Stephanie WarsmithAkron Beacon Journal
Sydney Powell’s family supported her after she was arrested for killing her mother.
They supported her through her trial in which she was convicted of murder.
And they still support her now as she’s serving a life sentence and appealing her conviction.
“The family still loves and supports her,” said Jeff Laybourne, who represents Sydney's maternal grandmother and Steve Powell, Sydney’s father and Brenda’s husband. “It’s very difficult without her in their lives. They are optimistic about the appeal.”
Powell, who is now 24, was convicted of murder and other offenses in the March 2020 slaying of her mother.
Summit County Common Pleas Judge Kelly McLaughlin sentenced her in September to life in prison with possible parole after 15 years.
Powell filed an appeal with the 9th District Court of Appeals.
In the past few months, attorneys on both sides have filed several briefs that outline their arguments about whether Powell should get a new trial. Oral arguments before the 9th districtare scheduled for Aug. 20.
Canton lawyer Dan Eisenbrei, Powell’s appellate attorney, argued in briefs that the evidence presented in Powell’s trial proved she was insane when she hit her mother with a cast iron skillet and stabbed her more than 30 times.
“The manifest weight of the evidence demonstrated that Sydney’s severe mental disease, for which she was medically diagnosed and treated, prevented her from knowing the wrongfulness of her acts during the very moment of the attack,” Eisenbrei said in a recent brief. “The jury lost its way when it found otherwise, and justice requires this court to overturn the verdict.”
Prosecutors, who generally don’t discuss pending cases, declined comment for this story. In briefs, however, they said Powell’s conviction should stand. They noted steps Powell took after the murder, including breaking a window and claiming someone had broken in and attacked her mother.
“Powell has avoided directly acknowledging that she murdered her mother and tampered with evidence,” Assistant Summit County Prosecutor Rick Raley Jr. said in a brief. “The persistent attempt to conceal her acts indicates her knowledge of the wrongfulness, at the time of the alleged offenses and currently.”
Eisenbrei said Powell’s appeal could have implications beyond just this case, especially because not-guilty-by-reason-of-insanity (NGRI)cases are often resolved before trial.
“The issues raised in an NGRI case are so unique and so few are tried that I do think there’s a lot of important issues raised in appeal that go to the very heart of NGRI defenses,” he said.
Powell’s trial was broadcast on Court TV and gained wide interest, with stories appearing in numerous publications and websites, including People magazine, E! Online, the New York Post, and the Daily Mail. The case has also sparked a robust discussion on Reddit.
Sydney Powell is convicted in a jury trial on all charges
Steve Powell, Sydney’s father, and Betsy Brown, Sydney’s maternal grandmother, urged prosecutors not to take her case to trial and to reach a resolution.
Prosecutors moved forward with a trial, saying they would let jurors decide.
During Powell's trial, which spanned three weeks, defense expert James Reardon said Powellsuffered a psychotic break when she killed her mother. He was one of three defense experts who evaluated Powell and diagnosed her with schizophrenia. They found that, because of this mental disorder, she didn't understand the wrongfulness of her actions when she killed her mother.
However, Sylvia O'Bradovich, a psychologist hired by prosecutors, disagreed with the three defense experts. She said Powell didn't meet the legal definition of insanity at the time of the crime.
O'Bradovich, who is with Summit Psychological Associates, said Powell does have mental health issues, including borderline personality traits, malingering and an unspecified anxiety disorder.
Don Malarcik, Sydney’s trial attorney, asked jurors to weigh the evaluations of three experts with a combined 50 years of experience versus a psychologist who was testifying for the first time in a trial weighing insanity as a reason for the crime. He said the prosecution wanted jurors to believe that Powell fooled multiple medical experts and others.
Assistant Prosecutor Brian Stano, however, said Powell killed her mom because Brenda had just found out Powell had been kicked out of Mount Union University. Powell, he argued, didn't want her secret to be revealed.
He said Brenda was on the phone with Mount Union officials when her daughter attacked her.
"Sydney stopped attacking with the pan, presumably went to the kitchen with a knife," Stano said. "She had to switch weapons and keep attacking her.
"Just in the neck multiple times? That is purposeful. That is trying to end someone," Stano said.
