Rehabilitation potential issue at sentencing

PALMER — A full day of court Monday was not enough to get through all the evidence regarding how much time a 19-year-old Anchorage woman should spend in jail.

Superior Court Judge Eric Smith heard from two psychologists testifying on behalf of Kira Gray. Court will reconvene today to hear statements from the victim’s family and arguments from the lawyers.

Gray was one of four people charged in the death of Terrell Houngues, 23, found shot to death in May 2005 on an ATV trail in Houston. She was convicted June 1 of first-degree murder and potentially faces between 16 and more than 99 years in prison.

Psychologist Marty Beyer testified that, having spoken with Gray, it was her opinion that Gray, who was 16 when Houngues was shot, felt coerced by her boyfriend, Mario Page.

Page, 23, was convicted of second-degree murder in the case and sentenced to 65 years in prison in August 2007. At trial, prosecutors said he ordered Houngues’ killing after having been angered when Houngues stole some of his drugs.

Gray, prosecutors said, pulled the trigger, firing the fatal rounds into Houngues’ head.

Monday, Beyer said that in sessions with Gray, she admitted firing those rounds, but said that she felt “choiceless” due to her extreme dependence on Page.

In stressful situations, “Even an intelligent teenager can feel unable to make rational decisions,” Beyer said. “I have observed that she has matured considerably in the two years that she has been incarcerated.”

Prosecutor Rick Allen questioned Beyer and drew her attention to a blown-up photo of Gray posing in her underpants with a handgun and money. Along with an autopsy photo of Houngues, it was one of two photos on display in the courtroom during the sentencing hearing.

“You indicated that that was just girls being girls?” Allen asked about the photo.

Beyer explained that wasn’t exactly what she meant. Girls, she said, often allow themselves to be photographed in seductive clothing. Guns and money are less-typical elements of such photography.

“Kira would say that that picture wasn’t her. It was her posing in a way that she was requested to by her boyfriend,” Beyer said.

Beyer also testified that, based on her assessment of Gray, the woman has a high chance for rehabilitation.

To that, Allen asked, “Isn’t it true that the best indicator of future dangerous behavior is past dangerous behavior?”

“Actually,” Beyer replied, “there’s some indication that that’s particularly not true with regards to murder.”

Also testifying for the defense Monday was forensic psychologist Ronald Roesch, who had similarly evaluated Gray, but focused more on her potential for rehabilitation.

“My opinion is that she is amenable to rehabilitation and she has a high potential for change,” Roesch said.

As evidence for her receptivity to treatment he cited she earned a G.E.D. and her work in classes focusing on anger management.

“She does have that motivation to better herself,” Roesch testified.

Allen asked Roesch about how accurate were tests that purport to predict whether a felon will re-offend.

Roesch said that since the 1980s, “There has been quite a bit of work since then that has improved prediction, but it’s still a very difficult task.”

Smith broke in to ask a question of his own.

“Miss Gray emptied her pistol into Mr. Houngues and I have a hard time understanding that with your assessment that she has virtually no potential for violent behavior,” Smith said.

To empty a gun into a victim requires quite a bit more effort than to just fire once or twice, Smith said, which doesn’t match up with the idea that Gray was scared and coerced into doing Page’s bidding.

Roesch said that in terms of what that says about Gray’s future potential, the place to look is at Gray today.

“I depends a lot on how she thinks about that behavior,” Roesch said.

Did Gray get a thrill or a high she wants to replicate? In Roesch’s opinion the answer is “no.”

“She felt remorse about it,” Roesch said.

Gray is the last of her co-defendants to receive a sentence. Frederick “Sherm” Johnson, 25, agreed to testify against the other three and pleaded no contest to one count of evidence tampering, receiving less than five years in prison. He was a key witness at trial.

The fourth accomplice, Tommie Patterson, 28, was convicted of first-degree murder and was sentenced Jan. 28 to 100 years in prison.

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.