Septenber 2--l  1966
        @De@ar Dr.
             Heartiei't-  Greetinas  fromk
             I would  like  to  take  this oppor-Eunity to thare,@ you for your  interest in our proposed
          project. I am sorry that  I  was  not  able  to  return  to  the  States  this  surmer  and  discuss
          It with you personally@                  @I thin7-,, has kep@  me  well  informed  of  developments.
          He suggested in his last"Te-tter to  me  that  I  write  to  i,ou  clarifyin  some  of  the  details
                                                                                      9
          recarding  the  use  of  "amytal interview"                     ospital   Psychiatric    Prison
          Service.
             "Am.Ntal inte.-vieV'  or  the interview of patients whi2le under the influence of intra-
          venous sodium  ar.%tal  has  been  considered  a  routine  procedure  on  the  prison  service.
          It has been perf;rmed at  the  discretion  of  the  ward  physician  in  any  case  he  felt  it
          ,.4as indicated, In the same waN, that the ward physician would decide upon the ad,-ainistrati
          of  sedative--,  tranquilizers  and  other  medication.  A  shortaoe  of  time  and  2 personnel
          generall), caused us to  limit  its  use  to  cases  involving  serious  crimes  or  problems  of
          particular  psvchiatric  interest.  Although  when  I  first  began  on  the  ward  a   stenographer
          was  generally  present  during  the  interview  we  later  used  a  tape  recorder  routinely.
          Since the interview serves r@edical rather than legal purposes, there has never been any
          real basis for objection  on  the  part 2 of  either  the  D.A.  or  the  defense@-counsel.  -The
          natrriall of course  like all data obtained from the patient while at                    ;is  not
          admissable  as  evidence  into  the  trial.  Statements  obtained  from  the   patient   curing
          the amytal interview are also not made a part of the regular hospital chart as an
          additional precaution.
             The procedure of "amytal interview" has long been accepted in the
          2Court System althouah I can not tell you how long.                       at the prison  sei;v-ice
          at                IHospital which also serves the                       lin  a  similar  capacity
          as            rpublished an article on the resulfsof its use in        the early nineteen      -
          fift'-ies. I might add that in  my  use  of  the  technique  over  a  period  of  several  years
          there has not been anv morbidity of e2ven significant complications.
             The only  changes  in  the  routine  proposed  in  our  project  involve  more  careful  docu-
          mentation  by  the  use  of  more  adecuate  secretarial  assistance  and  more  careful  cali-
          bration and monitorina of the administration of the drug.  Such -monitoring as with the
          use of eye movements is already in use either manually or in select cases with
          ri,,vstagmography o2r ENO.  The lack of the prop@-,r apparatus on the ward prevented the
          more routine use of the latter,  which  we  hope  will  be  corrected  by  conditions  o,@r  the
          proposed study,
             If there are  any  other  problems  or  questions  don't  hesitate  to  write  or  if  urgent
          telephone.  I am usually at home in the evening and telephone connections to the
          States have so far been excellent.
                                 7                                    Sincerely,