Word: grigson
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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There were two problems, Burger concluded in his opinion. First, no one warned the defendant that whatever he told Grigson during their 90-minute talk could be used to sentence him to death. Second, he was not allowed to consult his lawyer beforehand. Said Burger: "Just as the Fifth Amendment prevents a criminal defendant from being made 'the deluded instrument of his own conviction,' it protects him as well from being made the 'deluded instrument' of his own execution." Smith was not the only suspect to be deprived of these warnings; some 60 other condemned prisoners...
...kindly face and lots of country-boy charm, but when Psychiatrist James Grigson, 48, shows up in a Texas courtroom, it is usually the kiss of death. The prosecution brings Grigson in for a sentencing hearing and asks him about the guilty man's inclination to commit violent crimes in the future. In each of more than 70 such proceedings since 1967, Grigson has testified that the defendant was a "sociopath" who was dangerous to society, and every time, with a single exception, the jury has unanimously voted for the ultimate penalty: in Texas, death by injection. Says Peter...
...former professor at Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, Grigson became a familiar courthouse figure while diagnosing people for commitment proceedings. As he tells it, one court veteran suddenly thought, " 'Hey, here's a sane psychiatrist.' Instead of playing golf on Wednesday, I started doing legal work." Court cases now take up most of his professional time and, at $100 an hour, bring him some $60,000 a year. Says University of Texas Law Professor George Dix: "He is skillful and persuasive, and he doesn't talk down to the jury." Most important, says Dix, Grigson...
...Indeed, Grigson's predictions are what most trouble his critics. In the Ernest Smith case decided last week by the Supreme Court, the American Psychiatric Association filed a brief that questioned the use of testimony like Grigson's. Said the brief: "It gives the appearance of being based on expert medical judgment, when in fact no such expertise exists...
...Grigson pooh-poohs such faintheartedness. He believes that during an hour of examining a defendant's past and searching for remorse, he can determine the likelihood of future violence. "Some prisoners really get their rocks off telling you about these horrible crimes," he says. In a few cases, Grigson has offered an opinion without conducting an interview, relying only on the suspect's record. "With enough evidence and arrests," he maintains, "you can show where a person is coming from." About a third of the time, the pretrial interview convinces Grigson there is hope for the defendant...