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Red dye, salt packets, delusions: Experts differ over synagogue shooter's mental state
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https://www.post-gazette.com/news/cr...s/202307270092
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Robert Bowers does not believe he is mentally ill. And he doesn’t want anyone else to think he is either — to the point, one expert testified Thursday, that he was willing to walk back his beliefs when they raised the eyebrows of mental health experts.
“The evidence that he wants to make himself look less ill and less broken is overwhelming,” said Dr. George Corvin, a forensic psychiatrist at North Raleigh Psychiatry.
Central to the defense constructed by the Pittsburgh synagogue shooter’s attorneys is the claim that Bowers is mentally ill, specifically with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. Multiple defense experts diagnosed him as such. Experts for the government have testified he is not.
The shooter’s trial is entering the final days of its final phase, as attorneys on both sides told U.S. District Judge Robert J. Colville they could be done calling witnesses and rebuttal witnesses late Friday or early Monday. Judge Colville indicated he anticipates closing arguments and charging the jury Tuesday, although no scheduling is set in stone.
Bowers, 50, of Baldwin, was convicted last month of all 63 charges against him in connection with the Oct. 27, 2018, attack on the Squirrel Hill synagogue that housed the congregations Tree of Life, Dor Hadash and New Light. Eleven congregants were killed: Joyce Fienberg, Richard Gottfried, Rose Mallinger, Jerry Rabinowitz, Cecil and David Rosenthal, Bernice and Sylvan Simon, Daniel Stein, Melvin Wax and Irving Younger.
Jurors have also already decided that Bowers is eligible to be considered for the death penalty. They’re now hearing testimony they will weigh in deciding whether he should receive the death penalty or life in prison.
Throughout the eligibility phase earlier this month and now during the sentence-selection phase, defense attorneys have sought to paint a portrait of a neglectful and abusive childhood that in turn led to a mentally ill adulthood that robbed Bowers of his ability to truly control or know what he was doing.
Much has been made about the definition of delusions and whether Bowers suffers from them. Experts for the defense have testified that, yes, he does, and those delusions include his abhorrent antisemitic and anti-immigration views.
Government experts, in turn, said Bowers’ beliefs aren’t delusional, as they are commonly held, albeit awful, beliefs held by many white supremacists. The beliefs weren’t born out of his own mind, Dr. Ryan Darby and Dr. Park Dietz testified in early July.
Both sets of experts in the eligibility phase spoke of Bowers’ beliefs surrounding red dye in his prison uniform. Defense expert Richard Rogers, a forensic psychologist, testified that Bowers said he believed the red dye leached into his body and collected in the white prison-issued wristband he was required to wear.
That was a delusional thought, Mr. Rogers told jurors.
Dr. Darby, a forensic psychiatrist hired by the prosecution, testified that when he presented Bowers with another option — that the dye could just be rubbing off on the wristband — Bowers said perhaps that was true.
Dr. Corvin said he re-interviewed Bowers after he became aware of the testimony indicating Bowers had walked back his beliefs about the dye. He told jurors that Bowers told him the examiner asking him the question made it clear he thought it was an odd idea, and so Bowers backed off that belief.
Not only does he believe the red dye is leaching into him, Dr. Corvin said, but he’s also begun wondering whether there’s a purpose behind it collecting in his wristband.
“He does not think he is mentally ill, and he does not want to be seen as mentally ill,” Dr. Corvin said.
He interviewed Bowers 10 times over the course of several years, most recently in early June. The time spent was just under 39 hours.
In another example, Bowers told a defense expert he thought eating salt packets in prison has made him smarter and able to focus on things more clearly. He walked that back, too, when experts from the prosecution said it could be because he no longer has normal distractions.
Dr. Corvin said Bowers subsequently said he does in fact believe the salt is making him better able to think and concentrate — to the point he thought he could take a pen in each hand and write two independent sentences.
“He’ll water [a belief] down to make it seem more reasonable,” he said.
