier that you had relied on Ms. Andrews 5 information that she had gathered? 6 A Partly, yes. 7 Q Partly? 8 A Yes. 9 Q When you say partly, you partly relied on it, 10 or you relied on part of it? 11 A I relied on part of it. 12 Q Did she choose what you relied on, or did you 13 choose what you relied on? 14 A I read all the materials she collected. She 15 synopsized the material and I read it. 16 Q So it was a large volume of material she 17 collected? 18 A That's correct. 19 Q And so she sent you the synopsis of -- the 20 nutshell version of what she had collected? 21 A That, plus I read a lot of the other material 22 that she didn't use in making a synopsis. 23 Q All right. I was going back to, you were 24 talking about Susan Smith's moral base and her 25 feeling that the suicide would take everybody to Page 39 1 heaven. 2 And my question was, were you aware that Dr. 3 Sweet, the counselor, that Susan had told her that 4 she had concerns that her father may be in hell 5 because -- 6 THE COURT: Counsel, I think you need to 7 rephrase your question. 8 MR. POPE: Excuse me. 9 THE COURT: If you would like to come over. 10 MR. POPE: Yes, I understand, Your Honor. 11 THE COURT: All right. 12 Q Doctor, were you provided with information from 13 Dr. Sweet in reference to Susan Smith's father? 14 A Not directly, no. 15 Q If you were furnished information that she felt 16 that her father would be in hell because of a 17 suicide commission, would that change your view as 18 far as her moral foundation or beliefs? 19 A I don't believe it would, because I think even 20 the most religious of persons sometimes have their 21 doubts. And she might have heard something bad 22 about her father and wondered if he had done 23 something which would have gotten him sent to hell. 24 Q And so the fact that she may have said it 25 wouldn't change it, based on other times she has Page 40 1 told you the opposite, is that correct? 2 A I think it's consistent evidence from what 3 she's told me, plus what she's told other people, 4 that she has a very powerful belief that good people 5 go to heaven. 6 Q But you also said she didn't consider herself 7 good, is that correct? 8 A Right now she's much more concerned about 9 whether she would go to heaven or not. 10 Q Right now she is? 11 A Right now. 12 Q You are talking about post? 13 A Post. 14 Q Post Michael and Alex? 15 A Post Michael and Alex. 16 Q So, prior to this she was not as concerned? 17 A When I first started to talking to her, she 18 said that and she still believed at that time that 19 she would go to heaven. 20 Q Doctor, I know I have asked you this. Your 21 opinion is not that she is insane and didn't know 22 right from wrong? That's not your opinion, is it? 23 A I am not saying she's insane. 24 Q But you understand, and I don't want to play 25 word games with you, but you understand the Page 41 1 requirement in South Carolina for sanity, right? 2 A Yes, I do. 3 Q That's to know legal or moral right from legal 4 or moral wrong, to understand that the act is wrong, 5 legally or morally? And she knew that, did she not? 6 A I'm not sure -- maybe I don't understand the 7 statute in South Carolina. I thought it was through 8 the M'naghten, 9 Q It's a variation of M'naghten? 10 A She did not know the nature and quality of the 11 act and did not know it was wrong. And I thought 12 the wrong referred to legal wrong in this state. 13 Q Would it help if I provided a copy? 14 A Yes, it would help. 15 Q I'll first show you the section on the sanity. 16 And, of course, you understand that the defense is 17 not contending insanity. I just want to clarify it 18 for the jury. 19 A Yes. 20 Q This is Section 17-24-10. 21 A Okay. 22 Q Now, you understand -- and I apologize if I was 23 making it unclear, but you understand the South 24 Carolina standard? 25 A Okay. Page 42 1 Q Okay. And based on that, she is not insane 2 under our standard based on -- 3 A That's my testimony, she's not insane. 4 Q Okay. I also show you what -- 5 THE COURT: Counsel, would you approach the 6 bench for me, please? 7 MR. POPE: Yes, sir. 8 (lawyers approached the bench) 9 Q Doctor, I apologize. I would try to be more 10 specific with you. 11 The night that you have discussed, and you have 12 elaborated what took place. And, of course, that's 13 the issue in this trial, is the night of the 25th. 14 Based on your opinion, she's not -- she was not 15 insane that night, is that correct? 16 A That's correct. 17 Q Likewise, we also have what's known as the 18 capacity to conform or the guilty but mentally ill. 19 I would show you that statute, 17-24-20. 20 A I believe she had the capacity to conform her 21 conduct to the requirements of the law. 22 Q Okay. And that was on the night of the 25th? 23 A That's correct. 24 Q Doctor, in this section that is called capacity 25 or guilty but mentally ill, is that what you Page 43 1 commonly deal with in North Carolina? Is that the 2 same type thing? 3 A We don't have a guilty but mentally ill statute 4 in North Carolina. 5 Q The capacity to conform, what does that mean? 6 Could you tell the jury what it means when somebody 7 has the capacity to conform? Of course, our statute 8 says knew right from wrong, but because of some 9 mental disease or defect you could not conform your 10 conduct, correct? 11 A I think in this case it refers to ability to 12 refrain from breaking the law. 13 Q When you say breaking the law or committing a 14 crime, such as the death of her two children? 15 A That's right. 16 Q So she did have the capacity to not kill her 17 children, if she chose to do so, is that correct? 18 A She had sufficient capacity, yes. 19 Q To make a choice? 20 A Yes. 21 Q Thank you. And doctor, you said that you began 22 explaining to Mr. Bruck that you gathered 23 information from Ms. Andrews and you read the 24 confession, is that correct? 25 A Yes. Page 44 1 Q And you also did a number of interviews with 2 Susan Smith, is that correct? 3 A Yes. 4 Q You said that you were contacted by Mr. Bruck 5 on this case in February of '95, is that correct? 6 A That's correct. 7 Q So each of the times that you talked to Ms. 8 Smith, and I think you have indicated -- I was 9 writing pretty quick. Was it four or five times? 10 A Four times. 11 Q And each time that you talked to her -- 12 obviously each one of those was post-incident 13 because they are all in '95? 14 A Yes. 15 Q Likewise, they were obviously after Mr. Bruck 16 had become involved in the case, is that correct? 17 A Yes. 18 Q You gave the jury a brief overview of what was 19 involved in your first interview and all the things 20 that you did. You reviewed, again, you said either 21 summaries or part of Dr. Andrews notes. And, of 22 course, some things that you have looked at the 23 actual documents, right? 24 A That's correct. 25 Q And then a -- I don't want to characterize it, Page 45 1 a portion or a part of what you did was based on 2 what Susan Smith had told you, is that correct? 3 A That's correct. 4 Q You have said that you had observed her and you 5 listed a number of things again. And I apologize 6 for not getting them all, but self view relating to 7 others, material things, all the things that you 8 went through. 9 And I think at that point you were explaining 10 to Mr. Bruck or describing some different things. I 11 think somehow you got to talking about 12 schizophrenia, or maybe it's hallucinations and -- 13 auditory hallucinations, or something of that 14 nature? 15 A That's right. 16 Q I just want to make sure I understand. You are 17 not saying that she had them? You were using that 18 as an example of saying that's something that she 19 could have lied to you about and didn't, is that 20 correct? 21 A She could have very easily have lied about it. 22 Q So she could have lied to you about having 23 auditory hallucinations and you wouldn't have been 24 able to tell the difference? 25 A I would not have been able to tell the Page 46 1 difference. 2 Q But from what you gathered, she doesn't have 3 any brain damage or any disease of -- any mental 4 disease of that nature, does she? 5 A Well, I think she has a mental disorder. I 6 think she has a serious mental disorder. But she 7 does not have what we call a psychosis, in which 8 she's detached from reality and cannot test reality 9 in which there is a breakdown in all her functioning 10 of thinking and feeling. 11 Q Okay. So, again, this disorder is the 12 depressive disorder is that we have discussed? 13 Intermittent -- 14 A That's correct. 15 Q But that, as you said, doesn't remove her from 16 reality, is that correct? 17 A No, that's not what I'm saying. 18 Q I'm sorry, what are you saying? 19 A I think her contact with reality has always 20 been reasonably good. 21 Q Okay. 22 A The only thing I have said that I would 23 question her reality testing is whether for a brief 24 moment or two she blocked out her remembrance of her 25 children being in the car. And I said I wasn't sure Page 47 1 about that. 2 Q And one reason you are not sure is because, 3 especially as to that time and that incident, all 4 you have is what she's told you, is that correct? 5 A That's correct. Another reason I'm not sure, I 6 don't think she is sure. 7 Q You don't think she's sure, based on that she's 8 told you different stories? She's told you one time 9 she did and one time she didn't? 10 A That's right. 11 Q Doctor, I want to make sure I understand again. 12 Based on your observations, and again the 13 information you looked at that, she has a reasonably 14 good contact with reality, with the one exception of 15 the incident with Michael and Alex as to whether or 16 not they were in the car, is that correct? 17 A Correct. 18 Q And on that particular incident you can't say 19 for sure one way or another because she hasn't been 20 able to tell you one way or another? 21 A That's correct. Let me also add that her 22 thinking is not always the most rational. Then I 23 think sometimes she thinks things out poorly and her 24 judgment is often poor. But I don't mean to imply 25 by that that she is psychotic, in that she's lost Page 48 1 contact with reality. 2 Q In other words, rolling your children down the 3 ramp is not the best decision? 4 A Just going to the ramp is not the best 5 decision. 6 Q And the acts that following it are not the best 7 decision? 8 A Certainly not. 9 Q Or we wouldn't be here? 10 A Just driving along the kids that way was poor 11 judgement. 12 Q But poor judgment, nonetheless, she still made 13 decisions to do what she did, is that correct? 14 A Yes. 15 Q Okay. Doctor, again I want to make sure I 16 hadn't written the wrong things down, but I 17 understand that you are talking about the 18 intermittent depression. But as far as the 19 hallucinations -- and I think one time you mentioned 20 like the out-of-body experience. What do you call 21 that when -- 22 A Dissociation. 23 Q Dissociation. There is no indication that 24 Susan Smith of anything -- of the major psychosis or 25 anything of that nature? Page 49 1 A No -- 2 Q Like -- 3 A -- she would not qualify for diagnosis of 4 psychosis or of dissociate disorder. 5 Q Doctor, you said when you first saw the case, 6 like a number of people did on television the first 7 time, is that right? 8 A That's correct. 