by newsmakingnewscom » Thu Dec 01, 2005 2:18 am
Abuse expert testifies at trial<br><br>She says Stockholm Syndrome a factor in torture case.<br>By Ramon Coronado -- Bee Staff Writer<br>Published 2:15 am PST Wednesday, November 30, 2005<br>Susan Hamlin, who claims she was beaten and tortured for years by her husband, couldn't leave the abusive relationship because of a psychological condition in which prisoners sympathize with their captors, a trauma expert testified Tuesday.<br><br>"The person who causes you the pain is the same one who gives love, support and is nurturing," marriage and family therapist Linda Barnard told an El Dorado Superior Court jury.<br><br>Called Stockholm Syndrome, the psychological condition has been cited by trauma experts as the reason Elizabeth Smart never ran to freedom though she had ample opportunity in the 10 months after being kidnapped in Utah in 2002. The condition also was the explanation given by experts as to why heiress Patty Hearst joined her captors in a 1974 bank robbery after being kidnapped by members of the Symbionese Liberation Army.<br><br>The psychological condition, which Barnard said helps explain why people do things that are "counterintuitive," is the latest twist in the trial of Richard W. Hamlin, a 45-year-old defense attorney and former Sacramento prosecutor charged with torturing his wife during the last five years of their 20-year marriage.<br><br>Hamlin, who is representing himself, also is charged with endangering the lives of his four children two years ago.<br><br>Hamlin claims Susan Hamlin is lying about the domestic violence to avoid being prosecuted for conspiring with others to murder him. He said his Christian beliefs made him a "trophy" for satanic cult members with ties to the CIA.<br><br>His trial, which opened Oct. 25, has attracted an array of Internet followers and writers with Web sites dedicated to uncovering government conspiracies and satanic cults. There is even a Web site posted by Richard Hamlin himself.<br><br>On it, Hamlin says he abandoned his half-million-dollar-a-year law practice after an "epiphany" to help his wife with her "repressed memories" of being molested as a child by her father.<br><br>Susan Hamlin confessed to detectives about being part of a satanic cult murder plot and to molesting her children but later recanted, saying that if she hadn't gone along with the story her husband would have killed her.<br><br>During Richard Hamlin's cross-examination of Barnard, the therapist said that in the past 25 years the awareness of domestic violence has increased. Women have greater resources and police are trained to recognize signs of abuse, she said.<br><br>Barnard, who has not interviewed Susan Hamlin, testified for the prosecution as an expert dealing with survivors of rape and domestic violence.<br><br>During cross-examination, she agreed with Richard Hamlin's contention that it was inconsistent with police training for officers to leave the Hamlins' El Dorado Hills home if they suspected Susan Hamlin was a victim of domestic violence prior to her 911 call.<br><br>Susan Hamlin testified that she told the officers she made the call by mistake and that her husband was in the shower.<br><br>Richard Hamlin also questioned why his wife, who is also a lawyer, didn't take advantage of restraining orders and other legal options to leave the relationship.<br><br>"I've seen domestic violence experts not getting out" of abusive relationships, Barnard said.<br><br>Why, Hamlin asked, if a man was an abuser, would it take 15 years of marriage for the violence to surface?<br><br>Barnard said typically domestic violence surfaces within two years into a relationship, but "I've worked on many cases where there has been a long delay." In a 15-year marriage, she said, there may be "power and control and no violence."<br><br>Responding to questioning from Deputy District Attorney Vicki Ashworth, Barnard testified that there are 1.4 million abusive relationships in this country and that 95 percent of the victims are women.<br><br>Barnard said in domestic violence cases in the number of incidents and their severity increase over time. She said intimidation, isolation, emotional abuse and turning children against the woman are the "power and control" tools used by the batterer.<br><br>Stockholm Syndrome, she said, was named for a 1973 bank robbery in the Swedish capital in which hostages refused to testify against their abductors.<br><br>In addition to the physical hostage-taking, she said, there is a "traumatic bonding." Although a person may be free to leave, they don't because there are emotional and psychological walls that keep them captive, she said.<br><br>Barnard agreed with Hamlin's questioning that suggested the psychological restraints that keep domestic violence victims from seeking help also prevent child molestation victims from exposing assailants.<br><br>Upon questioning from the prosecutor, Barnard said domestic violence is one of the most under-reported crimes.<br><br>She said it was not unusual for victims to admit to a crime they didn't commit.<br><br>"It's a wearing down with relentless behavior and then she gives up," she said. The more intelligent batterers "are better apt at playing mind games."<br> <p></p><i></i>