Doctors say Dugan's brain is abnormal
WHEATON — "A good sociopath can play a concerto on anyone's heart strings." — Robert Hare, "Without Conscience"
DuPage County Assistant State's Attorney Michael Wolfe read the passage in court Tuesday as forensic psychologist Dr. Orest Wasyliw took the witness stand to testify that three-time convicted murderer Brian Dugan is a sociopath whose brain functions differently than most.
(Sun-Times Media File)
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Even Dugan would agree, he said. Dugan told Wasyliw: "I knew I was a lunatic long before I was locked up. I didn't know what to do about it. There was no way I could go anywhere to get help. There's no 1-800-NUTS line that people can call ..."
Wasyliw, who spent more than eight hours studying Dugan, has expertise in the fields of clinical, forensic and neuro psychology, and has spent decades testifying for both prosecutors and defense lawyers in and around DuPage County.
In his opinion, Dugan, while highly intelligent, is a rather disturbed man, unable to connect with his feelings or those of others, Wasyliw testified.
He also said, however, that in a structured environment like prison someone like Dugan could thrive. He is an avid reader, polite, mild-mannered and articulate.
"He believes he has changed in 25 years in prison," Wasyliw testified during Dugan's sentencing hearing where defense attorneys will try to convince jurors that Dugan deserves another life sentence, not death, for the 1983 murder of 10-year old Jeanine Nicarico of Naperville.
Dugan is already serving two life sentences for the murders of Melissa Ackerman, 7, of Somonauk, and Donna Schnorr, 27, of Geneva.
Defense attorneys aim to prove that Dugan's brain is abnormal, and though this didn't cause him to directly commit the crimes, this made him more apt to do so. Without receiving proper treatment as a child, Dugan's behavior became out of control. In prison, they will argue, he has been somewhat reborn.
When he came face to face with a rapist in jail — one of whom reminded him much of himself — Dugan became physically ill, Wasyliw testified. He saw in the man dishonesty, violence and cowardice, Wasyliw said, and "from that time he's tried to better himself to the extent that he can in a prison environment."
Without drugs and alcohol impairing his judgment, Dugan has gone on to receive educational training in prison, made friends, learned to play Scrabble and even given inmates legal advice.
"He said he's different to some extent, but he didn't paint an overly positive picture of himself," Wasyliw testified. "He said he was dangerous, shouldn't be out of prison and still has trouble connecting with people."
Dugan has admitted to still being attracted to young girls and having manipulative tendencies that he can ignite with the snap of a finger, but has proven that he does well in structured environments. He has been honest — even forthcoming — with details about his life and crimes and has even shown remorse.
"He is not psychotic or incapable of knowing right from wrong," Wasyliw said. "But in particular situations he does not show control most people do. He is not incapable, but he has a severe deficit."
Wolfe and his gang of prosecutors, however, think even the expert has been fooled.
Wolfe told jurors about Dugan's incredibly high IQ, which puts him in the top 5 to 15 percent of the adult population on an intelligence scale. He spoke of the killer's knack for studying up on psychology and lying about psychotic behaviors and hearing voices in the '90s to get drugs and better treatment while incarcerated.
"Everyone, including experts, can be taken in, manipulated, conned and left bewildered by (sociopaths)," Wolfe read again from Robert Hare's book. Dugan's own doctors had been fooled before.
During his incarceration, many psych evaluations portray Dugan as quite common — nothing unusual or psychotic about him. At other times, Dugan is noted rambling on and on about communists controlling his mind and his false imprisonment.
On Tuesday, Wasyliw agreed with prosecutors that the notion of Dugan hearing voices or being paranoid was poposterous. He's confessed to the farce. In the '90s, however, he had even experts fooled, he said.
Was Dr. Wasyliw, in fact, being taken in by Dugan as well, Wolfe pondered out loud to the jury. Was Dugan simply playing a concerto on Wasyliw's heart strings — or worse yet, the heart strings of the jurors?
"I can't think of words adequate enough," to describe how horrible Dugan's crimes were, Wasyliw said. "What I'm looking at is how is he now, and are there indications of change."
Dugan's defense is expected to call several more doctors to testify that Dugan's brain is functioning abnormally as a result of natural, substance and physical problems. The hearing resumes at 9:30 a.m. today.
