Defense Rests in Elizabeth Smart Trial, Prosecution Begins Rebuttal
Last Thursday, the defense rested their case in the Elizabeth Smart kidnapping trial, and today the prosecution began rebuttal testimony. Both sides say they will wrap up their cases and present closing arguments by December 10.
The defense has said that they do not dispute the facts of the case, but they dispute why Mitchell committed his crimes. While agreeing on the basic facts of the case, the two sides differ wildly on their presentation of Mitchell. The prosecution has portrayed Mitchell as a skilled and cunning manipulator. Mitchell's attorneys, on the other hand, have built an insanity defense for their client. They aim to prove that Mitchell is suffering from mental illness and did not know right from wrong when he kidnapped Smart.
Mitchell's defense team called his family members to the stand in the last two weeks to testify on the changes they saw in him throughout his life. A psychiatrist testified last week that he believed Mitchell has delusional disorder and possibly schizophrenia.
The psychiatrist also testified that he believed Barzee encouraged and exacerbated Mitchell's delusions and he called their relationship "toxic." The psychiatrist also pointed out that Mitchell did not commit a felony-level sex offense until he was in his 40s, which is when he would expect an onset of delusional disorder, a disorder that he said he believes runs in Mitchell's family.
Brian David Mitchell is being tried on federal charges of kidnapping and transporting a minor across state lines. He is accused of abducting Elizabeth Smart from her bedroom in Salt Lake City in 2002 when she was 14-years-old and holding her captive for 9 months, during which time he is accused of sexually assaulting her almost daily.
Mitchell's defense team called his family members to the stand in the last two weeks to testify on the changes they saw in him throughout his life. A psychiatrist testified last week that he believed Mitchell has delusional disorder and possibly schizophrenia.
The psychiatrist also testified that he believed Barzee encouraged and exacerbated Mitchell's delusions and he called their relationship "toxic." The psychiatrist also pointed out that Mitchell did not commit a felony-level sex offense until he was in his 40s, which is when he would expect an onset of delusional disorder, a disorder that he said he believes runs in Mitchell's family.
