As he tries to get off death row, convicted murderer Delmer Smith’s abusive childhood detailed in court

For more than two hours, a neuropsychologist detailed convicted murderer Delmer Smith’s abusive childhood and low intellectual level as his attorneys attempt to get him off Florida’s death row.

Smith, 45, was found guilty on Aug. 9, 2012 of the first-degree murder of Kathleen Briles.

Smith bludgeoned Briles with her own cast iron antique sewing machine inside her Terra Ceia home. Her husband, Dr. James Briles, found her bound and gagged in their living room.

It took the same jury that found Smith guilty of murder, in less than two hours, only 30 minutes to recommend he be put to death. On May 28, 2013, Circuit Judge Peter Dubensky sentenced Smith to death.

Florida’s law governing the imposition of the death penalty has since change after the Jan. 12, 2016, U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Hurst vs. Florida. The high court ruled it was unconstitutional that in Florida a judge, not a jury, had the ultimate say in whether to sentence someone to death.

Smith appeared in a Bradenton courtroom Monday morning, as his new defense team tries to win him a new punishment phase of the trial. Circuit Judge Diana Moreland granted the hearing after Smith made seven claims for post-conviction relief, including that he had ineffective counsel during his trial.

Members of Briles’ family, including her husband, were in the courtroom.

Dr. Hyman Eisenstein, who also testified during the penalty phase of Smith’s trial, summarized his initial findings about Smith, who he said had suffered academic failure, physical and mental abuse by both his parents and sexual abuse by his father.

Eisenstein said Smith had failed the second and third grades, and he had failed the fourth grade twice. His IQ was later tested at 75, and at age 14 he was placed in special education.

“The fact that someone would have to repeat so many grades, especially at such a young age, was certainly a serious indication of their compromised ability,” Eisenstein said.

At trial, he testified Smith murdered Briles under extreme emotional and mental duress, and his ability to understand the criminality of his actions was impaired.

Smith’s new defense attorney, Eric Pinkard, asked Eisenstein why he had never interviewed any of Smith’s four siblings, and he said he had never been provided the opportunity by Smith’s prior defense team, Daniel Hernandez and Bjorn Brunvand. On Monday morning, he detailed his findings and conclusions after meeting with two of Smith’s siblings and visiting the family’s home in Detroit.

“The trauma is severe ... the psychological effects are profound,” Eisenstein said.

According to Smith’s older half-sister and younger sister, his father whipped Smith with sticks, cords and other items at the age of 5, Eisenstein said. His mother also would abuse him.

“It occurred until he was about 12 or 13 when he was able to stand up and say that’s it,” Eisenstein said.

His sisters said they were all abused, but that Smith received the worst of it. He would sleepwalk at night and often punch the refrigerator.

“There was a code of secrecy ... that’s why the authorities were never called,” Eisenstein said.

Assistant State Attorney Suzanne O’Donnell questioned Eisenstein about his conversations with family prior to the trial, and he said he admitted to having spoken to Smith’s other sister on the phone. He didn’t attempt to speak to any other sibling on the phone because he wasn’t provided their information, he said.

“Typically in an evaluation, I rely on other people to give me the sources,” Eisenstein said.

O’Donnell asked if he was aware Smith had been refusing to have a neuro-psychological exam. He answered no.

One of Smith’s defense attorneys, Bjorn Brunvand, testified Monday afternoon about Smith’s unwillingness to allow his family to be contacted. Brunvand, had been the primary attorney during the penalty phase of Smith’s trial while Daniel Hernandez had handled the guilty phase.

“His interest was in the guilty innocent phase. He did not want us to reach out to family,” Brunvand said.

Eventually he did sign some releases to allow access for records for Dr. Eisenstein to review, however, he said. Brunvand also decided to go against his client’s wishes and reach out to Smith’s family through his mitigation specialist, but Smith became very upset when Brunvand told him in a later meeting that they had spoken with his one sister. After that, Smith’s two nieces who did testify were the only family members they were able to reach.

Smith’s oldest sibling, his half-sister, Janet Lee Shelton, said she would have been willing to testify but only heard from her brother’s defense early on, she said as she testified from Michigan via phone. She and all her siblings had suffered physical and mental abuse, she said.

Her brother got whooped from a young age, and as he grew older and refused the whooping, he would be tied to a pole so he could be whooped and beat. Mental abuse included telling him, “You’re never going to amount to anything,” she said. Sometimes her mother and stepfather would tell Smith they regretted having him, Smith said.

Pinkard questioned why authorities were never called.

“We were always told what goes on in the home, stays in the home. And if we told anybody, we were going to get a whooping,” Shelton said.

O’Donnell questioned her about the last time she had spoken to her brother, and Shelton said she had not spoken to him since he got locked up. Pinkard followed up by asking if she had spoken to Smith at any point in which he asked her not to testify.

Shelton said no and added, “I think not talking about it did our family more damage.”

This story was originally published October 2, 2017 at 1:48 PM with the headline "As he tries to get off death row, convicted murderer Delmer Smith’s abusive childhood detailed in court."