What The Psychologist Said

 

October 16, 2020

Several people wondered how I did on my psychological evaluation with Dr. Harry Krop, in Gainesville. Rather than bore you with a bunch of details, I've taken the liberty to show you some excerpts from his three-page single-spaced report. It is addressed to my lawyer.

''I am writing to advise you that I conducted a follow-up psychological evaluation of the above-referenced 71-year old male on October 5, 2020 at the Tomoka Correctional Institution (TCI). The purpose of the evaluation was to assess his psychological status and to specifically address whether he poses a risk if released on parole. To this purpose, Mr. Norman participated in a clinical interview and I reviewed the following documents.'' (long list)

''Mr. Norman was advised as to the limits of confidentiality. The evaluation took place via Zoom in a private office at the prison.''

''As noted in previous reports, Mr. Norman is serving a Life sentence for a homicide which he claims he did not commit. He has persisted in his claim that he is not culpable for the homicide.''

''He has not presented as a management problem since his incarceration and, to the contrary, he has used his time in DOC in many positive and productive ways. He has acquired a formal education, developed his skills as a graphic artist and painter and has become an accomplished writer. He has helped and encouraged fellow inmates.''

''Since he was last seen, Mr. Norman has had a number of medical problems including testing positive for Covid-19. He was quarantined for a month and his most recent test has been negative. Nevertheless, he describes some residual problems as he began having cardiac issues, coughing and fatigue. He has also been diagnosed with myasthenia gravis, a weakness and fatigue of muscles under voluntary control.''

''In addition to the support he will receive at the Prisoners of Christ program, it is clear that his wife has continued to be very supportive. Although she has not been allowed to have live visits with Mr. Norman due to the pandemic, they speak daily by phone. Once he is released, Mr. Norman hopes to publish his literary work and to promote his art.''

''As noted in a previous report, it is this examiner's opinion that Mr. Norman has been an excellent inmate. He has used his time in a highly constructive manner and has taken advantage of opportunities afforded him. He has helped many other inmates during his lengthy incarceration.''

''A you can see from my vita ( attached), I have evaluated well over 2,000 individuals either charged with or previously convicted of a homicide. I have been asked to conduct risk assessments on over 200 of these indivuduals and I can definitely opine that the results of Mr. Norman's overall risk assessment would fall in the lowest five percent relative to the other inmates I have evaluated.

Harry Krop, Ph.D.