Date: 11/21/2008
Associated Press Writer
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) _ A man accused of beating his stepdaughter so severely that she suffered a permanent brain injury — triggering a right-to-die case — testified Friday that he never hit her and believed his wife’s claims that the girl injured herself.
Jason Strickland denied prosecutors’ claims that he and his late wife, Holli, beat 11-year-old Haleigh Poutre into a coma in September 2005.
Haleigh was at the center of the right-to-die debate after the state received court permission to remove her feeding tube. But she began showing signs of improvement days later and can now perform simple tasks such as feeding herself and writing her name. She remains in a Boston rehabilitation hospital.
Strickland, 34, portrayed Haleigh as a troubled child who was once admitted to the hospital for an eating disorder. He said she had a habit of biting the side of her mouth until it bled and that her nose was “typically red” from continually picking at an old scab.
Strickland testified that his wife told him repeatedly over a five-year period that Haleigh caused a litany of injuries, including bruises, burns and cuts to various parts of her body.
He said that during the year before Haleigh suffered her near-fatal brain injury, Holli Strickland was taking her to see a nurse practitioner on a weekly basis to perform body checks “because Haleigh was hurting herself.”
Strickland said when he noticed bruises or other marks on Haleigh, his wife told him the girl hurt herself.
“Most of the time, Holli would explain to me what happened,” Strickland said.
He recalled one time when Haleigh had a badly bruised and swollen foot, with bloody toenails.
“What did Holli tell you?” Black asked.
“That she was dropping a bowling ball on her foot,” Strickland replied.
Jason Strickland is the only person to stand trial for Haleigh’s injuries. Holli Strickland died in an apparent murder-suicide with her grandmother after she and Jason were charged in the 2005 beating. Haleigh was adopted at age 7 by Holli, her aunt.
Strickland, who married Holli in 2002, said he never hit Haleigh or her younger sister, Samantha, but acknowledged giving each girl an occasional “tap” on the back of the head “to get her attention.”
“But never in a disciplinary fashion,” he said.
Earlier in the trial, Samantha Poutre, now 12, testified that she saw Jason Strickland push Haleigh down the stairs the day she suffered the brain injury. But Samantha, who was 9 at the time, pointed to the wrong man when asked to identify Strickland in the courtroom.
Haleigh was comatose and on life support for several months. After doctors said she had no hope of recovery, the state Department of Social Services got court permission to withdraw her feeding tube. Days later, Haleigh began to show signs of improvement.
The state was criticized for moving too quickly, and the case helped spark an overhaul of Massachusetts’ child welfare system, including the creation of a new Office of the Child Advocate.
The state also was denounced for failing to protect Haleigh in the years before she was hospitalized.
Records showed the state had received more than a dozen complaints about cuts and other marks seen on Haleigh between 2001 and 2005. But the agency determined the girl’s injuries were self-inflicted and did not remove her from the Strickland home in Westfield.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
Attorney Gordon Johnson
Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.
http://subtlebraininjury.com :: http://brainanatomyguide.com :: http://car-accident-rain.com :: http://tbilaw.com
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Prosecution rests in case of brain-injured girl
Date: 11/20/2008
By DENISE LAVOIE
Associated Press Writer
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) _ Prosecutors wrapped up their case Wednesday against a man accused of beating his stepdaughter into a coma, triggering a right-to-die case that was resolved when the girl began to recover.
Jason Strickland, a 34-year-old auto mechanic, is charged with abusing his stepdaughter, Haleigh Poutre, in 2005, when she was 11. Prosecutors say Strickland and his late wife, Holli, participated in abuse that culminated in a beating on Sept. 10, 2005, that left her with a severe brain injury.
Strickland is expected to take the stand in his own defense after his lawyers begin presenting their case Thursday.
His lawyer has told the jury Strickland believed his wife’s claims that Haleigh suffered from a psychological disorder that caused her to injure herself.
