Medical literature, Shakespeare mix in Subic rape

Medical literature and Shakespearean drama were part of the courtroom proceedings at the Subic rape case hearings yesterday as the lawyers of the four United States Marines accused of raping a 22-year-old Filipina attempted to impeach an expert witness for the prosecution.

Medical books and literature were used by the defense in its effort to impeach the testimony of toxicologist Dr. Kenneth Hartigan-Go that "Nicole" was highly intoxicated on the night of the alleged sexual assault.

Francisco Rodrigo, lawyer for Staff Sergeant Chad Bryan Carpentier, quoted Elizabethan poet and playwright William Shakespeare in his cross-examination of Go.

Rodrigo asked Go to agree or disagree with medical material downloaded from the Internet and Shakespeare’s play "Macbeth" regarding how one of the play’s characters described intoxication with alcohol.

His research material downloaded from the Internet, a copy of which he gave to The STAR, details how alcohol affects the hypothalamus, an area of the brain "that controls and influences many of the body’s autonomic functions through actions in the medulla oblongata and coordinates many chemical and nerve impulse actions in the pituitary gland."

According to the medical research material, "alcohol depresses the nerve centers in the hypothalamus that control sexual arousal and performance. As blood alcohol concentration (BAC) increases, sexual behavior increases, but sexual performance declines."

Rodrigo, after repeatedly asking Go if he agreed with the medical research, quoted the research documents further, citing its reference to Act 2, Scene 3 of "Macbeth."

In this scene, the character Macduff asks "What three things does drink especially promote?" "Macbeth" character Porter replies: "Marry sir, nose-painting, sleep, and urine. Lechery, sir it provokes, and unprovokes; it provokes the desire, but it takes away the performance."   

Go, despite being confronted by what may be tagged as medical facts, answered each and every question with explanations why the defense’s arguments may and may not be correct.

While alcohol may remove a person’s inhibitions or increases desire for sex, Go said, this still means that the intoxicated person is not capable of giving consent for sexual intercourse.