Page1of4

from the desk of:

Rolf Auer writer

43 Lavergne Street
Vanier ON K1L5E9
Canada

13 September 2012

Office of Governor Tom Corbett
Main Capitol Building, Room 225
Harrisburg, PA 17120, USA

Dear Governor,

Terrance Williamsa 46-year-old African American manis to be executed on 3 October 2012 for a murder he
committed when he was 18. I write to ask for clemency in his case on the grounds of compassion.

Williams childhood history is scarred by sexual abuse by others, years of physical and emotional abuse, plus neglect
and abandonment. His mother and stepfather physically abused him, and adults who should have protected him raped and
sexually assaulted him.

Please see the yellow highlights of pp.2-4 of this letter. This 3-page-long excerpt is from a 12-page-long report found at
http://www.internationaljusticeproject.org/pdfs/trauma.pdf, titled The Impact and Implications of Trauma and Abuse.
Page 2 makes clear that there is a causal relationship between childhood trauma to an individual and violence committed
by that individual later in life. Page 3 states that such individuals are often found on death row. Page 4 notes that the
corpus calloseum in such individuals brains is significantly smaller. This is the connecting tissue between the right and
left sides of the brain. The left side of the brain in males has been shown to be responsible for rational thought, while the
right side controls emotions. When a disconnect between the two sides results because of decreased function of the
connector, erratic behaviour (such as violence) can be the consequence.

The US Supreme Court, in 2005 (Roper v. Simmons), removed people who were under 18 at the time of their crime from
the reach of the death penalty because of the poor judgment sometimes associated with youth (due to immaturity, etc.).
It is my contention that such types of impaired judgment can also result from childhood abuse, as stated previously.

Over 100 experts have called for clemency in Williams case. The victims widow has officially forgiven him and stated
that she wishes to see his life spared. Williams is deeply remorseful and has demonstrated an ongoing desire to
to become a better person, and to successfully relate to his daughter and to society.

Please grant clemency to Terrence Williams on the grounds of compassion and of extenuating circumstances.

Yours sincerely,



Rolf Auer

cc: His Excellency David Jacobson, Ambassador for the USA

I Peter 5:14
Greet ye one another with a kiss of charity: Peace be with you all that are in Christ Jesus. Amen.

John 15:12 Jesus:
This is my Commandment, that ye love one another, as I have loved you.
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are rarely provided with the help they need and an absence oI psychological care and help is common. This
scenario, Haney, posits is much the same within adult correctional Iacilities. The impact oI such an
environment is not merely limited to emotional and social disorders; research has indicated that such
experiences also promote the development oI schizophrenic symptoms. (Discussed below)

THE CYCLE OF VIOLENCE

The prevalence oI abuse and trauma within the lives oI capital deIendants indicates a causal relationship
that is supported by the literature. It has long been accepted that 'there is a clear and undisputed nexus
between child abuse and aggression. Although not all abused children grow up to be abusers, there is a
strong correlation that those who are seriously abused become the most violent members oI society.
Widom, Ior example, Iound that abuse or neglect as a child increased the likelihood oI arrest as a juvenile
by 59, as an adult by 28 and engagement in a violent crime by 30.
17
Further, abused and maltreated
individuals committed twice as many oIIences, were arrested more Irequently and were younger than their
non-abused counterparts at the time oI their Iirst arrest. The latter has been shown to predict later patterns
oI criminality, including increased serious, variety and duration oI criminal problems. A 1996 study Iound
children Irom violent homes 24 times more likely to commit sexual assault than their counterparts Irom
non-violent homes.
18


As such, a cycle oI violence` has been identiIied with a wealth oI research indicating that the likelihood oI
becoming an abuser increases iI the individual has been the subject oI abuse. One oI the most consistent
patterns to emerge is the parallel between the abuse suIIered and adult behavior. Those subjected to
physical abuse are more likely than their sexually abused counterparts to resort to violence oI a physical
nature.
19
As such an intergenerational cycle oI violence is perpetuated and symmetry is apparent.