Dr. Christine Barron, a forensic pediatrician at Hasbro Children’s Hospital in Providence, R.I., testified Wednesday that she believes the injuries shown in photographs taken after the girl was brought to the hospital the day after the severe beating could not have been self-inflicted.
Barron reviewed photographs showing extensive bruising, lacerations and abrasions on Haleigh’s legs, chest, back and arms.
Barron said bruising on her left ankle and left wrist were consistent with a “restraint injury.” She also said lesions on the top of her left foot and upper left arm were consistent with a “non-accidental cigarette burn.”
Under cross-examination from Strickland’s attorney, Alan Black, Barron acknowledged that a nurse practitioner who saw Haleigh on a regular basis in 2005 characterized the abrasions and bruises on Haleigh’s body as self-inflicted injuries.
Days after child welfare officials received court permission to remove her feeding tube, Haleigh began showing signs of improvement. The state was criticized for failing to protect Haleigh and for moving too quickly to remove her life support, and the case sparked an overhaul of the child welfare system.
Holli Strickland, who was Haleigh’s aunt but who adopted the girl at age 7, died in an apparent murder-suicide with her grandmother after she was charged in Haleigh’s beating.
Haleigh, now 14, has improved to the point where she can feed herself and write her name. She now lives in a rehabilitation hospital.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
Attorney Gordon Johnson
Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.
http://subtlebraininjury.com :: http://brainanatomyguide.com :: http://car-accident-rain.com :: http://tbilaw.com
http://waiting.com :: http://vestibulardisorder.com :: http://youtube.com/profile?user=braininjuryattorney
By DENISE LAVOIE
Associated Press Writer
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) _ Prosecutors wrapped up their case Wednesday against a man accused of beating his stepdaughter into a coma, triggering a right-to-die case that was resolved when the girl began to recover.
Jason Strickland, a 34-year-old auto mechanic, is charged with abusing his stepdaughter, Haleigh Poutre, in 2005, when she was 11. Prosecutors say Strickland and his late wife, Holli, participated in abuse that culminated in a beating on Sept. 10, 2005, that left her with a severe brain injury.
Strickland is expected to take the stand in his own defense after his lawyers begin presenting their case Thursday.
His lawyer has told the jury Strickland believed his wife’s claims that Haleigh suffered from a psychological disorder that caused her to injure herself.
Dr. Christine Barron, a forensic pediatrician at Hasbro Children’s Hospital in Providence, R.I., testified Wednesday that she believes the injuries shown in photographs taken after the girl was brought to the hospital the day after the severe beating could not have been self-inflicted.
Barron reviewed photographs showing extensive bruising, lacerations and abrasions on Haleigh’s legs, chest, back and arms.
Barron said bruising on her left ankle and left wrist were consistent with a “restraint injury.” She also said lesions on the top of her left foot and upper left arm were consistent with a “non-accidental cigarette burn.”
Under cross-examination from Strickland’s attorney, Alan Black, Barron acknowledged that a nurse practitioner who saw Haleigh on a regular basis in 2005 characterized the abrasions and bruises on Haleigh’s body as self-inflicted injuries.
Days after child welfare officials received court permission to remove her feeding tube, Haleigh began showing signs of improvement. The state was criticized for failing to protect Haleigh and for moving too quickly to remove her life support, and the case sparked an overhaul of the child welfare system.
Holli Strickland, who was Haleigh’s aunt but who adopted the girl at age 7, died in an apparent murder-suicide with her grandmother after she was charged in Haleigh’s beating.
Haleigh, now 14, has improved to the point where she can feed herself and write her name. She now lives in a rehabilitation hospital.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
Attorney Gordon Johnson
Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.
http://subtlebraininjury.com :: http://brainanatomyguide.com :: http://car-accident-rain.com :: http://tbilaw.com
http://waiting.com :: http://vestibulardisorder.com :: http://youtube.com/profile?user=braininjuryattorney