9 Q And you saw her pleas, you know, for her 10 children to be brought back, and, of course, the 11 relation of the incident, you know, that we have 12 heard about so many times, you saw that? 13 A I saw that. 14 Q Did you make a judgment then as to her veracity 15 or her telling the truth when you saw her on TV? 16 A No, I didn't. I was confused by the whole 17 thing. And I would not try to judge somebody's 18 veracity over a television. I couldn't tell. 19 Q Doctor, I think you said one time -- and you 20 were describing again what you had done to try to 21 put stock in the evaluation, you know, put stock 22 that she was being truthful. And one of the things 23 we have just gone through is all the things that she 24 could have told you? 25 A Uh-huh. Page 50 1 Q But didn't? 2 A Uh-huh. 3 Q So, in other words, she had opportunities to 4 deceive you, as you perceived, to deceive you with 5 greater diagnosis, but never came up with doing 6 anything like that, is that correct? 7 A Really at no time did she exaggerate any 8 symptoms that might have ended up helping her be 9 excused. 10 Q But you don't disagree at the same time she 11 came up with a story about a black man and the 12 toboggan to try to help her be excused from the 13 crime? 14 A I have to assume she was lying then and was not 15 lying with me. 16 Q And you said you just assumed that based on 17 your dealing with her? 18 A That's what I believe. 19 Q Doctor, you had talked about the way that you 20 as a doctor and you teach your students to approach 21 suicide such that -- and I want you to describe it 22 from a medicals perspective there is no suicidal 23 gesture or suicidal threat, for lack of a better 24 word, is that correct? 25 A Well, I have a lot of problems with the word Page 51 1 gesture. There is such a thing as threat, 2 certainly. 3 Q Can you tell the jury what you mean in your 4 terms what you mean by suicidal threat and suicidal 5 gesture, what you mean? 6 A Gesture is almost a pejorative term. It's used 7 in rather respect to criticize and say they didn't 8 really mean it. And it's often used as a way to put 9 the person down and to demean seriousness of their 10 suffering. I try to discourage the use of that word 11 among my students. 12 Q I guess, doctor, too, in your profession, if 13 you were to take lightly and guess wrong, you know, 14 if you taught your students to say, well, you know, 15 not to take it seriously, and that could put the 16 patient in jeopardy, is that correct? 17 A That's certainly true. 18 Q Doctor, you would agree with me that certainly 19 in your years of experience you have seen a number 20 of situations in which people threaten suicide? Not 21 using the word gesture, but threaten suicide or 22 emulate suicide from some means other than actually 23 taking their life? 24 A Oh, yes. Could I elaborate a little bit on 25 that? Page 52 1 Q Yes, sir. 2 A Okay. I think most people - or many people, at 3 least - that sometimes in their life think they 4 would be better off dead. 5 I think there is another population of people, 6 not as large, who at sometime in their life think 7 they might want to take their life. 8 There is another population of people who 9 sometimes in their lives might say to others I'm 10 going to take my life, but don't mean it. 11 Then there are people who reach the point where 12 they intend to take their lives. 13 And then there are people who reach the point 14 where they plan to take their lives. 15 And at each of those levels it gets more 16 serious. 17 The problem I have with people not taking 18 Susan's depression at age thirteen more seriously is 19 that adolescents often skip all those intervening 20 steps. They get to thinking they would be better 21 off dead and without going through all of those 22 other steps, they are ready to kill themselves, and 23 sometimes do, because adolescents are very 24 unpredictable and very volatile. 25 So I would have taken what Susan Smith was Page 53 1 saying at age thirteen and doing very as serious 2 signs of sickness. 3 Q And, of course, what she was saying and doing 4 at age thirteen, you are aware that there were 5 counselors at school and teachers and various people 6 that tried to assist her? 7 A Yes, I think they tried very hard. 8 Q And I think it would be fair that any child at 9 the age thirteen that talks about suicide, 10 regardless of where ultimately they intend it or 11 not, you should take it seriously, is that correct? 12 A Very seriously. 13 Q Yes, sir. And that would be true whether 14 ultimately it comes to pass that they intended it or 15 not? You would still want to take it seriously? 16 A That's correct. 17 Q And from what you could tell, on this 18 particular incidents, the people that were 19 available, as far as teachers and all that, would -- 20 whether Susan Smith actually meant it or not, they 21 were there to provide assistance, is that correct? 22 A They took her seriously, and some of them did 23 try to provide assistance. 24 Q Doctor, you had mentioned several times the 25 need for -- I want to say attention. I don't think Page 54 1 that's the word that you used, but the need to be 2 around people and to need to get feedback or -- you 3 know, you talked about having the radio, or having 4 somebody to talk to. What was the term that you 5 used for that? Is it attention, or -- 6 A No, it's fear of aloneness. 7 Q Fear of being -- you said fear of being alone? 8 A Fear of being alone. 9 Q And so that need would be fulfilled, as it was 10 with the teachers when they provided attention to 11 her, is that correct? 12 A That's correct. 13 Q Now, doctor, you had indicated that based on 14 Dr. Andrews chart that you came up with kind of a 15 mathematical calculation of a threefold increase in 16 the chances for depression, is that right? 17 A That's just a term that is thrown around in 18 textbooks. 19 Q The threefold aspects? 20 A Yes. 21 Q So it's not really mathematically -- 22 A No. 23 Q -- that they are threefold? 24 A No, it's not my mathematics. Someone else did 25 it. Page 55 1 Q And so the fact that -- you were here when I 2 talked to Ms. Andrews yesterday, is that right? 3 A Yes. 4 Q And you know we had the discussion about -- and 5 I respect how you treat suicidal attempts, or -- I 6 don't want to say gestures again, but threats, or 7 whatever the case may be, that you treat them all 8 seriously. 9 But, again, whether they were taking place or 10 not would be a factor to be considered in the 11 ultimate evaluation, is that correct? 12 A I'm sorry, I didn't understand that question. 13 Could you repeat it? 14 Q I'm not sure I did either. Let me try again. 15 My question is this. You know, we tried to -- 16 and I realize you said it's textbook, but we tried 17 to put some mathematics on the increased likelihood 18 for Susan Smith being down here in this equation to 19 have more suicidal tendencies? 20 A Uh-huh, that's correct. 21 Q And certainly that's something that you relied 22 on when you balance her credibility and what you 23 believe and her story, is that correct? 24 A If I had nothing else but this chart to go on, 25 and if I just met Susan Smith, I would say to myself Page 56 1 this is a person who has a high probability of being 2 depressed. 3 Q Just in talking to her? 4 A Without even talking to her. Just looking at 5 the chart. 6 Q Okay. 7 A I would immediately know whether she was a 8 person who was likely to be depressed. 9 Q So you went in talking to her based on this, 10 thinking that I'm probably going to see some 11 depression, is that a fair statement? 12 A Probable is a strong word. I should say I 13 would not be surprised if she was depressed. 14 Q It would not surprise you? 15 A Yes. 16 Q And then again I would say to the extent which 17 this is misleading or faulty, certainly your 18 impressions going in could be misleading or faulty, 19 is that correct? 20 A That's correct. 21 Q And, doctor, you talked and we have indicated 22 at least four times at length with Susan Smith and 23 took information from various sources to paint the 24 picture of her past. 25 And what I would like to do now is just touch Page 57 1 briefly through the things that you have indicated, 2 and I'll try to be brief with you. 3 You basically started back with her brother's 4 problem. That was her brother Michael, was having 5 some effect on her situation? 6 A I don't know what effect that had. Actually 7 what the information that her brother's problems 8 revealed was all the work that was done with Harry 9 and Linda, which gives us some objectivity as to 10 what was going on with the family at that time. 11 Q I see. So it's not as much -- even though 12 certainly the situation with Michael is something to 13 be considered, what that provided also is a picture 14 of the family at that time? 15 A That's right. And certainly Michael's illness 16 must have had some effect on Susan, but I have no 17 idea what it was. 18 Q I want to ask you as far as this chart, Scotty, 19 who is indicated here with a white square, he's a 20 blood relative to Susan? That is her brother, is 21 that correct? 22 A That's right. 23 Q And he had the same mother and father? 24 A That's right. 25 Q Doctor, you talked about that, and I think that Page 58 1 gave you the opportunity to -- when I say that, I'm 2 talking the incident at York Place, gave you the 3 opportunity to delve in behind the scenes with the 4 family relationship a little bit. 5 And you discussed the death of her father that 6 would have led up after the York Place information 7 that you gathered. And you said talking to people 8 you have determined from various sources or from 9 Susan that Susan was the apple of Harry's eye, her 10 father's eye, is that correct? 11 A That's correct. 12 Q Doctor, as part of the information that Mrs. 13 Andrews related yesterday, she related that the 14 Spartanburg Regional Medical Center, which would 15 have been the information from the eighteen year old 16 suicide attempt, the Aspirin attempt that you have 17 discussed? 18 A Well, that was in Dr. Andrews summary, but I 19 also read very carefully the hospital summary on my 20 own. 21 Q And particularly in relation to the information 22 about Susan being the apple of her father's eye and 23 that being related, could you tell me what this 24 background information she gave indicates? And the 25 patient being -- Page 59 1 A This is a social history from Spartanburg 2 Regional Medical Center. 3 Q Yes, sir. 4 A "Patients father's name was Harry Vaughn. He's 5 deceased. The patient stated that her father killed 6 himself when she was six years old. Patient stated 7 that she and her father were not close." 8 Q Thank you, sir. Now, did Susan Smith indicate 9 to you during your conversations that she was close 10 to her father? 11 A Susan Smith indicated to me that she was told 12 she was very close to her father, but she personally 13 has very little recollection of her father. 14 Q So she has little recollection at all of her 15 father? 16 A That's correct. 17 Q I think you related to the jury the incident 18 concerning Susan's father, and that after that 19 happened that he in fact called 911? 20 A That's right. 21 Q And I presume when he called -- he called 911 22 for help? 23 A That's right. 24 Q And when he called 911, he related what had 25 happened to him and he needed assistance? Not that Page 60 1 someone had attacked him, or anything of that 2 nature, is that right? 3 A No, he related what happened to him. 4 Q Now, you have said that the next significant 5 event would have been when Linda and Bev got 6 married, is that correct? 