As Haney states, there can be little question about the causal connections
20
between childhood brutality
and the commission oI capital crimes. A variety oI explanations abound Ior this relationship, Irom the
sociological to the neuroscientiIic. What is clear however Irom the research is that no genetic abnormality
is associated with crime.
21


Exposure to violence and trauma, may lead the individual to accept such behaviors as normal. Violence
and rejection Iorm the predominant model oI interpersonal relationships within their lives and such
behavior is reinIorced and legitimatized. Violence may thereIore be a learned response taking the place oI
other Iorms oI communication. Indeed the child 'comes to understand how the world works through the
lens oI his own abuse.
22
Emulation oI these behaviors may also become appealing in that they 'align the
child with the aggressor instead oI the victim.
23
Correspondingly the threat associated with such behavior
diminishes as the individual takes control` oI the situation. In this way the individual perpetuates the
cycle oI violence.` Patterns oI abuse and victimization also appear to dominate the lives oI many abuse

17
Supra. Note 5.
18
Dinzinger, 1996. cited in Adolescent Brain Development, International Justice Project, 2002.
www.internationaljusticeproject.org
19
Supra note 5
20
Supra. Note 4
21
Lewis, Pincus, Bard, Richardson, Feldman, Prichep and Yeager, Neuropsvchiatric, Psvchoeducational
and Familv Characteristics of 14 Juveniles Condemned to Death in the United States
22
James Garbarino et al., Children in Danger. Coping with the Consequences of Communitv Jiolence,
1992
23
Ruttenburg, H., The Limited Promise oI Public Health Methodologies to Prevent Youth Violence, 103
Yale L.J 1885, 1896(1994) (Citing Carl C. Bell, Esther Jenkings, Community Violence and Children on
Chicago`s Southside, Psvchiatrv, Feb. 1993, at 46,49)
4
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survivors.
24
It is hypothesized that torture and humiliation become a way oI liIe and individuals are oIten
drawn back into similar scenarios where alternate roles oI abuser and abused are played out.
25


It has been suggested that the cultural concept oI masculinity promotes the likelihood oI adult violence
within boys who have been abused. Studies demonstrate greater levels oI gender rigidity in abused
individuals who then commit violent crimes.
26
Lisak et al. explain that boys are taught to neutralize
emotion throughout adolescence in conIormity with the social construct oI masculinity. Invariably
however, abuse conIlicts with this process, instead provoking a myriad oI intense emotions including Iear
and helplessness. Such emotions are precisely the type oI emotions that are not accepted as masculine
states, and an intolerance oI their own natural emotions may arise. Suppression oI these emotions
encourages a greater reliance upon anger, a more acceptable masculine trait and increases the propensity
Ior aggression and violence. Later invocations oI threat may result in over arousal due to the intensity oI
vulnerable emotions and consequently result in maniIestations oI anger.

Suppression oI emotions may also give rise to an inability to Ieel/understand others pain hence,
diminishing a crucial inhibition against interpersonal violence. This is supported in the neuro-
developmental and psychiatric research discussed below.

NEURODEVELOPMENTAL IMPLICATIONS

Physical abuse oIten, due to its nature, results in bodily harm to the individual. Such damage can range
Irom bruising to organic brain injury. Lewis et al Iound head injuries caused by childhood and adolescent
abuse to exist in every juvenile oIIender on death row within their study.
27
Each had 'histories and/or
symptoms consistent with brain damage, with two-thirds suIIering injuries resulting in loss oI
consciousness, indentation oI the cranium or hospitalization. Organic brain damage impacts directly upon
the capacity Ior rational and reasoned thought, interpretation and inhibition oI impulses, which in turn may
raise issues oI culpability.

Whilst it has long been accepted that physical abuse may cause damage to the brain, recent research has
indicated that traumatic experiences actually alter the physiological structure oI the brain and
Iundamentally alter brain development.
28
As Lewis asserts 'intense ongoing stress can change the very
structure oI our brain, much less its Iunction
29


Dr Martin Teicher, associate ProIessor oI Psychiatry at Harvard and Director oI the Biopsychiatry Research
Program at McLean Hospital and colleagues, conducted comprehensive studies on the eIIects oI abuse and
the brain.
30
Using EEG and MRI techniques they documented the physiological changes in the brain and

