Merriman Was Labeled as Dangerous 12 Years Ago

At age 17, convicted killer Justin Merriman was diagnosed as a sociopath by a court-appointed psychologist, who warned that without treatment he posed a violent threat to anyone who got in his way.

“I indicated he was headed for some serious trouble,” psychologist Leonard Diamond testified Thursday.

Three years after the diagnosis, Merriman killed a 20-year-old college student and used a network of skinhead gang members to cover up his crime. He was found guilty of first-degree murder, rape and conspiracy charges last month.

A Ventura County jury is being asked to decide whether the 28-year-old gang member should be sentenced to death or to life in prison without parole.

Defense attorneys contend Merriman should be spared execution because he suffers from a brain defect and psychological problems. Prosecutors argue the defendant is “evil” and should be given the death penalty.

Defense attorneys rested their side of the trial’s penalty phase Thursday after calling Diamond to the stand.

In 1989, Diamond was appointed by the juvenile court to evaluate Merriman. He concluded the teen had no feelings for others and operated on pure impulse.

Diamond recommended Merriman be confined in the California Youth Authority and receive treatment for a personality disorder.

“I felt he was a significant danger to the people of the state of California,” Diamond testified.

But, defense lawyers contend, Merriman never got the treatment he needed. In less than a year, Merriman was moved to state prison after attacking a CYA guard. Lawyers say he landed back on the streets of Ventura in 1992 with even less self-control than when he left.

Seven years later, after Merriman was indicted on murder and related charges in connection with Montgomery’s slaying, Wiksell asked Diamond to conduct a second exam of his client.

“He had changed very little,” Diamond told jurors Thursday, describing Merriman as hostile, suspicious and exhibiting “blatant stupidity.”

Diamond told the jury that Merriman’s psychological troubles began early in life--possibly at birth. Merriman is an extremely dangerous man who will reoffend, he testified.

In earlier testimony Thursday, a UC Irvine psychiatrist told jurors he performed a brain scan on Merriman last August and found “abnormal patterns” consistent with a possible brain injury.

Dr. Joseph Wu showed jurors a video depicting a colorful three-dimensional view of Merriman’s brain compared with a composite of a normal brain.

In contrast to the peach-toned normal brain, Merriman’s scan revealed bright red and green blotches indicating what Wu explained as higher and lower brain function in different areas.

Most significantly, Wu said, the scan showed lower activity in the frontal lobe--the area that controls aggression, judgment and impulse control.

Prosecutors challenged Wu’s findings and credibility. They intend to call a rebuttal witness next week when testimony resumes.