7 A When Linda and Bev got married, yes. 8 Q And did Susan relate to you that she was 9 resentful that Linda had married Bev without having 10 her involved in it? 11 A I don't recall her ever telling me that. She 12 certainly described things as changing after that. 13 Q Changing, I think you said as far as a 14 different lifestyle? You said more affluent 15 lifestyle? 16 A More affluent, but also more strict. 17 Q Strict is -- I think you indicated you said 18 rules, more rules -- 19 A Rules. 20 Q -- for her. 21 Now, you said at age seventeen -- I'm sorry, at 22 age thirteen that she was -- that's when she wrote 23 the note to the counselor, the thirteen year old 24 attempt -- 25 A Yes, that's right. Page 61 1 Q -- that we discussed. And the information that 2 you have was that she was taking too much Aspirin? 3 And again I realize this falls back into the real 4 attempt. To you the issue is not whether she 5 attempted, but in essence she was crying out for 6 help? 7 A I think the counselor who earlier today said 8 this was a cry for help put it very well. 9 Q So, again, in that regard from a psychological 10 support standpoint, the issue is not so much whether 11 she actually took them or not? It's whether she was 12 saying that she was doing it, as far as counsel 13 reaction, is that correct? 14 A I believe that is, yes. 15 Q The next significant event I had that you had 16 indicated was the situation with her stepfather. 17 And did you review all the information on that 18 concerning how that began and what the actual 19 incident was? 20 A Yes. 21 Q Now, I want you to understand that, just as you 22 said, you hold him responsible. Any question that I 23 ask, I'm not condoning the actions of her 24 stepfather. Do you understand that? 25 A I understand that. Page 62 1 Q Okay. So you said she blames herself. Why was 2 it she blamed herself? 3 A Well, she did very little to stop it. 4 Q In fact, the first incident when it began, 5 isn't it true that she was almost, I think you said, 6 fifteen years, eleven months, is that correct? 7 A Right. 8 Q And that she crawled into his lap to sleep? 9 A Apparently it was common for the children to do 10 that, being Bev was an affectionate person with his 11 daughters as well as with Susan. 12 Q Did she indicate to you that she pretended to 13 be asleep to see what he would do? 14 A She gave history to others. And she also 15 indicated to me that at times when this happened she 16 would pretend to be asleep. 17 Q Doctor, you had said again, and I understand 18 that the burden in a situation like that is on the 19 adult, was on Bev Russell, not on Susan Smith, in 20 that situation. 21 If she was an adult, and what -- when you say 22 adult, what do you determine an adult? She was 23 almost sixteen then. When do you think she would 24 have been responsible for her actions in that 25 regard? Page 63 1 A Well, for most people it would be eighteen. 2 Q Are you aware that in South Carolina at sixteen 3 is the age of consent? 4 A Is the age of consent. I didn't know that. 5 Q Okay. 6 A But what we are talking about though is an 7 issue of disparity, of power status between two 8 people. And the age differences and the power 9 differences, particularly with him being her 10 stepfather, are so enormous. 11 Q So it's more -- 12 A Again, I would put the burden of responsibility 13 on him and not on Susan. 14 Q So you say it's more of a power thing than an 15 age thing, the fact that he's kind of head of the 16 household and she was under him? 17 A Yes. 18 Q So once -- so her changing of age really 19 wouldn't mean that much in that view of things, 20 whether -- I think you said this had continued up 21 until September of '94, is that correct? 22 A That's correct. 23 Q Okay. 24 A Sometime in the summer of '94. I don't know 25 when it actually happened. Page 64 1 Q And those actions with her stepfather -- of 2 course, that was after she had moved out on her own 3 and living on Toney Road, through some parts of that 4 episode, is that correct? 5 A I can't place Toney Road with an exact time, 6 but it was during one of those separations from 7 David. 8 Q I guess what I'm saying, at this point she was 9 a grown woman with children and living on her own? 10 A That's right. 11 Q And, doctor, I think -- I apologize if I'm 12 going through this again. Mr. Bruck had asked you 13 on direct, and you had reviewed the notes I showed 14 you from Spartanburg hospital. You were aware that 15 she had called it an affair, and that she felt a 16 mutual affection for Bev Russell, is that correct? 17 A Yes. 18 Q And that at one point she indicated -- that 19 when they had gone to counseling, that she was 20 jealous of her mother for getting Bev's attention? 21 A Yes. 22 Q So that Bev's attention or other men's 23 attention meant a lot to her or means a lot to her, 24 is that correct? 25 A I think that's mostly what it was about with Page 65 1 Susan Smith. I think mostly she was interested in 2 the attention and the affection. And in many ways 3 what happened with Bev probably sensitized her to 4 seek out older men subsequently as the source of 5 affection. 6 Q And she, no doubt from what you are saying, has 7 a history of seeking out older men, is that correct? 8 A Yes, she does. 9 Q Doctor, you also reviewed -- and, again, I keep 10 referring to the Spartanburg Medical Center report? 11 If need be, I'll hand it back up to you. 12 A Yes. 13 Q That was the incident with the Aspirin, and I 14 think you had talked about Tylenol too? 15 A That's correct. 16 Q And, of course, you said that you didn't want 17 to get too far -- because you are not an expert in 18 toxicology analysis, or whatever, but basically it 19 appeared that the Aspirin levels were normal levels, 20 but the -- 21 A The therapeutic levels indicated she was taking 22 Aspirin, but they were not out of the therapeutic 23 range. 24 Q Okay. And the Tylenol levels were high, is 25 that correct? Page 66 1 A That's correct. 2 Q I think you said borderline toxic level? 3 A Borderline, but not enough so they would worry 4 about liver damage. 5 Q Doctor, are you aware that when she was at the 6 hospital, that they had given her Tylenol at the 7 hospital? 8 A They gave it to her later on. 9 Q Okay. 10 A And I remember it very well, because I think 11 both Bev and Linda were concerned about giving her 12 Tylenol. 13 Q And, of course, she said later on -- you 14 certainly said too, that there is some question as 15 to when the blood was drawn for the medical tests 16 also? 17 A That's correct. 18 Q And in discussing that event, you had said 19 that, as I understand, it was precipitated by an 20 affair she had with an older man, and then she went 21 with a one night stand with another assistant 22 manager, is that correct? 23 A The affair was with a forty year old man. The 24 one night event was with a thirty year old man. 25 Q And then I believe she went back and discussed Page 67 1 the affair with the -- or the one night stand with 2 the thirty year old man back with the forty year old 3 man, is that correct? 4 A That's right. 5 Q And, doctor, you had said in reviewing that 6 that you were not clear as to whether once she had 7 taken the Aspirin or -- that particular evening, 8 whether she had gone to the thirty year old man's 9 residence or not? 10 A The notes that I read indicated there was a 11 question mark whether she went there or not. Those 12 are probably not the hospital notes. I think those 13 are just Dr. Andrews notes. 14 Q I understand. So if I said that she went to 15 the thirty year old man and told him that she had 16 taken Aspirin to commit suicide, you wouldn't 17 dispute that, or you just don't know? 18 A It was in Dr. Andrews notes with the question 19 mark after it. 20 Q I'm sorry, sir? 21 A It was in Dr. Andrews notes with a question 22 mark after it. 23 Q Okay. 24 A Or some statement to the effect of -- or did 25 she, something like that. Page 68 1 Q I apologize for not having this highlighted. I 2 know this is a little rough on the eyes. Let me see 3 if I can indicate it. 4 A Do you want me to read that? 5 Q Yes, sir, if you would, please. 6 A "The patient stated that at that point she then 7 went to work and went to the assistant manager's 8 house." That is the thirty year old man. 9 Q Thank you. And this was in the context of her 10 taking the Aspirin, is that correct? 11 A That's right. 12 Q So, again, doctor, this is consistent with what 13 you said about her need for attention and that she's 14 needs to be with somebody as much as possible, is 15 that correct? 16 A I don't really know why she went to see the man 17 at that time. I suppose it could be consistent with 18 her need to be around people. 19 Q Now, doctor, I think at that point, both that 20 point and the onset of the Bev Russell incident, she 21 was referred to Dr. Heatherly, is that correct? 22 A That's correct. 23 Q And you have reviewed his information also? 24 A Yes, I have. 25 Q And if I'm not mistaken, doctor, the diagnosis Page 69 1 at that time was an adjustment disorder with 2 depressed mood? Does that sound correct to you? 3 A That's correct. 4 Q What is an adjustment disorder? What does that 5 mean? 6 A Adjustment disorder is a response to a 7 particular stress which leads to some disturbance, 8 like depression or anxiety, which is usually 9 believed to be easily treated and temporary. 10 Q An adjustment disorder -- when you say a 11 stress, a stresser, such as losing your job, or 12 getting a bad grade, or whatever the case may be, 13 that these people, in essence, overreact, or react 14 greater to it, is that correct? 15 A They have a reaction which, for lack of a 16 better word, is psychiatric or pathological and then 17 develop symptoms of something. And usually it's 18 assumed that symptoms will not last more than six 19 months. 20 Q And that was the diagnosis that he made back 21 then of the adjustment disorder? 22 A That's correct. 23 Q Now, as I understand it, you said earlier you 24 are not second-guessing the people that were 25 actually there, but looking back on it now, you say Page 70 1 that was depression, is that correct? 2 A Looking back at it now, I would say that was a 3 manifestation of depression. 4 Q Again, doctor I think you made clear, though, 5 that you weren't able to deal hands on with her 6 obviously at that particular time? 7 A No, I would not second-guess Dr. Heatherly. 8 Q Likewise, doctor, the large amount of the 9 additional information that you have begins 10 post-death of Michael and Alex? You gained 11 information through interviews with Susan Smith 12 after the boys were killed, is that correct? 13 A That's correct. 14 Q Going back to Dr. Heatherly, you had stated 15 before that you thought that he gave the correct 16 treatment without medicine at that time, based on 17 looking back at it with the situational aspect of 18 two lovers? 19 A Given what he knew, he gave the right 20 treatments. I think given what we know now, it may 21 not have been the right treatment. 22 Q And what you know now, again, is what Dr. 23 Andrews has gathered and what you gathered from 24 Susan Smith, is that correct? 25 A That's correct. Page 71 1 Q Doctor, at one point you said that Susan Smith 2 is not an easy read. Would that be true in dealing 3 with her one on one, as you have done, and you are 4 saying that it's difficult to tell what she's 5 actually meaning or saying? Is that what you mean? 6 A No. What I mean, it's very hard to get her to 7 remember things. It's very hard to get her to say 8 negative things which reflects on her family or 9 others. 