The doctor said Bowers’ flat affect is a hallmark “negative” symptom of schizophrenia — that is, a normal behavior or function that is absent, usually related to expressions, motivations and interests.
He said Bowers’ expression was sometimes “a little disconcerting given the context of the conversation.”
Conversation, though, was often a strong word, he said, noting that Bowers was cooperative and willing to talk but could never once initiate a conversation on his own. He’d come to meetings with Dr. Corvin with a list of discussion topics, none of which were ever really relevant.
“It’s like he has to plan out an interaction with another human being,” he said.
The conversations he did have were hard to follow or they veered in odd directions, Dr. Corvin said.
“He’s a smart guy. He knows a lot. But you could talk for 30 minutes and not gain understanding of anything important [about him],” he said.
Dr. Corvin recalled one conversation during which Bowers became antsy and abruptly blurted, “We need to talk about computers.”
Another example: He asked about a high school sweetheart, and Bowers told him the license plate number of a car related to the situation. Then he asked if Dr. Corvin remembered the “death code” from the movie “War Games.” Bowers did.
Those types of disordered patterns of thoughts, lack of social cognition and delusions — more of which Dr. Corvin indicated he intends to talk about when he returns to the stand Friday morning — led to a diagnosis of schizophrenia.
That schizophrenia comes from both nature and nurturing, or a lack thereof the latter. He pointed to a childhood marred by depression, anxiety, violence and suicide attempts — “things that would be scary to a kid.”
Being raised in chaos, he said, elevates the likelihood of psychiatric disorders in adulthood.
Dr. Corvin said Bowers’ aunt spoke of a time she took her infant nephew to the mall with her. When she came back, his mother was convinced he was not her child — that he’d been switched out at the mall.
When he interviewed Bowers’ mother, the doctor said, she told him she’s still 66% certain he’s not the child she gave birth to.
He said Bowers denied some suicide attempts as a child — despite historical records — and admitted to only one overt attempt when he overdosed on aspirin. He said Bowers claimed to be basically suicidal daily and said he believed death was better than the situation he was in.
Dr. Corvin will return to the stand Friday morning. Prosecutors said they plan to cross-examine him as well.
Megan Guza: mguza@post-gazette.com
First Published July 27, 2023, 6:29pm
“The evidence that he wants to make himself look less ill and less broken is overwhelming,” said Dr. George Corvin, a forensic psychiatrist at North Raleigh Psychiatry.
Central to the defense constructed by the Pittsburgh synagogue shooter’s attorneys is the claim that Bowers is mentally ill, specifically with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. Multiple defense experts diagnosed him as such. Experts for the government have testified he is not.
The shooter’s trial is entering the final days of its final phase, as attorneys on both sides told U.S. District Judge Robert J. Colville they could be done calling witnesses and rebuttal witnesses late Friday or early Monday. Judge Colville indicated he anticipates closing arguments and charging the jury Tuesday, although no scheduling is set in stone.
Bowers, 50, of Baldwin, was convicted last month of all 63 charges against him in connection with the Oct. 27, 2018, attack on the Squirrel Hill synagogue that housed the congregations Tree of Life, Dor Hadash and New Light. Eleven congregants were killed: Joyce Fienberg, Richard Gottfried, Rose Mallinger, Jerry Rabinowitz, Cecil and David Rosenthal, Bernice and Sylvan Simon, Daniel Stein, Melvin Wax and Irving Younger.
Jurors have also already decided that Bowers is eligible to be considered for the death penalty. They’re now hearing testimony they will weigh in deciding whether he should receive the death penalty or life in prison.
Throughout the eligibility phase earlier this month and now during the sentence-selection phase, defense attorneys have sought to paint a portrait of a neglectful and abusive childhood that in turn led to a mentally ill adulthood that robbed Bowers of his ability to truly control or know what he was doing.
Much has been made about the definition of delusions and whether Bowers suffers from them. Experts for the defense have testified that, yes, he does, and those delusions include his abhorrent antisemitic and anti-immigration views.
