Pulinario v. Goord

MEMORANDUM, JUDGMENT & ORDER

WEINSTEIN, Senior District Judge.

I. Introduction

This case involves a homicide by a 21 year old woman with an I.Q. of 70 who shot her alleged rapist. With no prior criminal record she was sentenced to twenty-five years to life. It is appropriate, given this record, to grant the writ.

The trial court effectively precluded petitioner from making a well-founded defense of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Rape Trauma Syndrome (RTS). It did so after allowing the defense to rely on an earlier ruling that the defense would be permitted. The change in ruling, made…