by LDH 45 Replies latest jw friends
3:31
shrink talked about, ' the tremendous rage these boys had'
'Karl Schwartz, attorney for Bryan Freeman, says it's about the juvenile system and murder, maturation, and rehabilitation.
Schwartz says Bryan Freeman has shown remarkable development and extreme remorse, and has been a model inmate for 23 years.'
I remember when this crime occurred. I was still working and was active in the religion at the time.
I didn’t know what to make of it then except that I felt sorry for those parents and wondered what got into those boys to do what they did.
Looking at it now - as a person who is Out of the religion and Know what I know and how toxic it is, I see it a little differently. First of all, I certainly don’t condone what they did. But, I look at the level of anger displayed in the savagery of the attacks. These were two boys probably intelligent who lived under restrictions that they knew were unfair and subject to bullying. Also, I wonder how they were treated in the hall? Maybe not so great.
When I think of all we know about this religion and their changed teachings that they discard without a thought to the trouble they caused people - it really makes me sad those parents were so zealous. So, the unthinkable happened.
Clinical psychologist Frank M. Dattilio, evaluating David Freeman two months after the Salisbury Township teen participated in the murders of his parents and younger brother, found himself confronted by what he described in court Wednesday as “a block of ice” — cold, remorseless, emotionless.
“He was very primitive in many ways,” Dattilio said Wednesday, the second day of a resentencing hearing in Lehigh County Court for Freeman and his brother, Bryan — one-time neo-Nazi skinheads who, with cousin Nelson Birdwell III, killed Dennis and Brenda Freeman and 11-year-old Erik Freeman on Feb. 26, 1995.
At the time, Bryan was 17 and David, 16. They received life sentences without parole when, to avoid the death penalty, they pleaded guilty to killing Brenda and Dennis, respectively.
Birdwell was charged in all three murders and convicted of Dennis’s murder. No one was convicted of Erik’s death, but prosecutors maintain Birdwell was the culprit.
Since then, a series of federal and state court rulings have held it unconstitutional to impose mandatory life-without-parole sentences on juveniles, so the Freeman brothers became eligible for resentencing. Birdwell turned 18 shortly before the crimes, so his sentence of life without parole stands.
Whether the Freemans continue as lifers or have a chance at freedom will be determined by Lehigh County Judge Douglas Reichley, who must weigh the gravity of the crimes against the idea that the brothers have been rehabilitated and will never commit another offense.
Dattilio, an Allentown psychologist, was retained by David Freeman’s attorney, Matthew Rapa, to build the same kind of case — a portrait of the reformed man his client has ostensibly become in the course of nearly 30 years behind bars.
Dattilio has evaluated some 6,000 offenders over 44 years and is well-known in the Lehigh Valley as an expert witness, both for prosecutors and defense lawyers.
Dattilio conducted follow-up evaluations of Freeman in 2018 and 2022. The passage of decades has seen the sullen, angry teen with the “Sieg Heil” tattoo across his forehead transform into a personable man who acknowledges his guilt and weeps with remorse, he said.
“I was just dumbfounded at the difference in his personality,” Dattilio said. “He was very engaging and forthcoming. … I thought, ‘There’s a human being in there.’ He showed spontaneous emotion, not contrived emotion.”
In 1995, by contrast, “he didn’t break a bead of sweat or one tear when I asked him about what he did. It was haunting to me.”
The Freeman brothers were raised in a strict household and resented the strictures placed on them by their parents, who were Jehovah’s Witnesses. That resentment eventually metastasized into a dangerous rage and rebellion reflected in their adoption of neo-Nazism.
David especially resented what he considered his parents’ hypocrisy. His father, for example, preached the importance of clean living in keeping with his faith, but was a frequent drinker.
David himself had his first drink at age 6, Dattilio said.
“Was that surprising to you?” Rapa asked.
“What was more surprising is that his father gave it to him,” Dattilio said.
David became a heavy drinker and marijuana user. A stint in rehab helped, but he relapsed soon after.
David was the first of the brothers to embrace skinhead culture, Dattilio said, but to what extent he bought into the ideology is questionable. He was more interested in demonstrating his disdain for society and authority, Dattilio said, and the swastika flags and Nazi tattoos were primarily meant to shock and repulse people.
“It was all designed to flip the middle finger, if you will, at society and authority,” he said.
On Monday, an expert witness for the prosecution, forensic psychiatrist John O’Brien, testified about his own recent assessment, reporting that David at one point during an interview fell into a deep rage.
Dattilio said O’Brien probed no deeper into the cause of the episode.
“I would have wanted to know if that anger was about himself or would have been externalized,” he said.
O’Brien also suggested that David Freeman minimized many of his actions. Dattilio said he had the opposite impression — that David, who rejected neo-Nazism when he entered prison and hasn’t been subject to a disciplinary action in 22 years — has accepted responsibility in full. The anger Dattilio had discerned in David was self-directed, fueled by this acknowledgment.
