. . It is amazing the degree of psychopathy contained in a boy of this young age." The doctor attributed Harding's behavioral issues to his brain damage, which his mother also claimed was exacerbated by Harding falling from a crib and being struck by a swing set during his childhood. In his preteen and teenage years, Harding underwent three EEGs, the last one being in 1968. The tests confirmed that Harding suffered from organic brain damage and epileptic seizures. Pre-Arizona criminal history Harding's first arrest occurred when he was 11 years old, when he was arrested for joyriding. He was sent to the Arkansas Boys' Industrial School, and he spent four years cycling between that facility, his home, and the Arkansas State Hospital before his first long-term imprisonment. When he was 15, Harding was convicted of four counts of burglary and three counts of grand larceny. These convictions resulted in Harding being placed in an adult maximum security prison, the Tucker Unit, where, in 1970, he was also convicted for attempting to escape from custody. During Harding's stay on death row, his attorneys would attribute further behavioral and developmental issues to Harding's time in prison as a teenager. While in the prison, Harding attempted suicide again. Harding was released from custody for these charges in 1973. Soon after his release, Harding was convicted in federal court for "conspiracy to commit offense or defraud United States" and was imprisoned again for five years. Harding was paroled from prison a second time in March 1979. Two months later, he was arrested in Pulaski County, Arkansas, and charged with a stabbing murder. Harding was in jail in Pulaski County when he escaped on September 17, 1979. He spent the rest of 1979 and part of 1980 carrying out a multi-state crime spree until his apprehension. Harding's crime spree began with the attempted robbery of a prostitute in Chicago, Illinois, on September 27; on December 10, he robbed and murdered 27-year-old Stanton Winston Blanton in Blanton's apartment in Dallas, Texas, although he was never charged with this murder. On December 18, he robbed a man named Ronald Svetgoff and stole his car and identification cards, the latter of which he would use to feign his identity when he relocated to Arizona. Meanwhile, Harding took multiple individuals and families hostage throughout Texas, Utah, and California throughout the rest of December 1979. On January 3, 1980,