State Paid for Witness's Care, Hussain's Chief Lawyer Says

The head defense attorney for Dr. Anil Hussain yesterday called the prosecution's chief witness a "witness for hire," charging that the Miiddlessen Diistrict Attorney's office has spent $16,000 on mental health and alcoholic treatment for alleged rape victim Judith McDonald since she decided to testify against Hussain.

Hussain, a former doctor at Harvard-affliated Brigham and Women's hospital, was convicted last June of raping a nurse there in 1980 but set tree pending an appeal of the case. He is now being charged with raping McDonald and attempting to rape 1 indsey Kilgore McDonald testified on Friday that while she was a patient in Waltham Hospital in 1978. Hussain had entered her room, strapped her to the bed, and raped her.

But Thomas C. Troy, head of the threeman defense team, said yesterday that There's some justification for her to say whatever they want her to say--she's getting paid for it."

Troy said the District Attorney's Victim-Witness Assistance Program had paid $16 000 for McDonald treatment after McDonald told a policeman last August that Hussain had raped her. Previously, her husband's insurance company had paid for McDonald's treatment. Troy added.

Although Iroy said he may call on the head of the program Amy Singer, to testify today, Singer yesterday denied that her program had spent $16,000 on McDonal's treatment. Singer said she only explained court procedure for the witness and dd some supportive counseling.

Assistant District Attorney William H. Kettlewell '73, who is handling the prosecution, was unavailable for comment.

On Thursday and Friday the attorneys negotiated in the judge's chambers over which of McDonald's psychiatric records would be allowed in court. Troy said he will try to use the evidence to show that McDonald has a history of memory loss, suicidal tendencies, and ballocinations.

But Kettlewell called "remote and irrelevant" the suggestion that the medical records will show that McDonald is unable to remember the time period when the rape is alleged to have taken place.

Homestretch

Kettlewell has now called up his chief witnesses in the trial, which is expected to last at least another week. Troy said yesterday that Hussain will testify in his own behalf, but declined to describe how the defense will proceed or to predict the trial's outcome.

He said though that "things have gone as well as they can go," and added that whereas the odds against Hussain at the beginning of the tral were 25 to one, they are now about even.