Side-effects of the drug Valium may have caused accused shoe-bomber Mr Richard Reid to forget his legal right to remain silent after his arrest in December, a doctor has testified, raising doubts about the validity of his alleged confession.
The testimony by anesthesiologist Mr Mark Dershwitz could be key as defence lawyer Mr Owen Walker tries to keep incriminating statements Mr Reid allegedly made to FBI agents after his arrest on December 22nd from being used as evidence at his trial, due to start in November.
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Mr Richard Reid
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Mr Reid, a British citizen, faces charges of attempted murder, attempted homicide and attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction for allegedly trying to blow up American Airlines Flight 63 from Paris to Miami with bombs in his shoes. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted on the charges.
After Mr Reid was overpowered by flight attendants and passengers, doctors on board the flight gave him three drug injections in a bid to sedate him as the plane headed toward an emergency landing in Boston under jet fighter escort.
One of the drugs administered to Mr Reid during the flight was diazepam, more commonly known as Valium.
In yesterday’s hearing before US District Court Judge William Young, Mr Dershwitz testified Valium could prevent people from remembering events and situations that occur while they are under the drug's influence.
As Mr Reid sat quietly in the courtroom, Mr Dershwitz said it was entirely possible that Mr Reid may have quickly forgotten that FBI agents had informed him of his right to not answer their questions and to have an attorney with him during the interrogation - the so-called Miranda rights that are extended to most crime suspects arrested in the United States.
"I think that based upon the medication given, there's a very real chance that while he was read his Miranda rights, within minutes to an hour later he might have forgotten that," said Mr Dershwitz, who practices medicine at the University of Massachusetts at Worcester.
Drawing on a study he conducted of the memory-altering side-effects of a related drug and on his observations of "thousands of patients over the years," Mr Dershwitz said the Valium could have impaired Mr Reid's memory even eight hours after it was administered by injection into his stomach muscles.
That could be important because the injection occurred at 9.30 a.m., but the interview in which Mr Reid allegedly confessed to trying to blow up the plane took place at around 5 p.m.
Mr Dershwitz said he thought the Valium was still influencing Mr Reid's memory hours after the injection because the Briton was observed to have slurred speech right before the interview.
According to Mr Dershwitz, slurred speech is a clear sign that Valium is having a "very significant" effect on a patient.
US prosecutors have rejected arguments that investigators somehow violated Mr Reid's Miranda rights, saying the suspect had voluntarily waived those rights on two different occasions before the 5 p.m. interview.
"Not only was Reid willing to talk to agents, by all appearances he wanted to tell his story," prosecutors said in a court filing submitted last week.
"Reid was very forthcoming in his post-arrest interviews about his reasons for and his purpose in attempting to detonate an explosive device aboard Flight 63," they added.
The hearing before Judge Young on Mr Reid's effort to throw out his alleged confession was due to continue next Tuesday.