10 Each interview I had with her, I learned 11 something new, which could have been easy for her to 12 tell me at the beginning, I would have thought. And 13 even though I spent about thirteen or fourteen hours 14 with her, I really wish I had had time for another 15 fifty, because I think there are many more things 16 that I could have learned. 17 Q So when you say that, you are saying she is not 18 an easy read as far as your evaluation? She's not 19 necessarily forthcoming with everything every time 20 that you talk to her? 21 A I think she tries, but she's so concerned with 22 the other person, and they would have pleasant 23 interaction with the other person, that it gets in 24 the way of her facing the seriousness of the 25 situation and revealing herself, as many others Page 72 1 would. 2 Q I think you had said that she has an incredible 3 need to please, and that's in the same context you 4 are talking here? 5 A That's in the same context. 6 Q So she -- and I'm not saying falsifying, but 7 when she's telling you what you want to hear, she's 8 wanting to talk about you, and you said make 9 conversation with you rather than talk about the 10 things -- 11 A She does that in ways that are inappropriate, 12 to do. 13 Q I'm sorry, that are? 14 A She does that in ways that are inappropriate to 15 do. 16 Q You said inappropriate? 17 A Yes. 18 Q Would her need to please or to please others, 19 as you have said, would that be something that just 20 manifests itself in a psychological setting, like 21 you were dealing with, or is that just basically her 22 personality, that she would go out of her way to 23 please other people? 24 A I think it's her personality. And most of the 25 time it serves her well. She is a nice person. And Page 73 1 I think in most context everybody sees her as a nice 2 person. 3 It gets her into trouble when she does things 4 to please that really are not consistent with what 5 she wants to do. Much of her sexual activity is not 6 for her own satisfaction, but it's simply concerned 7 with pleasing others so they will like her. 8 Q And so the pleasing others so that -- many of 9 the things that she does, or at least her thought 10 process, is to do things to please other individuals 11 besides herself? 12 A That's right. 13 THE COURT: Counsel, how much longer do you 14 think you might be? 15 MR. POPE: Your Honor, we could probably take a 16 break and then I could probably finish up when we 17 come back. 18 THE COURT: All right. 19 * * * * * 20 (jury out of the courtroom) 21 * * * * * 22 (off the record) 23 (back on the record) 24 (jury in the courtroom) 25 Page 74 1 CONT'D CROSS EXAMINATION BY MR. POPE: 2 Q Dr. Halleck, I believe when we took a break 3 that we were discussing your assessment. You had 4 said that -- we had talked somewhat extensively 5 about Susan's need to please other people. And you 6 had said that even to the point that it often gets 7 her into trouble? 8 Q Is that correct? 9 A Yes. 10 Q And, again, following through now on the 11 chronology of the different events that you named, I 12 think the next one that had you indicated was her 13 involvement with David Smith and having children and 14 all of that, is that correct? 15 A Yes. 16 Q You said the first problem in the marriage was 17 Susan becoming less interested in sex, is that 18 correct? 19 A Yes. 20 Q And you had indicated, I believe, that she 21 began to have a suspicion about him and other woman? 22 This is what Susan related to you in your 23 interviews, right? 24 A That's right. 25 Q Do you recall - and I may be able to dig up the Page 75 1 information if you don't - the first time that they 2 physically separated? Do you recall when that was? 3 A I think it was when Michael was five months old 4 but I'm not sure about that. 5 Q That would be about March of -- 6 A I wouldn't know the dates. 7 Q Do you recall where they were residing at that 8 time, if they were residing at David's 9 great-grandmother's? 10 A I think they were still there. I think they 11 were still there. I'm not sure. 12 Q And the first time that she moved out -- I 13 mean, the first time that they were separated, she 14 in fact moved back to her parents' house? 15 A That's correct. 16 Q Did your information indicate to you that when 17 she moved out that first time in March, that she had 18 a relationship with another man? 19 A That was not my information. 20 Q And, again, when we talked about that that's 21 not your information, she didn't indicate that to 22 you, is that correct? 23 A She indicated to me that David started cheating 24 on her long before she had any affairs with anyone 25 else. And I think that date she mentioned when she Page 76 1 started to get involved with other men was in 1993. 2 Q So David had begun affairs much previous to 3 what she had, is that correct? 4 A Previous. I mean -- 5 Q I'll eliminate the month. 6 A I'm not really sure of the time sequence in 7 either sense. 8 Q She's not sure. 9 You had indicated that -- did she indicate to 10 you she had a relationship during that time with the 11 same individual that has been previously designated 12 as the thirty year old man from her previous suicide 13 attempt? 14 A During the time she was married to David? 15 Q Yes. 16 A When she was living with him? 17 Q No, sir. 18 A No, she had not told me that. 19 Q She did not tell you that? 20 A No. 21 Q You had indicated that the -- was it your 22 understanding that during their marriage they spent 23 a good deal of time together and apart together and 24 apart, is that correct? 25 A That's right. Page 77 1 Q And you had talked about it one time David had 2 left I think three weeks after Alex was born, is 3 that correct? 4 A That's right. 5 Q Did she indicate to you whether or not he was 6 in fact present there when Alex was born? 7 A I believe he was. 8 Q And she indicated to you that David continued 9 to support the children, is that correct, 10 financially? 11 A That's right. 12 Q Okay. And he also came and took care of the 13 children and had them various times, is that 14 correct? 15 A That's right. 16 Q You indicate that during this time she had a 17 strong support network? 18 A Yes. 19 Q That consisted of family and friends as far as 20 people to support and taking care of kids, is that 21 correct? 22 A That's right. 23 Q And, likewise, you have indicated David would 24 take care of kids also? 25 A Yes, he did. Page 78 1 Q You had indicated that the information she had 2 filed for divorce and she and David had some 3 disputes about the grounds of divorce, that -- I 4 think the way you put it, that she had said she had 5 some information about David and adultery? 6 A That's right. 7 Q Are you aware that when the divorce was 8 ultimately filed, that it was in fact she that was 9 charged with adultery? 10 A You mean was this filed after the death of the 11 children? 12 Q Yes. 13 A I was not aware of that. 14 Q Now, doctor, you have recounted basically -- 15 Mr. Bruck asked you to tell about the time leading 16 up to Michael and Alex's death, and you began in 17 August of 1994? 18 A Yes. 19 Q And you said at that point Susan Smith was 20 having sexual relationships with Bev Russell, Cary 21 Findlay, and Tom Findlay, is that correct? 22 A That's right. 23 Q As well as with David Smith? 24 A Yeah, I'm not sure about the exact time 25 sequences, but within around that time, yes, it was Page 79 1 four different men. 2 Q And you said during this time her fear of being 3 alone -- and we have called it several different 4 things. But the fear of being alone was becoming 5 more prevalent, is that correct? Or that was just a 6 constant symptom she had? 7 A The fear of it happening was becoming more 8 prevalent. 9 Q Okay. 10 A Particularly related to the divorce. 11 Q Now, going back to the divorce proceedings. 12 The actual proceedings, the actual filing of the 13 divorce, she precipitated that, is that correct? 14 A Yes, she did. 15 Q Doctor, you said she began to drink more? 16 A Reading through the files there were two or 17 three situations in which she apparently got drunk 18 in that last month. And that was -- I'm not saying 19 that she developed a substance abuse disorder or 20 substance abuse problem, but it was uncharacteristic 21 of Susan to drink that much. 22 Q And again you say uncharacteristic. Is that 23 based on what she represented to you? 24 A Well, what's in the history and also what she 25 represented to me. Page 80 1 Q Okay. 2 A There was one occasion in which she drove home 3 while intoxicated. That was generally fairly 4 serious. 5 Q Do you know where she drove home? 6 A I think from some Tom Findlay's house. 7 Q I'm sorry, doctor, I'm not sure. We are 8 talking about now August through October. You said 9 there was two or three times -- did you say during 10 that month, or during that period of time? 11 A I think it was during October. 12 Q Doctor, you have indicated to us the type of 13 depression was such that was not sporadic -- the 14 word not sporadic. What was the word? 15 Intermittent? 16 A Intermittent. 17 Q And you said this was such that the particular 18 depression that she's relating to you in the sense 19 that she related would be such that she would not be 20 depressed when her loneliness was satisfied. Is 21 that what you said? 22 A When she felt that it was satisfied and when 23 she felt good about the prospects for continuing to 24 be satisfied. 25 Q And you said, therefore, because -- if her Page 81 1 loneliness is satisfied -- it's kind of a catch 22, 2 because when it's satisfied when she's around 3 people, then the fact that she's got depression no 4 one would ever see it, is that correct? 5 A Well, she is going to feel better around people 6 and it would be less likely that people would see 7 it. That's probably correct. 8 Q So based on your definition then -- and I think 9 you had indicated that she's not depressed all the 10 time, but she would be depressed when she is alone? 11 A She's more likely to be depressed when she's 12 alone. 13 Q So, in other words, every time she is alone, 14 she's not automatically depressed, is that correct? 15 That just heightens the likelihood of her being 16 depressed? 17 A It heightens the likelihood, but she gets 18 pretty consistently anxious and depressed to be 19 alone. 20 Q She's anxious and depressed when she's alone. 21 And, of course, by the very nature of that 22 statement, that can only be related by her telling 23 you, is that correct? 24 A Yes, of course. Although I should say that her 25 mother confirms that she's been this way since Page 82 1 childhood. 2 Q Her mother confirms that she's depressed when 3 she's alone? 4 A Yes, that she's caught her alone and when she 5 is alone, she's often sad and anxious when she 6 appears to be alone. 7 Q When did her mother -- her mother related this 8 to you after Michael and Alex were killed? 9 A Yes. 10 Q Doctor, you had -- I can't remember if Mr. 11 Bruck had testified this, or you had, that based on 12 the intermittent display that she would -- any time 13 that we could bring people to show her as being 14 normal or being interactive or being happy, be it at 15 work, or the community, or at the class at the 16 university, that that doesn't change the diagnosis, 17 because it only happens when she's not around 18 people, is that correct? 