24
Dr Lewis, Guiltv bv Reason of Insanitv, A Psvchiatrist Explores the Minds of Killers, 1998, Random
House, New York
25
Ibid
26
Lisak, D., Hopper, J., & Song, P. (1996) Factors in the Cycle oI Violence: Gender Rigidity and
Emotional Constriction. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 9, 721-743
27
Supra. Note 22
28
Http://www.Iorouryouth.org/juvejustice/reIormissues/devpsych/042100harvardmedteichnertodd.html,Teichner,
Harvard http://134.174.17.116/Iocus/2000/Apr212000/psychiatry.html
29
Dr Lewis, Guiltv bv Reason of Insanitv, A Psvchiatrist Explores the Minds of Killers, 1998, Random
House, New York
30
Teicher, M., Andersen, S., Polcari., Andreson, C., Navalta, C. Developmental Neurobiologv of
Childhood Stress and Trauma. To be published; Teicher et al. Effects of Methvlphenidote on Functional
Magnetic Resonance. Relaxometrv of the Cerebellar Jermis in Children with AD/HD Accepted Ior
publication in the American Journal oI Psychiatry; Teicher et al. EarlvAdverseExperience & the
Neurobiologv of Borderline Personalitv Disorder, Gender Differences and Implications for Treatment. To
5
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correspondingly identiIied Iour diIIerent type oI abnormalities caused by abuse and neglect. They Iound
changes in the limbic system, leIt hemisphere oI the brain, the corpus calloseum (the Iibrous band
connecting the two halves oI the brain) and the cerebellar vermis.

The limbic system is the part oI the brain that controls emotions and the major drives within the brain.
Teicher et al. Iound that abuse and trauma were likely to result in disturbances in the electrical impulses
thus hampering communication between limbic nerve cells.
31
Individuals with histories oI abuse were
almost twice as likely to have EEG disturbances. Such abnormalities are associated with seizures, epileptic
Iits, selI-destructive behavior and greater levels oI aggression.

Further, all oI these abnormalities were documented as occurring within the leIt hemisphere oI the brain.
This intertwines with the second Iinding oI Teicher et al. who Iound deIicient development oI the leIt
hemisphere oI the brain. Greater reliance thereIore is placed upon the right hemisphere oI the brain to
compensate Ior the deIiciencies oI the leIt. One oI the Iunctions oI the right hemisphere is the expression
oI negative eIIect, hence researchers hypothesize that such deIiciencies contribute to the development oI
depression and increase memory problems.

Teicher et al. also Iound the corpus calloseum to be signiIicantly smaller in abused individuals. The exact
reduction was Iound to be dependent upon both gender and the nature oI abuse experienced. Boys who
suIIered Irom neglect were Iound to incur a 24 to 42 reduction, whilst incurring little discernable
diIIerence iI the abuse was oI a sexual nature. A converse relationship could be seen within girls: those
experiencing sexual abuse were likely to incur an 18 to 30 reduction in size, whilst those suIIering Irom
neglect discerned no obvious reduction.
32
The abused individuals also had abnormal patterns oI shiIting
activities Irom one side oI the brain to the other. It is hypothesized that impaired development oI the
corpus calloseum directly impacts the integration oI the hemispheres resulting in dramatic and otherwise
inexplicable mood and personality shiIts.

Increased activity within the cerebellar vermis was also noted in survivors oI abuse. The cerebellar vermis
regulates the limbic system and emotions and reactions. Teicher et al Iurther Iound that adults who had
experienced physical or sexual abuse were Iar more likely to experience Ieelings oI jamais vu or deja vu,
visual disturbances and olIactory hallucinations. These symptoms are Iound in temporal lobe epilepsy and
associated with abnormal limbic systems

The neurological connections (synapses) within the brain are also eIIected by traumatic experiences.
33
It is
widely accepted that 'the brain develops and modiIies itselI in response to experience. Neurons and
neuronal connections change in an activity dependent Iashion. Chronic stress and Iear associated with
trauma may lead the individual to be in a persistent state oI Iear and hypervigilent at all times.

Abuse and violence activate a set oI threat responses within the child`s brain. The brain invokes all
necessary survival systems. In many cases such systems are required to be constantly active due to the
chronic nature oI such abuse. These systems and connections become overdeveloped in a use dependent
manner to the neglect oI other areas oI the brain. Over time these responses may literally wear out` other

be published in: Womens Health & Psvchiatrv, Pearson,K.H., Sonswalla, S., B. Rosenbaum, J.F. (Eds.)
Lippincott, Williams and Willins 2002
31
Teicher, M MD McLean Researchers Document Brain Damage Linked to Child Abuse and Neglect at:
Http://www.mcleanhospital.org/publicaIIairs/2001214childabuse.htm
32
It should be noted that the study into the impact oI trauma on the corpus calloseum did not include
individuals who were subject to physical abuse and hence the impact oI abuse oI this nature remains to be
investigated.
33
Supra. Note 31; Perry, BD Incubated in Terror: Neurodevelopmental Factors in the Cycle oI Violence`
In: children Youth and Violence: The search Ior solutions (J OsoIsky, Ed.), GuildIord Press, New York, pp
124-148, 1997
6