Insanity On Death Row

Mentally Ill Prisoner Who Murdered Woman In 1985 In Tennessee Could Be Executed

(CBS)  "I thought I had to kill to survive," Thompson told Logan.

Thompson told 60 Minutes he heard voices in his head that night.

"You thought people were after you," Logan remarked.

"Yes," he replied.

And then in chilling detail, he described exactly how he killed Brenda Lane.

"She got into the front seat driver's seat. And I had the knife on her. And I sat in the back seat. And…," Thompson said.

"You jumped in the car and pulled a knife on her?" Logan asked.

"Yeah. Uh-huh," Thompson acknowledged. "Knife was already out. It was a butcher knife."

"She must have been scared," Logan remarked.

"Yeah, she was crying," Thompson said.

"She was terrified for her life," Logan said.

"I know. I know," Thompson replied.

Asked what he felt, Thompson said, "She knows she’s going to die."

Why did he kill her?

"There was no reasoning at that point," Thompson said. "It was just get away."

"Tell me how it happened. Describe it for me," Logan asked.

"Just turned her around and she didn't move and I stabbed her four times," Thompson recalled. "I wanted her to die quickly."

Asked why he wanted her to die quickly, Thompson told Logan, "Not in pain. I didn't want her to be suffering in pain."

"You think if somebody stabbed you four times in the back you're not gonna suffer?" Logan asked.

"Not really, no," Thompson said.

"You know she was still alive when you drove away," Logan pointed out.

"I heard her scream," Thompson said.

Thompson managed to escape to Georgia but was arrested there after setting Brenda Lane's car on fire. Frankie Floied, an investigator in the case back in Tennessee, says it could have taken months to find the body if Thompson -- over the telephone - hadn't given such precise, intricate, directions to the place he killed her.

"What was going through your mind at the time when you were talking to him on the phone?" Logan asked Floied.

"How calm he was," the investigator remembered. "There was no remorse. There was no passion. It was just matter of fact. 'If you'll take, you take this road, this road, this road and this road.'"

"So exact," Logan remarked.

"It’s like you telling me how to find a Frisbee that you've tossed and lost," Floied said.

"So what did that mean to you?" Logan asked.

"Cold, impassioned. Just a cruel person," Floied replied.

That was the picture prosecutors painted of Thompson at his trial. But it wasn't a complete picture, according to Thompson’s current lawyers, Dana Chavis and Steve Kissinger, who are appealing his case. They say Thompson had severe mental problems dating back to his childhood and they are fighting to keep him alive.

[briansgirl2]

I''m a Christian, but I say - - - "take him out". That poor woman must have gone through all kinds of emotions while these two drove around looking for a death sight for her. What happened to his accomplice in this crime? I didn''t see the report on 60 minutes.

[kennedy7955]

When it comes to prisoners on death row who are insane, the law is very clear: you cannot execute them. The Supreme Court has ruled it unconstitutional and deemed it "cruel and unusual punishment."

The actions of the defendant regardless of their mental condition should be the sole focus of any trial and its conclusion.

[sugarfootsms]

This man wasn''t crazy when he committed this murder. He played crazy so much that they medicated his phony mental mind and now he experience side effects from his medication. The side effects doesn''t seem to be harmful to others. The side effects gives him hallucinations and etc, but he can stay that way and still under medication be executed. The system has made a new man out of him by feeding him drugs to change his mind and personality. He will be fixed like this for life. If you take the medicine away, you may cause something more serious to brain damage and then you won''t be able to relate to him at all. All I''m saying is the State has fixed him,(not healed him)and he can be executed in this state of mind. He knows this and that''s why he mentioned it would be unfair for them to kill him while he is on meds. But it''s too late to take the medicine back. So let him sue, and give the money to the victim''s family. But one thing for sure, he doesn''t need to be around anybody, not even the mental hospital has to put up with a mutiple personality criminal messed up from med''s in a prison facility. HOLLA-BACK!!

[samlawson1]

Since when is this Lara Logan a 60 Minutes journalist now? I thought I could at least watch one serious show on network television where some young hotty wearing tight clothes and having her blouse halfway unbottunned wouldn''t exist, but I guess I''m wrong. I do research on this lady and find out she''s sleeping around with soldiers and colleagues in Iraq. I thought this was at least one show I could watch on television with my sons without it being sexually charged but obviously I was wrong.

[moonshadow22]

The fact we must face here, it that frankly the world is a better place without some people on it. These people are specifically murderers, rapists, and child molesters who repeatedly do long lasting harm to others. Some offenders are capable of rehabilitation to the point where they know exactly how much harm they have done, and they should spend the rest of their life in a hellhole. Some people (like this guy) just need to die. They are not worth the effort.

[moonshadow22]

The fact we must face here, it that frankly the world is a better place without some people on it. These people are specifically murderers, rapists, and child molesters who repeatedly do long lasting harm to others. Some offenders are capable of rehabilitation to the point where they know exactly how much harm they have done, and they should spend the rest of their life in a hellhole. Some people (like this guy) just need to die. They are not worth the effort.

