Transcript What Your Mitigation Expert Can Do For You

Discovering the Stories
Miller v. Alabama
Invites us to Tell
Juliet Yackel
Attorney & Capital Mitigation Specialist
Shayla & DeVonna
Ages 14 & 15
Social History & Brain Function
Transformation &
Redemption
Forgiveness
Victim
Outreach
Release Plan
& Supports
Vulnerability
Most Damaged
Commit
Most Serious Crimes
Brain
Development
+
Individual
MH Issues
Client’s
MH history
Adolescent
brain
development
genetics
Mental
Health
Issues
Looks can be Deceiving
“Cloak of Competence”
 Clients
“Look Normal”
 “Seem Normal” in jail meetings
 Pretend to Understand
 Phenomenon of masking & passing
Expert Evaluations
 Beware
of prior “drive-by”
evaluations
 Need accurate, corroborated opinion
 3 generations of history
Immediate Family
Patrick
Timothy
Sherri
Steven
Sean
4 Generations
John
Jane
Michael
Mary Jane
Tommy
Charles
Pansy
Marvell
Mark
Heather
Marlow
John
John
Timothy
Bertha
Tina Roberta
Sherri
Steven
Britt
Sean
Edith
Britt
Susie Melody
Robert
Jeff
Michael
Strategy
Expert
Evaluations
Social History
“Creating a competent and reliable
mental health evaluation…is a
time-consuming and expensive
process…
Counsel must compile extensive
historical data...”
Commentary, ABA Guideline 4.1
Miller v. Alabama
 Lack
of maturity
 More vulnerable to negative
influences
family, peers, environment
 Character
not as well- formed
possibility for change, rehabilitation
Where & How
to Look
Go Beyond Client
For Information
Columbia Training School
Englewood High School
Rules of the Road
Standard of Care
ABA Guidelines for the Appointment
& Performance of Defense Counsel in Death
Penalty Cases
Supplementary Guidelines for
the Mitigation Function of Defense Teams in
Death Penalty Cases
Key Principles
 3+
generations: records
 Multiple
in-person, one-on-one, face-toface interviews

Culture, Community & Institutions
The Forgotten
&
The Unspeakable
Break Down Barriers
Common Barriers
Shame
Fear
guilt
Embarrassment
Mental
Illness
Jogging Memories
&
Earning the Right to Hear the
Stories
Unlocking Memories
 Photos
 Contact
visits with key persons
 Artifacts
 Journals
 Yearbooks
Discover the Story
&
The Backstory
Initial Interview
One on One, Multiple Interviews
Face to Face, In Person
Why One on One, Face to Face?
 Build
trust & rapport
 Subtle cues
 Environment & Neighborhood
 Releases
 Photos, records, certificates, trophies
Multi-Generational Records
to Collect
Birth, & death
 Marriage & divorce
 Medical
 Psychiatric
 Military
 Criminal history
 Social security earnings & SSI
 School
 Alcohol/drug addiction

Absent
Biological
Parents
Remote &
Estranged
Family Members
ADOPTION
Genetic
predispositions
Pregnancy & delivery
Possible Themes

Mental Illness: undiagnosed, untreated, improperly treated

Abuse: sexual, mental, physical, emotional

Damaging Developmental Factors & DOJ Risk Factors

Corruptive Influences: family, peers, community

Systemic Failure: schools, social services, courts

Capacity for Rehabilitation & Concrete Release Plan:
treatment, placement, supports
Where They Are Now
DeVonna:
Mother, hairdresser in Las Vegas
Shayla: in transition