Appellant contended on appeal that the trial court erred by not permitting evidence of his SPECT brain scan to show that he suffered from PTSD, in his trial for murder of his mother and sister. The appellate court here affirmed. The testimony of the SPECT expert was subject to the requirements of People v. Kelly – that use of SPECT brain scan imaging to diagnose PTSD and brain trauma is generally accepted in the field of brain imaging and neurology. However, review of medical literature reveals that the majority of the community consider the technique unreliable for this purpose. Therefore, the testimony was properly excluded.
Case Summaries