Defense argues for convicted killer to be spared death sentence

LOGAN — Trying their best to close the door on death row to Glenn Howard Griffin, defense attorneys and a forensic psychologist argued to a jury Wednesday why the convicted killer should be spared a date with the needle.

The jurors in the capital murder case were painted a picture of a lonely dropout emotionally touched by few in his life — a life dominated by a revolving door to a cell.

In considering that, jurors were asked by defense attorney Dee Smith to render a sentence that represents "both justice and mercy" and considers the entire picture.

Griffin, 51, faces a death sentence or life with the possibility of parole for his conviction last week in the 1984 death of Bradley Newell Perry, a young gas station attendant found bound, bludgeoned and stabbed to death in the back room of the family business in Box Elder County.

The case went cold for more than two decades until advances in DNA technology linked Griffin to a blood-stained dollar bloody bill that was passed to pair of unwitting customers either during or shortly after the grisly slaying.

The latest testimony was starkly different than that of day before, when Perry's friends and family spent much of the time recounting stories about the 22-year-old man with plans for medical school, and whose last conversation with his father was about purchasing a diamond engagement ring for his sweetheart.

Friends and family described Perry as "the peacemaker," "my protector" and "the love of my life."

He was an Eagle Scout who didn't have the heart to pull the trigger the first — and only— time he got a deer in his sights. He was the grade-schooler who stood up to kids four years his elder when they mocked his sister's polio.

On Wednesday, however, the story emerged of a once-young man with an antisocial personality disorder, who dropped out of school, spent his life on and off probation and has no real attachments other than those to his sister.

Dr. Ronald Houston said he believes Griffin exhibits signs of an organic brain disfunction, although Houston later conceded to prosecutors that his assessment was based only on observations and did not derive from clinical proof.

While stressing that there is "no excuse for (Griffin's) behavior," the doctor did testify that risk assessments show that the older a person gets the less likely they are to engage in the compulsive behavior often exhibited with criminals.

Prosecutors countered that as recently as five years ago Griffin was in trouble for having a weapon as well as meth.

The defense also brought up the mystery behind the very first days of Griffin's life — he was adopted at three days old and records are typically sealed.

Prosecutors rebutted the scenario of a mystery, pointing out the records were unsealed and subsequent interviews with the birth show no history of alcohol or drug use during her pregnancy.

Additional testimony is scheduled Wednesday afternoon.

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