Prosecutors seek Garrido’s psychiatric interview tape
By Sam Stanton, Sacramento Bee
Prosecutors in the Jaycee Lee Dugard kidnapping case are asking a judge for access to an audiotaped interview of kidnapping suspect Phillip Garrido, saying the tape made in the El Dorado County Jail two weeks ago is needed for them to prepare for an upcoming trial that will determine Garrido’s mental state.
The taped interview was conducted by Dr. David Glassmire, an expert appointed by El Dorado Superior Court Judge Douglas Phimister to assess Garrido’s mental competence. Jail officials taped his interview “on or about” Dec. 18, court documents released Monday indicate.
In the documents, prosecutors say they asked jail officials Dec. 20 to “turn over the audio recordings so that we could copy and discover the audio to the defense.”
But jail officials refused, citing a court order that had been issued Dec. 15 requiring the tape to remain sealed until Glassmire’s written report is issued, prosecutors said. The judge indicated when he appointed Glassmire on Dec. 2 that he expected it to take 60 days for a mental exam and written report to be completed.
So now even the prosecution is being denied access from documents until they can be properly censored and edited. It almost has to be names that they are so worried about.