While David has made great progress in virtually all areas of his life, he still has work to do, the psychologist said. Notably, he has resisted undergoing therapy, reluctant to revisit the horror of the crimes.
“I believe he needs to start treatment,” Dattilio said. “I think once he progresses, he is worthy of a [sentence] reduction.”
Sandra Lettich, Bryan and David’s maternal aunt, also testified Wednesday that she believed both of them would be OK should they be paroled one day.
Lettich told the judge about how she reconnected with them years after her sister’s killings. Her father, their grandfather, would see them in prison often.
On one occasion, he asked Lettich and her husband to join him in one of the visits. That was in 2003, and she has maintained contact with both of them since.
Bryan, she said, began to open up to her after she told him they had forgiven him. David had grown through becoming more connected with the Bible, she said. Both of them are remorseful for what they did, she said.
While they do not tend to speak with Lettich about it, she recalled one time, during a prison visit, Bryan broke down in tears and apologized to her. “I wish it hadn’t happened,” she recalled him saying. “They didn’t deserve what happened to them.”
David, she said, found religion and wanted to be spiritually “free,” even if he could not be paroled. They have both expressed concern and care for their family in the time since, Lettich testified.
She said she would even have room for one of them at her apartment should they be paroled.
“I’ve seen major changes in both of them,” Lettich said.
Lettich’s sister, Linda Solivan, also reconnected with the brothers around the same time, and kept in contact with them through letters over the years, however she had not done it in many years. She, like her sister, believed both of them had changed for the better.
“He’s made a lot of changes,” Solivan said of Bryan. “He worked hard to do that.”
Solivan and Lettich both testified that, based on the interviews of Bryan and David at the time, they believe David went along with the killings because he feared he would be killed as well. Had Bryan not gone along with the killings, they said, David would not have, either.
The hearing is expected to continue through Friday but may go longer because the courthouse was closed by Tuesday’s storm.
Morning Call reporter Daniel Patrick Sheehan can be reached at 610-820-6598 or [email protected].'
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Testimony has wrapped in the re-sentencing hearing for two brothers who have been in prison for 29 years for the killing of their parents and younger brother.
All week, attorneys for Bryan and David Freeman have presented evidence as to why the brothers should get a reduced sentence with the possibility of release.
The Lehigh District Attorney's office has also provided evidence to try to keep the Freeman brothers behind bars.
Those witnesses include mental health experts, law enforcement officials, members of the Jehovah's Witness faith, correctional officials, friends of the Freemans, and some of their family members.
The Freemans' aunt Valerie, who found the bodies of Dennis, Brenda, and 11-year-old Erik Freeman on February 2, 1995, described their rage as teens.
As she spoke, Bryan and David hung their heads and cried. Valerie also wept as she talked about finding Eric in his bed. Valerie is Dennis Freeman's sister.
She testified she used to live with the family until she had an argument with David over the way he was treating Erik. She says afterward, Dennis told her she should move out because he was afraid for her life. Valerie says Erik was also afraid of his older brothers.
She says one hot summer day she came over and found Erik in the garage tied to a chair.
When asked about the possibility of the brothers spending the rest of their lives in jail, Valerie Freeman said, "I don't know how they could do it, so no it doesn't bother me."
Their aunt Sandra Lettich says it took eight years for her to be able to forgive Bryan and David. She says in 2003 Bryan asked the family to help him return to the Jehovah's Witness faith. Lettich says the family started visiting Bryan, helping him with Bible study.
She says during one of many visits, Bryan told her he was sorry for what he did, and he wished he could change it. Lettich says soon afterward she started writing to David.
She says he also expressed deep remorse and a desire for his family's forgiveness. Lettich testified that over the years she has seen a remarkable change in both men.
Lettich's sister Linda Solivan also testified about the Freemans' personal growth and return to faith, saying they deserve redemption.
During cross examination, First Assistant District Attorney Erik Dowdle questioned the Freemans' return to faith, remarking that no one knows scripture better than the devil.
Mental health experts who evaluated the brothers shortly after the crime until just recently were divided on the brothers' rehabilitation.
Psychiatrist John O'Brien testified he evaluated Bryan Freeman several times since the murder.
O'Brien says in 1995, Bryan showed little empathy for his parents and deflected responsibility. O'Brien testified that in a 2018 evaluation he felt Bryan minimized documented threats on his parents' lives and his responsibility in the killings.
O'Brien opined that Bryan regretted the murders because of the negative impact they had on him.
Bryan's attorney Karl Schwartz pushed back against that appraisal, saying Bryan has been on record with several mental health experts taking full responsibility for his actions, saying that if he had not stabbed his mother, the other killings may not have happened.
O'Brien also testified about David Freeman, commenting that during a 2018 evaluation David became angry. O'Brien testified David still harbors a significant amount of anger and that both brothers have neglected to take advantage of individual counseling, instead choosing group therapy.
