John Daniels: Chief Prosecution Witness Recants

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John Daniels was executed on November 14, 2003, for the 1990 murder of his aunt in Mecklenburg County. Immediately following the murder, Daniels laid down in his house, set it on fire and waited to die. Intercepted by authorities, Daniels confessed, then attempted to kill himself in the jail.

During the sentencing proceeding against Daniels, the state presented one expert witness. That witness, psychiatrist Cynthia White, presented damaging testimony about Daniels based on little preparation. Provided full information weeks before Daniels was to be executed, Dr. White admitted that her actions and conclusions about Daniels were wrong. “My testimony was erroneous with gross errors,” White said in an affidavit for the Governor. “My testimony was inaccurate because it was based on incomplete information as provided to me by the prosecution. I am appalled that my testimony may have contributed to John Daniels’ death sentence.”

White, an aviation stress expert from Washington, D.C. with no forensic training and no experience in criminal cases, did not interview Daniels prior to her appearance in court. She told the jury that he lacked remorse, that his suicide attempts were faked, and that he “grandstanded” at the police station after his arrest. She also testified that Daniels had anti-social personality disorder, and that he was consequently both dangerous and incorrigible. In her affidavit, Dr. White acknowledged that she should never have made those statements without interviewing the defendant. Upon reviewing the full record, she said, she would now entirely reverse her opinions.

Both the American Psychiatric Association and American Bar Association state that offering such testimony without interviewing the individual in question is unethical, and that courts should not permit such testimony. Several psychiatrists, including three who interviewed Daniels and strongly disagree with Dr. White’s original conclusions, agree that such testimony is unethical.

White admitted she interviewed a couple of people by telephone before her appearance. Prosecutors contended she talked to family, friends, former co-workers and high school classmates, even though the prosecutor’s notes list three sources. This misrepresentation led the North Carolina Supreme Court to reject an appeal based on White’s testimony. In fact, Daniels was extremely remorseful for his actions. Family and friends who saw him at the time of the crime said he was acting under the influence of alcohol and cocaine. So did Capt. George Bradshaw, a 30-year veteran of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Sheriff’s Department. who was on duty when Daniels was arrested. “I don’t think he warrants execution,” said Bradshaw, who supports capital punishment in principle.

Daniels family members stated publicly that executing John Dennis Daniels would compound their pain and serve no valid purpose. Family members asked the Governor to commute the sentence to life without parole. “I forgave him, and the rest of our family forgave him for what he did,” said Maurice Daniels, John’s son. “So I feel [the governor] should be able to forgive him.” The Governor did not grant clemency, and Daniels was executed in November.