Defense in Ore. murder trial blames meth use

ALBANY, Ore. (AP) — Lawyers for a Linn County man accused of murder are arguing that he stabbed his mother in the neck because years of methamphetamine use led to a psychotic break.

Defense lawyers say there’s no dispute about what happened on Oct. 23, 2009, only a question of the mental health of 33-year-old Josh Lee Shaddon.

Shaddon is accused of killing 48-year-old Gerlene Thorne in their Brownsville home, south of Albany.

The Albany Democrat-Herald (http://bit.ly/usjCNK ) reports the prosecution rested Monday after arguing that Shaddon wasn’t delusional.

Defense lawyers called mental health workers and a drug and alcohol counselor to buttress their argument that he used meth from age 16 until a few months before the killing, and he couldn’t always know what was real and what wasn’t.

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Information from: Albany Democrat-Herald, http://www.dhonline.com