Jurors had three choices: guilty, not guilty to by reason of insanity or not guilty. They found Powell guilty of two counts of murder – one that means purposely causing a death and the other that involves causing a death as the result of a felonious assault – as well as felonious assault and tampering with evidence.
Eisenbrei argued in briefs that four errors were made in Powell’s trial that warrant her getting a new trial.
Sydney Powell's attorney says defense should have been able to rebut prosecution expert
Malarcik requested during Powell’s trial that he be permitted to call experts to rebut the testimony of O’Bradovich.
McLaughlin denied this request.
Eisenbrei said O’Bradovich testified to new opinions that weren’t in her report, such as saying it is uncommon for schizophrenia to result in aggressive behavior and that memory loss isn’t a symptom of schizophrenia. (Powell says she has no recollection of her mother’s slaying.)
Eisenbrei said this gave prosecutors the last word during the trial about Powell’s insanity defense.
Raley, though, said O’Bradovich’s testimony didn’t include anything new that wasn’t already covered by defense experts.
Evidence proved Sydney Powell was insane, defense says
Eisenbrei said the evidence proved that Powell was insane when she killed her mother.
Though O’Bradovich found that Powell may have been faking her mental issues, Esenbrei said Powell’s treating psychiatrist and three psychologists who evaluated herdisagreed.
In terms of her bizarre behavior after Brenda’s murder, Eisenbrei said a defense expert found that Powell was “in a complete psychotic episode still and she had no idea what she was doing.”
Eisenbrei said Powell didn’t try to wash the blood from her hands or face, change her bloody clothes or hide the knife or the pan; she also didn’t flee the scene.
But Raley said O’Bradovich found that Powell’s behavior after the slayingcould be attributed to shock and a trauma response.
“She has engaged in the intentional production of false or grossly exaggerated psychological symptoms, and she is motivated by the external incentive of avoiding prosecution,” he said.
Defense claims prosecutors made improper statements
Eisenbrei said prosecutors made statements in the trial that were improper.
He said prosecutorsmentioned Powell’s desire to only speak with her lawyer after the murder, insinuating that she wanted to meet with him to craft an insanity defense.
“This NGRI is part of her legal strategy,” a prosecutor said during his closing argument.
Eisenbrei said this was one of the last things jurors heard before they began deliberating.
Raley said the defense didn’t object to these statements when they were made. He said Powell has failed to show how these statements prejudiced her.
Defense: Graphic photos and testimony shouldn’t have been permitted
Defense attorneys asked that photos and testimony about Brenda’s slaying not be permitted during the trial, but McLaughlin allowed them.
A pathologist showed a PowerPoint presentation that included nine graphic photos and a state forensic expert testified about his report that included images of blood, blood splatter and blood pooling.
Eisenbrei said there was no question about how Brenda died or who did it.
“The testimony and images were, therefore, not relevant and inadmissible,” he said, adding that they were unfairly prejudicial.
However, Raley said the Ohio Supreme Court has ruled that prosecutors may offer evidence of the cause of death even if the cause isn’t contested. He said Powell failed to show how these images and testimony were prejudicial.
Sydney Powell is trying to make the most of her time, attorney says
While she awaits the outcome of her appeal, Powell is trying to make the most of her time at the Ohio State Reformatory for Women in Marysville, Laybourne said.
Powell, who excelled at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, is tutoring women who are trying to get their GEDs and is on a waiting list to take college courses. She has taken some classes offered at the prison, including one on stress management.
“It’s a new reality for her – and a difficult one,” Laybourne said. “She’s trying to occupy her mind and time.”
Powell wasn’t admitted to a small mental health unit at the prison but is receiving medication for her mental issues, Laybourne said.
Powell is buoyed by the continued support of her family, Laybourne said.Her family visits her in prison as often as possible and exchanges frequent emails with her.
“This is an unthinkable tragedy,” Laybourne said. “Steve lost his wife and his daughter. Her brother lost his mother and his sister. I can’t even imagine. They are getting through it as a family.”
The 9th district normally takes several months to release its decision. If Powell doesn’t prevail,the case could be appealed to the Ohio Supreme Court.
“We would have to really evaluate the case after the court rules and explore further appellate options,” Eisenbrei said.
If Powell exhausts her appeals, she is scheduled to have her first parole hearing in July 2038. She will be 38.
Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com, 330-996-3705 and on X (formerly Twitter): @swarsmithabj.