19 A Well, there are times when she shows her 20 sadness to people. Of course, she can't control it. 21 Q So there is times when she's been sad around 22 people? 23 A Yes. 24 Q And, again, there is no evidence to indicate 25 that there aren't plenty of times when she's alone Page 83 1 that she's not sad? 2 A It's possible that that happens, but that's not 3 the way she described it. 4 Q Now, her need to interact with people. You 5 said sometimes it could be replaced with the radio 6 in the car, or -- you know, that wouldn't truly 7 replace interacting with people, but that would give 8 you something, is that correct? 9 A It's a poor substitute. 10 Q Or the television, is that correct? 11 A Again, it's a poor substitute. 12 Q Okay. Were the children also a poor substitute 13 for interaction with people? 14 A No. 15 Q So interaction with the children would fulfill 16 that need that she had, is that correct? 17 A Yes. 18 Q Okay. And then going down now to the Friday 19 before the boys were killed, you said that her 20 husband David had come over and he had cleaned the 21 carpet, and they had had sex, and he was friendly 22 and everything was fine in that regard, is that 23 correct? 24 A Not after they had sex. 25 Q I'm sorry, when he got there and prior to Page 84 1 having sex, everything was fine? Sometime after 2 having sex, they got into an argument, is that 3 correct? 4 A I think it was stronger than that, as I heard 5 that David precipitated an argument. 6 Q David precipitated an argument? 7 A Yes. 8 Q And who related that to you? 9 A Actually it was related both by Susan Smith and 10 by the notes of Dr. Andrews. 11 Q Do you know what basis she formed those notes? 12 I mean, certainly at this particular time you are 13 talking about the only person there is Susan and 14 David? 15 A That may have been with her conversation with 16 Susan. 17 Q Okay. And they had a discussion about Tom 18 Findlay and someone else, and you said Susan 19 indicated it was Cary Findlay? 20 A Yes. 21 Q Doctor, based on your investigation, you are 22 aware -- and I may be getting ahead of myself, but 23 you are aware of the discussions you have related as 24 far as with Tom Findlay and what Susan indicated 25 concerning his father Cary Findlay to Tom? Page 85 1 A On the 25th? 2 Q Yes. 3 A Yes. 4 Q And so you are also aware that then she said it 5 didn't happen, is that correct? 6 A Yes, I'm aware of that. 7 Q But on the Friday prior to Michael and Alex's 8 death, she was telling David that she had had a 9 relationship with Mr. Findlay, is that correct? 10 A That's correct. 11 Q Doctor, I had noted that at that time in that 12 discussion the Friday you had said she was feeling 13 bad and drinking a lot. Was she particularly 14 drinking a lot that Friday, or was that kind of back 15 in context with the whole time period we are talking 16 about? 17 A I don't think I said she was drinking a lot on 18 Friday. I think it was over this time period. 19 Q And so Sunday she revealed to Tom Findlay 20 concerning Bev Russell, is that correct? 21 A Right. 22 Q She said Monday was uneventful. This would 23 have been the Monday before Michael and Alex were 24 killed, is that correct? Monday, the 24th? 25 A The only major thing that I recall about that Page 86 1 day was that David that evening tried to have sex 2 with her. 3 Q And, again, doctor, I think you made it 4 absolutely clear. When you say you recall, you 5 recall what's been related to you by Susan Smith? 6 A That's correct. 7 Q And so the only thing that was related 8 concerning any depression, her mental state, was 9 David coming by and trying to have sex and her 10 refusing him, is that correct? 11 A That's right. Although it was clear from our 12 discussion that she continued to be very distraught 13 and frantic about what was going on in her life. 14 Q Okay. On that particular day did she indicate 15 that she had an uneventful day at work, as far as 16 being happy and relating to co-workers and all that? 17 A I don't recall any major events of the day. I 18 doubt if she was happy that day. 19 Q You say you doubt if she was happy? 20 A Yes. 21 Q Of course, you are asserting your doubt based 22 on the informaion that you have gathered? 23 A That's correct. 24 Q And did she relate to you the time they spent 25 at Hickory Nuts that Monday night with Tom Findlay Page 87 1 watching Melrose Place? 2 A Yes. 3 Q Okay. And did she indicate that she was 4 unhappy at that time? 5 A She didn't indicate she was unhappy at that 6 time. 7 Q Now, on the 25th -- 8 Doctor, one second and let me ask you to back 9 up. You had talked about the events that really 10 kind of truly led into. Now, you talked about since 11 all this, but truly led into the death of Michael 12 and Alex, and you started with the Friday when David 13 came by and cleaned the carpet and all the things 14 that we have talked about. 15 Do you have any information on the week prior, 16 the week, from Saturday, the 15th, through the 23rd? 17 A I'm not recalling any terrible events during 18 that time. 19 Q So you said any terrible events? 20 A Any highly stressful events. 21 Q As far as you know, she had a positive week 22 that week, from what she related? 23 A No, that's not what I'm saying. I think during 24 all of these weeks in October she was in a very 25 distressed state. But I'm not remembering any Page 88 1 particular events that would -- that made things 2 worse. 3 Q And so she was distressed, but she was out with 4 friends at Hickory Nuts and Findlay's residence, is 5 that correct? 6 A Yes. 7 Q And she did go out to dinner with Susan Brown 8 and with Findlay and other things during that week? 9 A Oh, yes. 10 Q And, again, the reason they wouldn't have 11 noticed depression was because when she's with them, 12 then she's not depressed, is that correct? 13 A Or either she's not depressed, or she's not 14 showing it. 15 Q Okay. So she could be with them and be 16 depressed and not show it? 17 A I think she's capable of that, yes. 18 Q Just she's capable of having killed her 19 children and yet say that a black man did it, is 20 that correct? 21 A She's capable of having run out of the car and 22 left them in an attempt to kill herself and then say 23 a black man did it, yes. 24 Q Again, she's able -- she's able to kill her 25 children and say a black man did it? She's capable Page 89 1 of it? 2 A She's capable of trying to save her life and 3 let her kids die. 4 Q Now, doctor, on the 25th you had the lunch with 5 Tom Findlay. And did she relate that to you? I 6 think Tom Findlay. It was the office? 7 A Yes. 8 Q She did relate that to you? 9 A Yes. 10 Q And her demeanor was normal at that time? 11 A I don't know. Her demeanor was like apparently 12 nobody noticed anything unusual. 13 Q And I noticed that you started with the 14 conversation at the -- the first conversation with 15 Tom Findlay in which she revealed the information 16 referenced Cary Findlay. You started when you 17 explained to Mr. Bruck that she started the 18 conversation "but please don't hate me," is that 19 correct? 20 A I think she started many conversations with 21 "please don't hate me" whenever she needs to reveal 22 something about herself that she wasn't proud of. 23 Q But that was going to be my question. You said 24 at that time that's what she usually said? 25 A Yes. Page 90 1 Q How did you base that? 2 A Both on what has been reported and material I 3 have reviewed rom Dr. Andrews, and what Susan told 4 me. 5 Q And then you said the second encounter with 6 Findlay was what we are calling the studio, to be 7 the second one, where she looked for a sign of 8 affection, is that correct? 9 A I don't know what you mean by calling it the 10 studio. When she went back to his office. 11 Q Yes, sir, that's what we refer to as the second 12 one. 13 A Yeah. Yes. 14 Q And when you say she wanted a sign of 15 affection, could you tell the jury what you mean by 16 that, that she wanted a sign of affection? 17 A She felt that Tom was mad at her and she wanted 18 him to say that he still cared about her. 19 Q And so that he was mad and that she was wanting 20 that he still cared, and he said that they could be 21 friends but there wouldn't be a sexual relationship 22 based on what she had alleged as far as her father? 23 A That's right. I believe she asked him for a 24 hug and he said no. 25 Q Were you here when Mr. Findlay testified? Page 91 1 A No. 2 Q Did she indicate to you during that time the 3 incident involving Tom Findlay's sweat shirt? 4 A She never discussed that with me. 5 Q So do you have any information during those 6 first two conversations of her -- I apologize again 7 the words -- not gesture, and threat may be too 8 strong a word, but a suicidal indication or that she -- 9 telling Tom Findlay that he may not see her again? 10 A I don't believe she ever said that to Tom 11 Findlay. 12 Q And, of course, that's based on again what Dr. 13 Andrews has given you and the conversations you had 14 with Susan? 15 A That's right. 16 Q Doctor, you said then the third time she came 17 back to what we are calling that the -- I believe 18 the back door, the third conversation when she came 19 back to Mr. Findlay, when she came back with Susan 20 Brown. She discussed that with you? 21 A Yes. 22 Q And in that particular instance she related to 23 Mr. Findlay that she had in fact made up the story, 24 is that correct? 25 A That's correct. Page 92 1 Q And, again, that was for the purpose of, in 2 essence, regaining Mr. Findlay or regaining his 3 affection? 4 A Yes. 5 Q Then you related through the incidents as she 6 had related when she got home, including cooking a 7 pizza for the kids, and her mother calling. I think 8 actually her mother had called, and she got like a 9 call-back? 10 A Call-back, yes. 11 Q Did she relate to you that her mother at one 12 point had offered to come over -- for her mother to 13 come over and be with her? 14 A I don't remember that. 15 Q Okay. 16 A It's possible that she did, but I don't 17 remember that. 18 Q Did she relate to you -- going back just a 19 step. Between the time when she left work - that 20 was the studio conversation - and the time before 21 she came back to the back door to see Findlay, that 22 she had a conversation with her friend Donna Garner 23 in the parking lot? Did she relate that to you? 24 A I think she did. 25 Q And in that conversation did Donna Garner offer Page 93 1 to go get Michael and Alex for Susan? 2 A I think that's right. 3 Q And you said the David had also called to check 4 on them, and that he indicated that he noticed that 5 something was wrong and he was concerned, is that 6 correct? 7 A Well, he asked if he could help. 8 Q Okay. So he offered to help her? 9 A Yes. 10 Q And you said at that point the children were 11 crying? 12 A I don't know that. I don't know if that was 13 the exact point. 14 Q Now, doctor, from the time that David Smith 15 called, from then on, there is no way to corroborate 16 outside information until after the incident at the 17 lake, is that correct? 18 A That's true. 19 Q So everything from the time David Smith called 20 until eight o'clock -- from eight o'clock on, until 21 she shows up at Shirley McCloud's door, you have to 22 solely rely on what Susan Smith told you, is that 23 correct? 24 A I think everybody does. 25 Q And again, doctor, we hit this initially. She Page 94 1 gave you a detailed accounting of shaking, 2 uncharacteristically turning off the radio, biting 3 her nails, thinking she had to kill herself, and so 4 on, is that correct? 