[moonshadow22]

The fact we must face here, it that frankly the world is a better place without some people on it. These people are specifically murderers, rapists, and child molesters who repeatedly do long lasting harm to others. Some offenders are capable of rehabilitation to the point where they know exactly how much harm they have done, and they should spend the rest of their life in a hellhole. Some people (like this guy) just need to die. They are not worth the effort.

[patriot12436]

obes99
You are one of the reasons i like having Canada for a nerighbor. Even if you disagree with the death penalty you make perfect sense. We do not have to agree to get along.

[obes99]

Just my two cents worth...and hopefully the victims'' family reads this, and 60 minutes producers.
My name is Paul. I live in southern Ontario and I''ve worked as an RN in Psychiatry for 15 years. I have had the opportunity to work in some of the most respected psychiatric facilities in North America, including Yale and Homewood HC and currenttly at a maximum security forensic psychiatric hospital. I am a small fish in a big pond but it''s that kind of humility that I hope all those who hear my point of view will respect.
I have grown up with 60 minutes as a staple in my life. That being said I have never been so disappointed in the journalistic level I''ve come to expect. I have interviewed thousands of Pts in similar circumstances. This man IS NOT PSYCHOTIC. I have worked with thousands of Pts who are antisocial(previously known as psychopaths/sociopaths)and thousands who are truly psychotic. It is very easy to diagnose someone who is psychotic. Their thoughts are disorganized and genuinely look like they are distracted by auditory/visual hallucinations. This man processed each question and fed the interviewer with what would ''sound crazy''.
As a typical Canadian, I don''t agree with capital punishment but it is disturbing that the gist of this story is that he is ''insane''. I don''t buy it and as Americans, you should be ashamed that a liberal thinking Canadian thinks you let this murderer off too easy.
60 Minutes, Regretfully yours,
Paul

[cesarc47]

I''m a supporter of the death penalty, also knowlwedgeable of mental ilness. This report played down the fact that this man was probably sick in 1985 when this crime was comitted.Thoght we know little about his condition, we do know that it usually manifest itself in most people in their late teens early twenties. There was no metion of the fact that his condition cannot be cured all the drugs do is give him relief from his symptoms. He is sentensed to life under medication.

[nooch1215]

I''m sick of eveyone forgetting about victims and standing up for criminals. Execute him. You liberals need to wake up and live in the real world. And his lawyers - what a couple of idiots. If that was their sister, they would not not be buying his act.

[patriot12436]

KAYKAYB824
tHE WAY YOU FLIPFLOP ON HERE YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN A POLITICIAN.

[patriot12436]

athought1
You sound like another bleeding heart A-S-S-H-O-L-E.

[patriot12436]

bennyblack1
I have a better idea, lets parole these psychos and let them go home and live with the bleeding hearts on these websites.

[patriot12436]

kasmith1964
And what about the victim, did he consider her right to life when he killed her ? I have no sympathy for you bleeding heart types.

[patriot12436]

ryynnoo
When you have walked in the victims shoes then you can speak for them.

[patriot12436]

kaykayb824
I had a classmate in college who didn''t believe in the death penalty. Then her husband was murdered by a 14 year old in a robbery. After that she was a staunch supporter of the death penalty. Being the victim can change your attitude and make all the difference in the world. Too many people are bleeding hearts and want to forgive, as long as it doesn''t happen to them or their families.

[patriot12436]

The man was sane when he committed the crime and was tried. If not he would not have been rational to tll them where to find the body and the knife. The sentence should be carried out. He can never be a functioning member of society.

[donuts30001]

EVERY GREAT NATION THAT EXISTED FELL FROM WITHIN AND WE ARE WELL ON OUR WAY THERE. THE DELIBERT KILLING OF A YOUNG WOMEN IN THE MANOR Gregory Thompson IS JUST ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF THE DECAY. WHO IS RESPONSIBLE, OUR LEGAL SYSTEM, THERE IS NO COMMON SENSE LEFT IN OUR LEGAL SYSTEM THAT WOULD ALLOW THIS COLD BLOODED MURGER BE EXICUTED. WHEN WILL THE VICTUM''S RIGHTS BE CONSIDERED ("OH" I FORGOT THE VICTOM HAS NO RIGHTS) IT''S JUST ANOTHER MURDER. ALL Gregory Thompson NEEDS IS A TOMBSTONE. MAYBE IF THOSE IN THE LEGAL SYSYEM WERE TO EXPRIANCE THE SAME WITH THEIR DAUGHTERS THE SYSTEM MIGHT JUST WORK.

[leosolaris]

Of all the people who support the death penalty, I''m 1 of the strongest supporters. Having said this tho'' doesn''t undermine what I believe we must do to resolve this difficulty. And that is to place people like Gregory Thompson in a Psychiatric Hospital to be thoroughly studied in order to see what makes him, & others like him, tick. It is very important to get to the bottom of his, & others, psychiatric disorders, Thru all aspects of Scientific study & Genetic analysis, in order to resolve, & put an end to this Serious problem Right Now, Once & Forever. You may leave a message 4 me at [e-mail] in care of Leosolaris.