State v. Folks

414 P.3d 468, 290 Or. App. 94
CourtCourt of Appeals of Oregon
DecidedFebruary 7, 2018
DocketA160677
StatusPublished

This text of 414 P.3d 468 (State v. Folks) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Oregon primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Folks, 414 P.3d 468, 290 Or. App. 94 (Or. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

DeVORE, J., *95Defendant appeals a judgment of conviction for murder, raising two assignments of error. Defendant first argues that the trial court erred in instructing the jury that defendant's drug-induced psychosis was not a "mental disease or defect" under ORS 161.295 and ORS 161.300.1 Defendant also argues that the court erred in requiring defendant to pay $3,627.30 in extradition costs. For the reasons that follow, we conclude that the trial court did not err in instructing the jury that defendant's transitory, drug-induced psychosis was not a "mental disease or defect" under ORS 161.295 and ORS 161.300.2 We do agree, however, that, absent a finding of an ability to pay, the court erred in ordering defendant to pay $3,627.30 in extradition costs. Accordingly, we reverse the portion of the judgment requiring defendant to pay extradition costs, and otherwise affirm. *470TRIAL

Defendant and his girlfriend, Perry, had come to Oregon from Mississippi. They lived in a motel room while here for seasonal construction employment. During their time in Oregon, defendant and Perry used methamphetamine and marijuana frequently.

The events leading to Perry's death were recounted by defendant at trial and in a recorded statement that he gave to a detective and that was played to the jury. Around 4:00 a.m. on November 23, 2014, Perry returned to the motel room after an evening out with friends. She and defendant used methamphetamine and marijuana and engaged in sexual activity. During intercourse, defendant perceived Perry's face to change, looking "evil." He believed that she was a "demon." When his leg and hip began to hurt, they stopped having sex. Defendant believed that she was responsible *96for his hip pain. He made a phone call to his stepfather, expressing concern about his relationship with God and his relationship with Perry. He hung up and told Perry that he "was a child of God" and that he did not fear her and that she should not fear him. Defendant perceived Perry's face to turn evil again, and he said that he felt the presence of evil. A conflict ensued. As he described it,

"[s]omehow or another we started fighting. Then I got up and then we started choking each other. And then every time that I would call out to God to give me the strength to kill her, she got weaker, and I got stronger. And then every time like I would doubt myself that God wasn't there for me, she would overcome me, but I killed her. Okay? And I just felt, I don't know, like it was the right thing to do."

Immediately after killing Perry, defendant drove to Mississippi. During the drive, defendant claimed that he heard Perry's voice through the radio, and he thought that the radio stations were talking to him. Days later, defendant confessed the murder to detectives and was arrested. The state charged defendant with murder, ORS 163.115, and unlawful possession of methamphetamine, ORS 475.894.

Two experts testified at trial, and their diagnoses were generally in agreement. At defendant's behest, Jerry Larsen, a psychiatrist, had examined defendant and diagnosed him with cannabis abuse, amphetamine dependence, and "probable amphetamine-induced psychotic disorder with delusions and hallucinations" at the time of the killing. He explained that a diagnosis of amphetamine-induced psychosis, also referred to as drug-induced psychosis, is made, in part, by "the presence of hallucinations or delusions" that the individual believes to be real. Larsen contrasted that diagnosis with a diagnosis of drug dependence, which is characterized by physical or emotional withdrawal symptoms. He said that the "difficulty with [a drug-induced psychosis ] is that the symptoms look like schizophrenia. The difference is that schizophrenic illnesses are lifelong, they don't get better but they can be controlled. A drug-induced psychosis clears after a period of time." Larsen testified that defendant was not exhibiting signs of psychosis or mental disorder at the time that Larsen evaluated him.

*97Larsen's examination revealed that, in 2009 and 2010 when defendant was not incarcerated, he used methamphetamine daily, and, by 2014, he had "doubled his intake of methamphetamine." Defendant told Larsen that he had been using a quarter to half a gram of methamphetamine every day in Oregon. In the 12 hours leading up to Perry's death, he consumed a gram of methamphetamine-a "high dose." Larsen concluded that defendant's drug-induced psychosis was caused by his long-term methamphetamine use.

Eric Johnson, a clinical psychologist hired by the state, had also evaluated defendant and agreed with Larsen's conclusions. Johnson considered that defendant had a history of chronic substance abuse with an early onset. Defendant told Johnson that he had not slept for over a week prior to the killing, that he had been using methamphetamine continuously during that time, and that he was using "a lot of meth immediately leading up to her death."

Johnson addressed whether defendant exhibited any signs of an underlying mental disorder or continuing psychosis independent *471of the use of drugs. He explained that, as defendant drove back to Mississippi, the psychotic effects that he was originally experiencing, such as voices speaking to him from the radio, dissipated as the "meth was beginning to wear off and the further he got," which was "[c]onsistent with methamphetamine withdrawal." To determine whether there was "evidence of ongoing mental or emotional problems," Johnson reviewed records of defendant's medical history as well as mental health records from the jail after defendant was taken into custody. Johnson said that those mental health records were "unremarkable."3 Johnson concluded from his evaluation that defendant was suffering from "a methamphetamine-induced psychotic disorder based upon his voluntary use of that drug." Johnson elaborated, testifying that defendant was delusional and hallucinating at the time of the killing but that there was *98"no evidence" of "any lingering psychosis" or long-term mental disorder.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
414 P.3d 468, 290 Or. App. 94, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-folks-orctapp-2018.