5 A That's correct. 6 Q She even told you how she had stopped at one 7 bridge and almost wanted to go off but didn't want 8 to leave the kids, is that correct? 9 A That's correct. 10 Q And then she ended up at John D. Long Lake, 11 according to her information to you, is that 12 correct? 13 A Yes. 14 Q Now, doctor, I want to be sure I understand, 15 and again appreciating that all you have is what she 16 related to you. As far as the events at the lake, 17 she was on the ramp, is that correct? 18 A Yes. 19 Q She set the hand brake -- so she was on the 20 ramp at John D. Long Lake? 21 A My understanding is she parked there and set 22 the brake. 23 Q Parked on the ramp, is that correct? 24 A Yes. 25 Q And that she set the brake. And that she then Page 95 1 released the brake? 2 A That's my understanding. 3 Q Did she indicate that the car was moving or 4 not? 5 A Apparently started to move, and then she pulled 6 the brake again. 7 Q And during that act, she knew that both the car 8 would move if she dropped the brake, and that the 9 car would stop if she pulled it up, is that correct? 10 A Yes, she did. 11 Q And then from your testimony she released the 12 brake again? 13 A Yes. 14 Q And the car started moving again? 15 A Yes. 16 Q And what did she do at that point? 17 A She ran out of the car. 18 Q So from what she related to you then, she has 19 her car stopped, releases the brake, the car rolls 20 and she stops it, and then she affirmatively puts 21 the brake down and gets out of the car, is that 22 correct? 23 A She then again releases the brake and gets out 24 of the car. 25 Q So the car is moving and she gets out of the Page 96 1 car, is that correct? 2 A Right. 3 Q So she only stopped and started one time, 4 according to what she related to you? 5 A Yeah, which I think was different than her 6 original confession. 7 Q Yes, sir. 8 And, doctor, did she relate to you that -- you 9 had talked about her getting to the top of the hill. 10 She ran from the car. The car is moving -- and did 11 you have any opportunity to get any information 12 about the car, the nomenclature of the car, that 13 it's a straight drive, or anything like that? 14 A It was -- I just know it was a 1990 Mazda. 15 Q Did she indicate to you as the car was moving 16 that she stumbled, or fell, or anything of that 17 nature? 18 A She said she was running and screaming. 19 Q Running and screaming? 20 A Yes. 21 Q Up the ramp, or -- 22 A Up the ramp up the hill. 23 Q And as she was running and screaming up the 24 ramp, did she indicate to you that she put her hands 25 over her ears so she wouldn't have to hear? Page 97 1 A I have read some of the material that she did 2 that. I don't remember her telling me that. 3 Q And did she indicate to you at the time that 4 she released the brake and exited the car, that 5 Michael and Alex were in the back sleeping? 6 A She certainly knows that now. 7 Q Sir? 8 A She certainly knows that now. 9 Q Well, I know she knows that now. What did she 10 relate as to then? 11 A Well, as I indicated earlier in my testimony on 12 direct -- 13 Q Yes, sir. 14 A -- that she -- at times she seems to say that 15 she knew that they were there. And at times she 16 seems to think that she wasn't sure or didn't know 17 that they were there. And because of that, I 18 conclude that she maybe does not remember what she 19 was thinking about then at the time. 20 Q But she remembered everything all the way up 21 until the time she got out of the car and saved her 22 own life, is that correct? 23 A I don't know what was going through her mind as 24 she drove up to the ramp. 25 Q Doctor, with all respect -- of course, the only Page 98 1 person knows for sure is she and the children? 2 A Of course. 3 Q With all respect, you did say that she related 4 to you enough to know that she affirmatively put it 5 down and pulled it up and got out? 6 A Yes. 7 Q So as I understand, as far as them being awake 8 or asleep, you don't have any information as to 9 that, is that correct? 10 A I think by the time they got to the lake, she 11 was aware that they were asleep. 12 Q So when they got to the lake, she was aware 13 that they were asleep? 14 A Yes. 15 Q Did she indicate to you why she then has to put 16 her hands over her ears? 17 A I don't know why. 18 Q Doctor, you said that based on what she told 19 you, she got frightened and her suicidal -- her 20 survival instincts took over, is that right? 21 A That's what I believe happened. 22 Q I'm sorry, sir? 23 A That's what I believe happened. 24 Q So, in essence, her survival instincts overrode 25 her maternal instincts, is that correct? Page 99 1 A I think that at that point that happened. 2 Q And, doctor, you had indicated, I believe, that 3 from the information that you had that she was in 4 fact a good mother, is that correct? 5 A That's correct. 6 Q And so she would have had strong maternal 7 instincts in the way she took care of the children? 8 A Yes. 9 Q Doctor, based on what she's told you, you have 10 characterized this as a suicide attempt, an aborted 11 suicide attempt, is that a fair statement? 12 A That's correct. 13 Q And as part of that suicide attempt, did she 14 indicate to you that she intended to, in essence, 15 take her children with her or kill her children? 16 A Yes. 17 Q Okay. 18 A Part of the time that was her intent. 19 Q That, in essence, if she was going to commit 20 suicide, she was going to kill the children too, is 21 that correct? 22 A She would take them with her. 23 Q And, of course, you would agree that one 24 individual cannot suicide another? Suicide is a 25 self-inflicted act, is that correct? Page 100 1 A That's correct. 2 Q And so I can commit suicide. But to take you 3 with me, I would have to kill you? 4 A That's right. 5 Q And, doctor, again you had indicated she had 6 told you a number of different stories as far as the 7 specifics there at the ramp? 8 A The only number of different stories were as to 9 her recollection of her awareness of the children. 10 Other than that, she was consistent. 11 Q So everything involving anything, she's 12 consistent, she knows what she's talking about, 13 until it comes to telling you whether or not she 14 remembered if the kids were in the car? 15 A At that particular moment when she ran out, 16 yes. 17 Q But she had indicated to you an intent to kill 18 them prior to that? 19 A Yes, along with herself. 20 Q I'm sorry, sir? 21 A Along with herself. 22 Q Yes, sir. And then now you had said ran up the 23 hill. Have you had an opportunity to go out to John 24 D. Long Lake and look at that? 25 A Unfortunately I have not. Page 101 1 Q Would you like to see the pictures? 2 A Yes. 3 Q State's Exhibit 39. 4 A Can I orientate? 5 Q Yes, sir, this would be the ramp. This is the 6 parking area here. And this is an incline. 7 And so did she indicate to you -- and if you 8 need to hold it, or if you want me to sit it down, 9 the running up the hill involved the incline there 10 at the ramp, is that correct? 11 A Yes. 12 Q And so she said as she ran -- you said she was 13 making up her story concerning the black man and the 14 carjacking and all that, she was making up that 15 story as she was running up that hill, is that 16 correct? 17 A My understanding is she didn't start to make up 18 the story until she got to what appears to be the 19 top of the hill, which would be in here. 20 Q And, again, you haven't been there to note -- 21 A I have not been there no, sir. But there were 22 a number of seconds in which she ran up that she was 23 not thinking very clearly at all. 24 Q Would you indicate to the jury where you said 25 she began thinking? Page 102 1 A My guess is it would be about here, from what 2 she told me. 3 Q Could you tilt it up so all the jurors can see? 4 A Yes, sir. About here. And again I'm 5 speculating from what she's told me. 6 Q So she told you she was able to recall when in 7 the scheme of things that she started formulating 8 the story about the black man and the carjacking? 9 A As she was running through the woods, and 10 that's -- I noticed in that picture the woods began 11 about there. And I would think for that reason that 12 that is when she began to try to formulate a story. 13 Q Doctor, I realize you said that you hadn't been 14 there, but this particular location -- the road 15 actually -- you don't -- the woods -- did she 16 indicate to you she ran through the woods? 17 A She ran through a wooded area. 18 Q But arguably -- 19 A She was on the road. 20 Q Doctor, now, the previous two times that she 21 had intended to commit suicide or attempted to 22 commit suicide, there had been a report of some 23 form; the note to the teacher, or the trip to the 24 hospital, is that correct? 25 A Yes. Page 103 1 Q But on this particular incidents of similar 2 suicide attempt, she did not report it when she got 3 to the house? That's correct, isn't it? 4 A That's correct. 5 Q And you said that you could find no evidenc 6 that she prefabricated the story. That's based on 7 what she told you -- based what you have related as 8 far as -- that she started thinking of the story 9 that once she got to the edge of the woodline? 10 A It's based on what she told me, and also upon 11 my belief that a person of Susan Smith's 12 intelligence would have come up with a better story. 13 Q Now, doctor, you would agree that while she may 14 have come up with a better story, that she had a 15 story that for nine days had law enforcement looking 16 for a black man with a toboggan, right? 17 A It was a very sensitive and very romantic and 18 gripping story. 19 Q A sensitive romantic story, from the standpoint 20 of portraying Susan Smith as a tragic victim who had 21 lost her children? 22 A Yes, that. And the whole idea of the children 23 being carjacked would immediately get anybody's 24 attention in a very powerful way. 25 Q Is it fair statement that that tragedy of that Page 104 1 nature would draw significant attention and sympathy 2 to the parents of the children? 3 A Yes, sir, of course. 4 Q And specifically to an individual that was part 5 of that crime? When I say part of that crime, 6 experienced the crime of the carjacking, the mother 7 of the children as they were snatched from her? 8 A Yes. 9 Q Doctor, you had said that your opinion, based 10 on everything that you have seen, is that she had no 11 reason to lie to you at this point during the 12 interviews, and that she hadn't lied to you during 13 the interviews, is that correct? 14 A I don't think she lied to me in any major way. 15 There may have been some incorrect things she told 16 me. But on most points she told me was believable. 17 Q And, of course, now Mr. Bruck had asked you -- 18 you have since -- well, I say since. Of course, 19 every time was post-incident, but Mr. Bruck had 20 asked you about her having remorse. And you said 21 she did have remorse now, is that correct? 22 A Yes. 23 Q And, doctor, what do you categorize -- what is 24 remorse? When you say remorse, a regret? 25 A It is a very difficult concept. It's a very Page 105 1 difficult thing to judge. Some people are 2 remorseful that they are in trouble. And other 3 people are remorseful over what they did. 4 I did feel that Susan was very genuinely 5 remorseful over what she did. 6 Q And what she did was roll Michael and Alex into 7 the lake? 8 A That's right, and run out of that car. 9 Q And so you said that you felt she was genuinely 10 remorseful for what she did. That's because she 11 told you she was genuinely remorseful for what she 12 did, is that correct? 