and fast driving) so people would accept
him.
(Unfortunately, as of this writing, Sutton Associates
is not in possession of Goodman's report, as well as
other important documents pertaining to Michael
Skakel.)
If Dr. Quinlan talks about a protocol keeping her
from getting adequately close to Michael, then,
conversely this protocol--presumably enacted and
sustained by his father--must keep Michael from
getting adequately close to Dr. Quinlan and, indeed,
any other individual with whom he comes in contact.
Hence, it is likely be resents his father a great
deal. Hence, his capacity for normal relations with
other individuals is diminished. Hence, he resents
feeling powerless and not being able to control his
own life. Hence, when Michael wants to act out in
protest of his figurative lack of control in life, he
does so by becoming, quite literally, out of
control.
We know from subsequent incidents that Michael,
especially while under the influence of drugs and
alcohol, will go to reckless and self-destructive
lengths. Case in point number one is Michael's arrest
in Windham, New York, on March 5, 1978. From a Thomas
Sheridan memo on the incident: Through the
influence of heavy drinking or smoking pot or a
combination of both, Michael panicked and became
involved in a drunken driving and reckless driving
incident... On that occasion, he was driving--without
a license--the Skakel family jeep station wagon and
he was accompanied by a young woman named Debbie
Diehl, who is approximately 21 years of age. She and
her family have been friends of the Skakel's
[Skakels] at Windham for several
years and she has the reputation of being a little
bit of a swinger. In any event, after a wild chase by
the town police, Michael ended up crashing the car
into a telephone pole. The car is practically a total
wreck. Michael and his passenger escaped
unscathed.
Dr. Quinlan says Michael's impulse control is
"marginally adequate." Given the evidence, one might
say it is even less so. Sheridan continues:
The facts relating to the pleading and
disposition of those charges in Windham are not
pertinent to this memo. Suffice it to say that an
adjournment in contemplation of dismissal has been
obtained upon the condition that Michael attend the
Elan school at Poland Springs in Maine for at least
six months. What should be noted, however, is the
fact that in my interviewing of Michael on that
occasion, he was obviously a disturbed person and
hooked on either booze or pot. He showed little or no
remorse for having nearly killed the companion in his
car and when confronted with the potential problem of
a subsequent conviction for drunken driving, his only
comment was, "Next time I won't get caught."
So once again after Michael acts out
by wreaking havoc, the influence of his father
manages the situation by imposing order (and damage
control) from above. Just about any other young
person racing away from police, while drunk, and
crashing into public property, would have received
far worse than an adjournment in contemplation of
dismissal. Michael, of course, must then bend to the
consequences of how someone else is handling his
actions--once again
5
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