The courtroom witnessed a fiery exchange on Friday as a contentious standoff unfolded between defense attorney Kevin Reddington and Dr. Avram Mack. Their animated dialogue became so intense that the judge was compelled to step in and restore order, as both continuously interrupted each other.
Throughout the cross-examination, Reddington’s irritation with Dr. Mack was palpable, his tone escalating with each question.
In a pointed query, Reddington challenged Mack, asking, “Isn’t your primary research focused on adolescents prone to marijuana use and drinking?”
Dr. Mack firmly rebutted the claim with a simple, “No,” standing his ground against the attorney’s insinuations.
Undeterred, Reddington probed further, questioning whether Dr. Mack had “ever been in close proximity to a pregnant woman.”
He challenged the psychiatrist’s experience with women, asking how many he had treated before appearing to accuse him of fabricating his testimony: ‘What are you making this up?’
Reddington brandished a copy of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) as he challenged Mack.
He hammered home to the courtroom that postpartum psychosis is not listed as a standalone condition in the DSM, which is widely regarded as the psychiatric community’s diagnostic ‘Bible.’
‘I didn’t write the DSM, so I’m not here to represent it,’ Dr Mack replied as he testified as an expert witness for the prosecution.
Reddington then directed Mack to a section of the manual noting that women with bipolar disorder have an ‘increased risk of mood episodes’ during pregnancy.
Earlier, Mack testified that Clancy had the capacity for criminally responsibility when she ‘methodically’ killed her three children.
He testified that her phrase ‘go to god’ was ‘not only hope for the children but a description of the situation.’
‘The deaths were done one by one in a way that was organized and tended to achieve a particular goal. Her attempt at suicide was also organized in that it included as many methods as possible,’ Mack said.