13 A She told me that, and I believed her. 14 Q Doctor, you have related in clear terms to Mr. 15 Bruck that you have a strong opinion that the intent 16 here was Susan Smith's suicide? 17 A Yes. 18 Q And that suicide certainly involved, as you 19 have related it, the taking of Michael and Alex with 20 her, or the killing of Michael and Alex? 21 A Yes. 22 Q So regardless of whether your opinion is a 23 hundred percent correct, she still affirmatively 24 chose to kill Michael and Alex, is that correct? 25 A Yes. Page 106 1 Q Doctor, I have just a few more questions and 2 I'll be through. 3 Doctor, you have clearly -- you have indicated 4 that she did intend to kill the children. You also 5 indicated to me earlier that -- 6 MR. BRUCK: Objection, Your Honor. That 7 misstates the testimony. 8 THE COURT: Well, let's not testify anyway. If 9 you have got a question, go ahead and ask the 10 question. 11 MR. POPE: I'll stand by the doctor's previous 12 answer. 13 THE COURT: Very well, sir. 14 Q Doctor, after that question you had previously 15 indicated that she did know right from wrong, and 16 that she had the ability to make a choice, is that 17 correct? 18 A Yes. 19 Q Doctor, I know I have said this a number of 20 times now. You have clearly indicated to the jury 21 what you base your information on, which is your 22 questioning and the information that you had. And 23 you would agree that she's told different stories at 24 different times, is that correct? 25 A With regard to the events? Page 107 1 Q Yes. 2 A Well, she certainly has been consistent since I 3 have been seeing her. 4 Q She's been consistent with you? 5 A That's correct. 6 Q In now these stories she's told you? 7 A Yes. 8 Q And, again, the story -- when we get right down 9 to the incidents, it comes to the point of whether 10 she is believable or not, because that's all you can 11 rely on is what she's telling you, is that correct? 12 A I think there is a lot more evidence, other 13 than what she's told me, that this is a very 14 seriously disordered person. 15 Q A seriously disordered person. But that has 16 nothing to do with the issues that you have 17 addressed as far as her criminal responsibility, her 18 intent, or any of those things, is that correct? 19 A Well, it does relate to the issue that she was 20 trying to kill herself at the time -- that she was 21 trying to kill herself at the time the children 22 died. 23 Q You say it does relate to that? 24 A Oh, yes. 25 Q But, again, you agree that the fact she's Page 108 1 trying to kill herself when the children dies does 2 not change the fact that she knew killing the 3 children was wrong, that she could choose not to 4 kill the children, and that she intended to kill the 5 children? 6 A She knew it was criminally wrong, and she was 7 able to choose not to do that. 8 Q And she made the choice to do it, is that 9 correct? 10 A She made the choice to do that. She intended 11 to kill herself and the children. 12 Q Doctor, certainly if you found -- based on my 13 understanding of your research and your approach, if 14 you were to now find out or to find out that Susan 15 Smith had given you false information during your 16 interview, could that change or affect your opinion? 17 A Of course it could. I should say I wouldn't be 18 very shocked to find out that most of the 19 information she gave me was false. 20 Q You say you would be shocked? 21 A I wouldn't be very shocked to find out. 22 Q But you would agree that many people were 23 shocked when they found out the truth in this case, 24 too? 25 A Yes. Page 109 1 Q Okay. 2 MR. POPE: Beg the court's indulgence. 3 Q Thank you, doctor. 4 THE COURT: Anything on redirect, counsel? 5 MR. BRUCK: Thank you. 6 REDIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. BRUCK: 7 Q Doctor, I'm going to -- Mr. Pope asked you 8 about whether Susan Smith had a belief that her 9 father could not be in heaven, because -- or whether 10 she firmly believed that her father could not be in 11 heaven because he had committed suicide. 12 I would like to show you the counseling records 13 to which he referred, and ask you if you recognize 14 them or are you familiar with their contents? And 15 particularly draw your attention to the highlighted 16 portion. 17 A I don't think I have reviewed these before. Do 18 you want me to read this? 19 Q If you would, pertaining to -- 20 A All right. "Has one very close friend. Does 21 not want to hurt her friends or leave them feeling 22 guilty. Worries that -- something in hell. 23 Q "Father in hell." 24 A "Father in hell because committed suicide. We 25 discussed how does she know if she finds him if she Page 110 1 died." 2 Q Let me just stop you there. 3 That was "worries that father in hell because 4 he committed suicide." 5 A Yes. 6 Q This appears to be notes of conversations of 7 Ms. Sweet and Susan? 8 A Yes. 9 Q Does the phrase "that she worries that her 10 father is in hell because he committed suicide" 11 indicate to you a fixed belief that if her father 12 had committed suicide, he could not be in heaven? 13 A Not necessarily. 14 Q It's a concern of hers? 15 A She's concerned about that. 16 Q And, of course, the Bible teaches that suicide 17 is a sin? 18 A It's a sin, but there is a lot of different 19 teachings in the Bible, and depending upon what 20 religion as to whether that keeps you out of heaven. 21 Q Do you know if this was an issue about which 22 Susan worried and still does worry? 23 A I think she worries about it much more now. I 24 think she worried about it some in the past. 25 Q Uncertain about the answer? Page 111 1 A I think she feels very strongly that good 2 people get to heaven, whether they kill themselves 3 or not. 4 Q Now, you spent a total of how many hours with 5 Susan? 6 A Approximately thirteen. 7 Q Approximately thirteen? 8 A Uh-huh. 9 Q And then an additional period of time reviewing 10 evidence in the case? 11 A Yes. 12 Q Mr. Pope pointed out that you did not see her 13 until after I had become her lawyer? 14 A That's correct. 15 Q Now, that is invariably the situation, is it 16 not, in a forensic setting? 17 A Yeah, that's obvious. 18 Q You indicatevarious -- you listed some of the 19 indications that caused you to conclude that she was 20 being truthful to you. 21 Did you find any indications that I had told 22 her what to say? 23 A Absolutely not. 24 Q Or that anyone else had, that she was repeating 25 what anyone else had told her what to say? Page 112 1 A Oh, I occasionally found her saying things that 2 I think she may have learned from her therapist 3 about herself, but none of these were self-serving 4 things. 5 Q None of these were things that made her appear 6 any better for the purpose of your -- 7 A No, these were just inside about herself. 8 Q You referred to mental disorder, and you have 9 talked about this depressive condition, not 10 otherwise specified I think is the technical term? 11 A Correct. 12 Q A depressive disorder. 13 In ordinary language, is a mental disorder a 14 mental illness? 15 A In ordinary language it is. 16 Q Okay. So while I realize there is some 17 technical concern about the term illness, ordinary 18 people talk about mental disorder, mental illness, 19 they mean what you mean by mental disorder, is that 20 not correct? 21 A That's correct. 22 Q You indicated that Susan has no memory on her 23 own, or very little memory, I should say, about her 24 natural father Harry Vaughn? 25 A That's right. Page 113 1 Q And what she knows, she has been told by others 2 about her relationship with him? 3 A Yes. 4 Q Has she gotten information about that since her -- 5 has she asked about the circumstances of his 6 suicide? 7 A Yes, she has. And some of it when she got 8 older, and some of it since the offense. 9 Q Do you know if her brother Scotty has told her 10 information about her father and her relationship 11 with her father and her father's feelings for her? 12 A Yes. 13 Q Have you seen the information that Scotty has 14 related to her, do you know? 15 A No. 16 Q Mr. Pope was asking you about the sexual 17 molestation. 18 Now, for the purposes of what you are on the 19 stand here for today and what you are doing here in 20 this trial, which is to assess the issue of suicide, 21 what is the relevance of the sexual molestation, if 22 any? 23 A The relevance is that it made her much more 24 guilt ridden and more depressed. And depression is 25 related to suicide. Page 114 1 Q Does sexual abuse in childhood or adolescent 2 also increase -- well, let me put it a different 3 way. 4 Are there a number of effects which can result 5 from sexual abuse, other than or in addition to 6 depression? I don't mean to list them all, but are 7 there other results? 8 A There are behavioral consequences, like getting 9 involved in unsatisfactory sexual relationships is 10 very characteristic. Even if one is not depressed, 11 routinely very poor image of themself. Or having 12 very poor self confidence is another aspect of it. 13 Sometimes there is a great deal of anxiety. And 14 generally it interferes with having a satisfactory 15 sex life. 16 Q Okay. 17 A And what hasn't come up yet is that Susan 18 rarely enjoys sex. She's sexually active, but is 19 rarely pleasured. 20 Q I was going to ask you about that. You are 21 saying that she rarely derives physical pleasure 22 from sex? 23 A That's correct, and often feels terrible 24 afterwards. 25 Q Well, why on earth would she do it? Page 115 1 A I think it is partly led to her early abuse 2 experiences and partly related to her wish to 3 please. 4 Q Now, the early abuse experiences with -- 5 A With Bev Russell. 6 Q With her stepfather? 7 A With her stepfather. 8 Q And partly related to -- 9 A Partly related to her wish to please. It's 10 very interesting that in almost all of her 11 relationships she gives gifts to men. She can 12 hardly recall a time that any man has given her 13 anything. 14 She was extremely reluctant to ever ask a man 15 to do anything for her sexually. Most of the time 16 she felt just awful after sex, often cried after 17 sex. 18 Q But continued to engage in these relationships? 19 A Continued to engage in them, to please the men. 20 Q To please the men. 21 A But she could often have sex with David, even 22 after they were separated, and did not enjoy it. 23 Q And why did she do that with him then? 24 A I think because she hoped to get him back, and 25 did not want the marriage to break up. Page 116 1 Q Didn't want to be alone? 2 A That's right. 3 Q Now, you have talked about her bond with her 4 children, her love for her children, and her need to 5 please. And I guess I need you to compare these. 6 Is her -- you have evaluated her in some depth? 7 A That's correct. 8 Q Do you feel that her need to please -- do you 9 have an opinion as to whether her need to please Tom 10 Findlay could lead her to put her children in John 11 D. Long Lake? 12 A I feel that that's an absurd idea. 13 Q An absurd idea? 14 A Yes. 15 Q Why do you say that? 16 A Because she loved her children dearly. And 17 what hasn't been said yet is that in terms of people 18 who loved her unconditionally, her children were the 19 only ones who loved her unconditionally. Her 20 children were the only ones that she didn't need to 21 please to keep their love, and they were extremely 22 important to her. And to me it seems absurd that 23 she would get rid of her children for a passing love 24 affair. 