He said the timing of Prater’s call was suspicious because, at the time, the state’s expert witness, forensic psychologist Dr. Shawn Roberson, had not yet prepared a report about his opinions in the case.
Curtis said it may be necessary to call Prater as a witness to challenge Roberson’s expert testimony, which he said was another reason to disqualify him from prosecuting ...
Defense lawyers argued Prater made the telephone call to Peery to keep Beatty from testifying in order to protect his own interests — a conflict which they said justified disqualification from prosecuting the case.
During Monday’s oral arguments, Curtis told Elliott that he had been contacted by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation about his allegation that Prater tried to tamper with a witness.
Peery testified that, in hindsight, she believed Prater thought she might “disallow” Beatty from testifying. She said after discussing the matter with Beatty, she called Prater back to let him know she was good with Beatty’s testimony. “From the sound on the phone, he sounded very angry,” she said.
Peery said she had been unaware Beatty was a witness in the Jones case. She said she then spoke with Beatty about the expected testimony for Jones’ defense and found it appropriate for the YWCA mission of protecting victims of domestic violence.
Elliott agreed and ruled April 5 that Beatty could not testify. However, Beatty has been called as a witness for the prosecution in other cases to testify about the cycle of violence associated with abusive relationships leading to battered woman syndrome.