Government experts, in turn, said Bowers’ beliefs aren’t delusional, as they are commonly held, albeit awful, beliefs held by many white supremacists. The beliefs weren’t born out of his own mind, Dr. Ryan Darby and Dr. Park Dietz testified in early July.
Both sets of experts in the eligibility phase spoke of Bowers’ beliefs surrounding red dye in his prison uniform. Defense expert Richard Rogers, a forensic psychologist, testified that Bowers said he believed the red dye leached into his body and collected in the white prison-issued wristband he was required to wear.
That was a delusional thought, Mr. Rogers told jurors.
Dr. Darby, a forensic psychiatrist hired by the prosecution, testified that when he presented Bowers with another option — that the dye could just be rubbing off on the wristband — Bowers said perhaps that was true.
Dr. Corvin said he re-interviewed Bowers after he became aware of the testimony indicating Bowers had walked back his beliefs about the dye. He told jurors that Bowers told him the examiner asking him the question made it clear he thought it was an odd idea, and so Bowers backed off that belief.
Not only does he believe the red dye is leaching into him, Dr. Corvin said, but he’s also begun wondering whether there’s a purpose behind it collecting in his wristband.
“He does not think he is mentally ill, and he does not want to be seen as mentally ill,” Dr. Corvin said.
He interviewed Bowers 10 times over the course of several years, most recently in early June. The time spent was just under 39 hours.
In another example, Bowers told a defense expert he thought eating salt packets in prison has made him smarter and able to focus on things more clearly. He walked that back, too, when experts from the prosecution said it could be because he no longer has normal distractions.
Dr. Corvin said Bowers subsequently said he does in fact believe the salt is making him better able to think and concentrate — to the point he thought he could take a pen in each hand and write two independent sentences.
“He’ll water [a belief] down to make it seem more reasonable,” he said.
The doctor said Bowers’ flat affect is a hallmark “negative” symptom of schizophrenia — that is, a normal behavior or function that is absent, usually related to expressions, motivations and interests.
He said Bowers’ expression was sometimes “a little disconcerting given the context of the conversation.”
Conversation, though, was often a strong word, he said, noting that Bowers was cooperative and willing to talk but could never once initiate a conversation on his own. He’d come to meetings with Dr. Corvin with a list of discussion topics, none of which were ever really relevant.
“It’s like he has to plan out an interaction with another human being,” he said.
The conversations he did have were hard to follow or they veered in odd directions, Dr. Corvin said.
“He’s a smart guy. He knows a lot. But you could talk for 30 minutes and not gain understanding of anything important [about him],” he said.
Dr. Corvin recalled one conversation during which Bowers became antsy and abruptly blurted, “We need to talk about computers.”
Another example: He asked about a high school sweetheart, and Bowers told him the license plate number of a car related to the situation. Then he asked if Dr. Corvin remembered the “death code” from the movie “War Games.” Bowers did.
Those types of disordered patterns of thoughts, lack of social cognition and delusions — more of which Dr. Corvin indicated he intends to talk about when he returns to the stand Friday morning — led to a diagnosis of schizophrenia.
That schizophrenia comes from both nature and nurturing, or a lack thereof the latter. He pointed to a childhood marred by depression, anxiety, violence and suicide attempts — “things that would be scary to a kid.”
Being raised in chaos, he said, elevates the likelihood of psychiatric disorders in adulthood.
Dr. Corvin said Bowers’ aunt spoke of a time she took her infant nephew to the mall with her. When she came back, his mother was convinced he was not her child — that he’d been switched out at the mall.
When he interviewed Bowers’ mother, the doctor said, she told him she’s still 66% certain he’s not the child she gave birth to.
He said Bowers denied some suicide attempts as a child — despite historical records — and admitted to only one overt attempt when he overdosed on aspirin. He said Bowers claimed to be basically suicidal daily and said he believed death was better than the situation he was in.
Dr. Corvin will return to the stand Friday morning. Prosecutors said they plan to cross-examine him as well.
Megan Guza: mguza@post-gazette.com
First Published July 27, 2023, 6:29pm
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