25 Q And you call the relationship with Mr. Findlay Page 117 1 a passing love affair. What makes you say that? 2 A Because in my interviews with Susan, I found 3 evidence that she had strong feelings for a lot of 4 different men, and it's very unlikely that Tom 5 Findlay was number one on that list. 6 Q Now, you have described her need to please 7 other people, and you put that in extremely strong 8 terms. 9 Is there a psychiatric diagnosis, is there a 10 psychiatric condition, in addition to, or a part 11 from, her depression that fits what you are 12 describing when you talk about this need to please 13 other people? 14 A Yes, there is. 15 Q And if you could tell the jury what that is and 16 what it consists of and what signs you found or 17 evidence you found in Susan Smith? 18 A It is formally listed as a personality 19 disorder. And it's put on what's called Axis II of 20 the diagnostic system. And I wish you won't be 21 asking me to get into that, because it's technical 22 and has no meaning here. 23 Q I can assure you I won't. 24 A It refers to a personality disorder, which is a 25 set of traits in which people become fixed in a way Page 118 1 people perceive, interact, or think about themselves 2 and others. 3 And a person with a dependent personality is an 4 individual who feels that she cannot do things on 5 her own; that she must rely on others to do things 6 for her; that she constantly needs affection from 7 others; and is terrified that others might leave her 8 and that she will be alone. 9 Q And do you find that Susan Smith has a 10 dependent personality disorder? 11 A She has about a severe a dependent personality 12 disorder as I've ever seen. 13 Q Now, is this part of depression, or is this 14 something from a psychiatric point of view that is 15 separate? 16 A Personality disorders don't make you depressed 17 in themselves. They don't make you anxious in 18 themselves. They cause you trouble with people. 19 And the trouble with people contributes to the 20 depression. 21 So as she goes around trying to please 22 everybody, she gets into trouble. She gets involved 23 with more than one man. She then begins to feel 24 guilty, and that really contributes to her 25 depression. Page 119 1 Q I see. But it is possible -- I'm not talking 2 about Susan now, but it is possible to have a 3 depressive disorder and not have a dependent 4 personality? 5 A That's right. 6 Q And it is possible to have a dependent 7 personality disorder and not have depression? 8 A Possible, but usually people with dependent 9 personality disorder do experience depression at 10 some time. 11 Q For the reasons that you -- 12 A For the reasons I have just elaborated, yes. 13 Q But in Susan you find both? 14 A Yes. 15 Q Mr. Pope was asking you about this idea of 16 Susan's not protesting or not objecting to the 17 initial sexual contact from her stepfather Beverly 18 Russell. 19 From your review of the records, is it true 20 that she took no action to stop this over the entire 21 period of time? 22 A She told many people about it. 23 Q She told many people about it? 24 A Yes. 25 Q You mentioned her mother? Page 120 1 A Yes. 2 Q Anybody else? 3 A School counselors. I think several school 4 counselors. 5 Q And then, of course, the therapist later? 6 A And her therapist, yes. 7 Q Did you find in the history that her contact 8 with her stepfather then, or at any other time, gave 9 her sexual pleasure? 10 A Absolutely not. She talked about feeling like 11 her skin was crawling after she had any kind of 12 sexual contact with him. 13 Q But she did it anyway? 14 A But she did it anyway. 15 Q Now, we began the chronology of the events 16 right around Michael and Alex's death on Friday, 17 October 21st, when you described the fight, the 18 argument with David and Susan and David's -- 19 MR. POPE: Your Honor, I'm going to have to 20 object. I don't think redirect -- this is not a new 21 matter. This is going through the same thing. 22 THE COURT: Yeah, counsel, it seems to me we 23 are getting beyond the scope of redirect in that 24 it's beyond the scope of cross-examination. 25 MR. BRUCK: All right, sir. Page 121 1 THE COURT: I'm trying to allow a wide 2 latitude, but -- you may continue, but let's keep it 3 in mind the scope of it. 4 Q Mr. Pope asked you about things that happened 5 out of the ordinary during this period. Do your 6 records indicate any facts about having -- about 7 Susan's having had a letter stolen from her, 8 unbeknownst to her during that time? 9 MR. POPE: Your Honor, Mr. Bruck is leading. 10 If he will ask him if there is anything unusual, and 11 certainly the witness can answer it, but Mr. Bruck 12 is leading. 13 MR. BRUCK: I need to focus in a little more 14 than that? 15 THE COURT: I'll allow it. The witness may 16 answer the question. 17 A I'm trying to remember if I already did say 18 something about Susan having discovered that David 19 had pilfered a letter, the one that Tom Findlay had 20 written to her. 21 Q Or at least that she obtained the information -- 22 A She had obtained through the girlfriend 23 Tiffany. 24 Q On October -- Friday, October 21st, when Mr. 25 Pope was asking you about this conversation she had Page 122 1 with David, did Susan then know where he had 2 obtained all this information? 3 A No, she did not. 4 Q Okay. And do you recall any concern that she 5 had that her phone was tapped? 6 A Yes, she was concerned about that. 7 Q Okay. Was that something that he led her to 8 believe? 9 A Well, she thought that -- he told her that he 10 was having her followed. 11 Q Right. 12 A And since he had information which he thought 13 was about Cary Findlay, she though that phone was 14 tapped. 15 Q If you would look at Susan right now, does she 16 have a major mental illness right now? 17 A Yes. 18 Q What is the name of that major mental illness? 19 A Major depressive disorder. 20 Q Major depressive disorder. Is there any doubt 21 whatsoever in your mind that she suffers from this 22 disorder at this time? 23 A There is no doubt whatsoever. 24 Q Could you tell that she is suffering from a 25 major depressive disorder by looking at her? Page 123 1 A No. 2 Q Could anyone else? 3 A No. 4 Q Mr. Pope asked you about whether she -- whether 5 you knew that she had gone back to Tom on the 6 afternoon of the 25th and told him that she had lied 7 about having some sexual contact with his father 8 Cary Findlay, and you said that you knew that she 9 had said that? 10 A Yes. 11 Q Based on your review of the history and your 12 many hours of discussions with Susan, did she lie to 13 Tom about having a sexual relationship with Cary 14 Findlay? 15 A When she told him she had sex with Cary 16 Findlay, she told the truth. 17 Q That was the truth? 18 A That's right. 19 Q Mr. Pope questioned you some about the ramp and 20 the road and asked you where it was that Susan first 21 began to formulate the story. 22 Now, of course, you told him that you had not 23 been there, is that right? 24 A That's right. 25 Q And, in fact, this case having moved along, Page 124 1 wasn't our original plan that you would be here 2 sooner? 3 A We have talked about it several times, and I 4 was looking forward to looking at it. And I feel 5 it's a defect in my testimony that I didn't see it. 6 Q But that you ended up having to testify earlier 7 than we had expected? 8 A Yes. 9 Q So you were not familiar with the parking lot 10 and the road that leads up to Shirley McCloud's 11 house? You had never been there? 12 A I have never been there. 13 Q And would have no way of picturing Susan's 14 story in that context? 15 A I have tried to put it in my mind, tried to 16 develop a mental picture of it. Of course, I have 17 seen pictures of the lake from the press. And I 18 thought I was fairly close to being able to 19 visualize it, but I certainly can't be sure. 20 Q And even if you had gone to the lake, of 21 course, Susan is in prison and couldn't have been 22 there with you? 23 A That's right. 24 Q So she could not have shown you the spot, or 25 where she fell, or where she stopped and tried to Page 125 1 look, or anything else? 2 A That's correct. 3 Q And Mr. Pope asked you about that there was an 4 intent at one point, or at several times during this 5 car ride, to kill both herself and Michael and Alex 6 in a suicide -- in what's called an extended 7 suicide? 8 A Yes. 9 Q Is that right? 10 A Yes. 11 Q At the moment she saves herself, do you know 12 what her intent was with respect to Michael and 13 Alex? 14 A I don't really know, because I don't think she 15 has a full recollection of whether the children were 16 in the car. 17 Q Of whether she knew that the children were in 18 the car? 19 A Whether she knew the children were in the car, 20 at that second. 21 Q So it is possible that she did and possible 22 that she didn't? 23 A That's right. 24 Q Okay. 25 MR. BRUCK: If you will bear with me just a Page 126 1 moment. 2 (off the record) 3 (back on the record) 4 MR. BRUCK: That's all I have. 5 MR. POPE: If it please the court? 6 THE COURT: Yes, I'll allow it. 7 RECROSS EXAMINATION BY MR. POPE: 8 Q Doctor, I want to make sure I understand. 9 The kind of mental disorder and mental illness, 10 is that the same thing, as the way Mr. Bruck was 11 just asking? 12 A Mental disorder is what we call it in our 13 diagnostic system, because the terms illness and 14 disease are very, very difficult to define. And 15 they wanted to keep the DSM broad enough to include 16 a lot of things, which are arguably not as serious 17 as some other things, so they use the term disorder. 18 Q So there are disorders, mental disorders, that 19 range from something extremely severe, like someone 20 being psychotic, all the way to sleep disorders and 21 nocotine dependence or alcohol dependence? 22 A Exactly. Exactly. 23 Q So it runs a whole range, is that correct? 24 A Correct. 25 Q Now, you said that -- Mr. Bruck had you look Page 127 1 over at the defendant and said as she sits here 2 today nine months later she has a major depression 3 now. Is that what you are saying? 4 A Yes. 5 Q Thank you. And the questions Mr. Bruck asked 6 you, and I'm merciful for everybody. I'm not going 7 to go back through all the dates and all the times. 8 A Thank you. 9 Q The questions that Mr. Bruck asked, did they 10 change your opinion that you gave me concerning her 11 criminal responsibility? 12 A No. 13 Q Did they change your opinion concerning her 14 ability to make choices? 15 A No. 16 Q Did they change your opinion concerning her 17 intent toward Michael and Alex? 18 A Well, I would just like to make clear her 19 intent was to kill herself as well. 20 Q Doctor, I know we have been through this again. 21 I can choose to commit suicide. If I take you with 22 me, I have murdered you, I have not suicided you, is 23 that correct? 24 A I wouldn't argue with that. 25 Q I'm sorry, sir? Page 128 1 A I would not argue with that. 2 Q So that is correct? 3 A Yes. 4 MR. POPE: Thank you, sir. 5 MR. POPE: I have no further questions, Your 6 Honor. 7 THE COURT: All right, sir. Anything on a 8 final redirect, counsel? 9 MR. BRUCK: No, sir. 10 THE COURT: All right, sir, you may come down. 11 A Thank you. 12 (END OF REQUESTED TRANSCRIPT OF RECORD) 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 Page 129