A federal judge ordered former Theranos Inc Chief Executive Elizabeth Holmes to be examined by U.S. government experts, after lawyers defending her against criminal fraud charges said they may offer evidence she suffered from a mental disease or defect.
11 September 2020
Jonathan Stempel
In a decision late Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Edward Davila in San Jose, California overruled defense objections to letting a psychologist and psychiatrist chosen by the government examine the 36-year-old Holmes for 14 hours over two days, and having the examinations recorded on video.
Davila authorized the examinations after Holmes’ lawyers said they intended to introduce expert evidence from a clinical psychologist “relating to a mental disease or defect or any other mental condition of the defendant bearing on the issue of guilt.”
The defense expert, Mindy Mechanic, is a California State University at Fullerton professor specializing in psychosocial consequences of violence, trauma and victimization, including violence against women, and often testifies in cases involving interpersonal violence, according to her university biography.
Lawyers for Holmes did not immediately respond on Thursday to requests for comment. The professor did not immediately respond to a similar request.
Wednesday’s decision was partially redacted. Holmes’ mental state had been previously discussed in sealed court documents and a closed July 8 hearing.
Holmes and former Theranos President Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani have pleaded not guilty to charges they defrauded investors, doctors and patients by falsely claiming Theranos could revolutionize medical lab testing with technology that could enable a wide array of tests with a few drops of blood.
Before its unraveling, Theranos had been valued at $9 billion and made Holmes, a Stanford University dropout who founded the company in 2003 at age 19, a Silicon Valley star.
REUTERS
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/disgraced-theranos-ceo-to-blame-mental-illness-in-her-fraud-trial-defence/ar-BB18V45b
Elizabeth Holmes’ Theranos Documentary Live Stream: How To Watch ‘The Inventor’ Online
Sometimes truth really is stranger than fiction.
Later tonight, the unbelievable true story of the rise and fall of the one-time multibillion-dollar healthcare company Theranos will be explored in Alex Gibney’s enthralling documentary The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley. Theranos’ story is intrinsically linked to its enigmatic founder, Elizabeth Holmes, whose ambition to change the blood testing game produced one of the most notorious frauds in Silicon Valley history. It’s an unbelievable true story that needs to be seen to be believed.
Will the Theranos documentary be on Netflix? How can you watch HBO’s Elizabeth Holmes documentary online? Here’s everything you need to know.
WHAT TIME IS THE INVENTOR ON HBO TONIGHT? WHAT TIME DOES THE ELIZABETH HOLMES HBO DOCUMENTARY START?
The Inventor premieres tonight (March 18) at 9:00 p.m. ET on HBO. The doc will also air March 20th at 11:35 p.m. on HBO and March 22nd at 5:30 p.m. on HBO.
WILL THE THERANOS DOCUMENTARY BE ON NETFLIX? WILL THE ELIZABETH HOLMES DOCUMENTARY BE ON NETFLIX?
Nope. Unfortunately The Inventor will not be available to stream on Netflix.
WHAT TIME WILL THE INVENTOR BE ON HBO GO?
The Elizabeth Holmes documentary will be available on HBO GO and HBO Now beginning tonight (March 18) at 9:00 p.m. ET.
