Were Witnesses Hypnotized? – Accused Law Officer Wants To Know

The use of hypnosis in solving a crime or re-creating a crime scenario would seem to be the stuff of Hollywood movies and Lifetime Special Events on television. If you dig a little deeper the use of hypnosis or even chemical induced means to gather evidence might be a little more common that you or I might believe.

The case in question concerns a shooting an Avoyelles Parish early this year. In this case a former Marksville Deputy City Marshall is accused of murder in connection with the death of a six year old boy. The boy was a passenger in a vehicle in which the initial suspect was traveling.

An attorney for the accused, Norris Greenhouse Junior, has petitioned the court hearing the case to disclose whether or not hypnosis, polygraph tests or the drug sodium pentothal were used in connection with the case.

Legal Analyst Tim Meche told the Louisiana Radio Network that these are actually common practices.

There are scores of literature that suggest it creates deceptiveness and the defendant is entitled to know whether or not it happened.

Meche did suggest in his comments that hypnosis was seldom used by larger law enforcement agencies but he noted that some smaller agencies might use that process to gain information. He indicated that hypnosis does bring about larger concerns in the investigation process.

There are certain hypnotists who lack appropriate credibility and they sell themselves to some of the more amateurish law enforcement departments.

To be clear Meche stated that information gained using such methods is very seldom if ever allowed in court. However the defendant certainly has a right to know if the methods were used.

Even though it’s not admissible in court, I think he’s entitled to know whether or not witnesses were subjected to these tests.

Attorney George Higgins, who represents Mr. Greenhouse, filed the discovery motion with the court that is hearing the case earlier this week.