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A neuropsychologist and a psychologist picked by defense attorneys to analyze Brittany Pilkington are nothing more than “human lie detectors” and the court should not allow their opinions as evidence in the ongoing case of capital murder, prosecutors argued in a brief filed Monday.
“Capital defendants are not entitled to special treatment regarding evidentiary or procedural rules,” Logan County Prosecutor Eric Stewart wrote in his filing. “The Defense experts should not be permitted to give an opinion on when they think Brittany was telling the truth to law enforcement and when she was lying to them.”
The response came after defense attorneys Kort Gotterdam and Marc S. Triplett urged Assigned Judge Mark S. O’Connor in a July 10 motion to reconsider his November decision allowing the Logan County Prosecutor’s Office to use her confession at trial.
Pilkington, 25, faces three counts of capital murder for killing her three sons over a 13-month period starting in July 2014. She faces the possibility of a death sentence, but her trial has been delayed as Judge O’Connor has waded through dozens of motions.
Authorities say she admitted smothering the boys as they slept starting with infant Niall in July 22, 2014, followed by Gavin, 4, on April 6, 2015, and infant Noah on Aug. 18, 2015.
The accused has been in the Logan County Jail in solitary confinement since.
Neuropsychologist Dr. Jeffrey Madden and psychologist Dr. Howard Fradkin have filed affidavits stating they believe Brittany Pilkington’s brain damage and mental illness was so extensive that she could not fully comprehend the police interrogation she endured Aug. 18, 2015.
Stewart argues neither doctor has the expertise to assess the credibility or truthfulness of Pilkington’s statement now or at the time of the interviews with the Bellefontaine Police Department investigators.
“The opinions offered by these experts amount to nothing more than human lie detector tests in the guise of clinical evaluation,” Stewart said. “Both experts want to opine that during portions of Brittany’s interview she was telling the truth and during other parts she was lying.”
Determining whether or not the defendant told the truth or lied about murdering her sons is the province of a judge or jury, Stewart wrote.
The prosecutor also notes that prior Ohio criminal cases have rejected individuals as “false confession experts.”
“The opinions that are being proffered are not based upon any reliable, scientific, technical or other specialized information and the theory upon which the procedure they base their opinions on is not objectively verifiable, nor is it validly derived from widely accepted knowledge, facts or principles,” Stewart argued
As for the allegations Pilkington has deficient intelligence, Stewart said that is but one factor the court should consider to determine whether or not a confession was given voluntarily.
Defense attorneys have until Tuesday to respond.
The next hearings are set for Aug. 21 and 22.
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