Psychologist Frank Datillio says when he first met David Freeman, he had a budding anti-social disorder. But then in 2009, Dattilio says David started to change.
"He really started to reflect on his life," said Dattilio. "He didn't want to be a hateful person."
Dattilio says David went from a primitive "block of ice" to someone with introspection. Dattilio said that during one evaluation, David broke down when talking about his parents, saying, "My parents were good people.'"
By 2018, Dattilio says he "was awestruck by the contrast" from 1995.
Psychiatrist Susan Rushing says repeated sexual abuse that went untreated was detrimental to Bryan Freeman's development.
According to records shared in court, in 1992, Brenda Freeman told a rehab counselor the abuse happened when Bryan was 6 years old, and that Dennis Freeman did not want to pursue treatment.
Brenda Freeman also reported Bryan became suicidal at 8 years old and started using alcohol shortly afterward.
The court heard testimony that in the years that followed, Bryan and David were admitted to numerous rehab facilities for substance abuse and violence.
Rushing testified that, shortly before the murders, Bryan was involuntarily committed and was medicated with an anti-psychotic called Navane, used to chemically restrain people who are not schizophrenic.
She says when he was released, he was taken off it and sent back to an environment where he was able to resume taking drugs and alcohol, and hanging around violent influences.
Dr. James Garbarino testified the juvenile mind isn't fully formed until the age of 25. Garbarino suggested juvenile killers should spend at least 20 years in jail, 10 years for their minds to mature and 10 to rehabilitate.
Garbarino said Bryan is an upper echelon candidate for release.
Retired Detective Joseph Vasquez was the lead investigator on the 1995 murder case. He showed the court pictures of the crime scene.
Earlier when the crime scene video was shown, the Freemans chose to leave the courtroom.
As Vasquez went through each picture, describing the grisly details, the Freemans hung their heads and cried.
Vasquez says of the two brothers, David was more truthful and cooperative in the initial investigation. Vasquez says Bryan's story was inconsistent and said of the two brothers, David is likely more deserving of clemency.
But the court also heard from those who believe Bryan has redeemed himself.
Erik Stracco, a prison counselor, described how Bryan helps inmates with special needs.
Prison pastor Aaron Duncan told the court the Bryan he knows has respect for his fellow inmates, and Unit Manager Jill Erin Fisher talked about Bryan's patience and care in a dog training program.
Several members of the Jehovah's Witness faith also spoke on Bryan's behalf.
Martin Francken testified he met Bryan through another member who was ministering to him in prison. Franken says he remembered being horrified when he heard about the murders.
He says it was compounded when he learned the teens were Jehovah Witnesses who turned to Nazism.
"Jehovah's Witnesses were persecuted by the Nazis and put in camps," said Francken.
Francken says he didn't dwell on Bryan's crime, instead choosing to focus on the Bible. He says he has grown to become friends with Bryan, corresponding with him frequently. Francken is hopeful about Bryan being released.
"I hope that it happens for him some day," said Francken. "I would like to see how he would grow and contribute."
Witness William Connelly echoed Francken's words, saying Bryan proved his faith and became the first person to be baptized in his Bible group. Connelly says Bryan has spoken about seeing his family again in heaven.
Toward the end of the week-long hearing there was a technical glitch with the computer system, forcing a brief break. Judge Doug Reichley took the opportunity to come down from the bench and speak individually with David and Bryan.
Reichley asked David about his hobbies in prison, with David replying that he likes to read.
The judge followed up with a question about prison food. David expressed his preference for the food at SCI Mahanoy over the Lehigh County Jail.
Bryan wore a tan suit for most of the hearings. Reichley jokingly asked him if he was going to get it dry cleaned or hand wash it for the re-sentencing hearing next week.
Bryan's answer couldn't be heard by others in the courtroom, but he responded with a laugh and a smile.
Montclaire University did a study of 269 Philadelphia juvenile lifers impacted by the Supreme Court ruling for re-sentencing hearings just like those the Freemans are going through now.
The study says 174 of them were released, with a recidivism rate of roughly 1%.
First Assistant District Attorney Erik Dowdle says even one death due to a release is too much, saying society would be safer if the Freemans remain in prison.
The Freemans will learn their fate Wednesday morning.
Bryan's attorney says Bryan will speak on his behalf. David submitted a letter to the court.
Only one of them was released.'
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Psychiatrist Susan Rushing says repeated sexual abuse that went untreated was detrimental to Bryan Freeman's development.
According to records shared in court, in 1992, Brenda Freeman told a rehab counselor the abuse happened when Bryan was 6 years old, and that Dennis Freeman did not want to pursue treatment.
On Monday, Karl Schwartz, who is representing Bryan Freeman pro bono, said his client is remorseful — expressing “utter and desperate sorrow” over his crimes — and is a model inmate, often acting as a peacemaker among other prisoners.