LIFE or DEATH: A CRUCIAL LEGAL DECISION

When "KILLER" GRADY NELSON was convicted murdering his wife by stabbing her more than 60 times, then raped and stabbed her 11 year old mentally disabled daughter. little did the Miami Dade Prosecutor ever expect that the decision of a Death Sentence would be decided by modern technology and medical research.

It appears that Nelson's Defense Attorney presented scientific facts gathered by medical researchers who for years have been mapping the human brain. "BRAIN MAPPING" 
is the reading of "brain waves" in an attempt to diagnose irregularities from ADD "attention deficit disorder" to dementia and many other brain responses and functions.

However, never in the history of the Criminal Justice System in the United States has the "brain mapping" been used as a method of legal defense. In the "Nelson" criminal defense, the mapping to explain the brutality of his crimes.

His defense attorney's explained before the jury, who was deciding whether he would be sentenced to a "Death Penalty" or Life in prison. "QEEG Brain Mapping" convinced the jury in a controversial decision, rejected the death penalty and voted a life sentence. Judge Jacqueline Hogan Scola of Miami Dade County, Florida, admitted the QEEG as evidence, the first time in a major case.

This should create a new wave of death penalty litigation as a defense for such horrible violent criminal behavior.  According to Defense Attorney Terry Lenamon, as reported by David Ovalle of the Miami Herald, states" I think this is a huge step forward explaining why people are broken - not excusing it. This is going to go a long way in mitigating death penalty sentences."

This is similar to the 1970's defense of violent behavior by people with XYY blood cells. Then the extra "Y" factor was explained by the medical profession that aggressive and violent behavior was the cause of such violent criminal activity. It was used in many criminal defenses to explain mitigating circumstances to the crime.

The QEEG decision may wind it's way to the Supreme Court as prosecutors explore the legitimacy of the Brain Mapping research. In the Nelson matter, the decision will stand as a "Life Sentence"  unless the matter is rebuffed in an higher court on appeal.

However, as it stands the QEEG Brain Mapping is now a new technology to be used by Criminal Defense Attorney's across America. It appears to have a legitimacy to the research to be used in Criminal Defense matters.