Where does a journalist begin looking into a death row case? What records do you start with?
Mr. X: The best way to get records is not from the institution, it’s from the inmate; that is, through the inmate’s lawyer. I think there’s no moral way to do it without going through the lawyer. The lawyer has that person’s life in their hands. Someone must be able to decide what is in the best interests of the condemned person in relation to living and dying, and that person can’t be the journalist. Most journalists would scream to hear me say that. We have a strong disagreement on that. The answer is that if you’re going to do an investigation like the [Northwestern projects], you’re going to have to work with the lawyer. In that case the lawyer will be jumping up and down, thankful to have the help. If you are going to undertake investigations of the reliability of a particular guilty verdict–well, that’s a very difficult thing. But there are obvious steps. First you go back and look at the record and read what it was that convinced a jury that this person is guilty of a crime the
