Canary: The Washington Post Investigates · The Washington Post

Chapter 6: "You can always have the last word"

October 1, 2020·42 min·2 clips

Truman Morrison denies that Carol Griffin was asleep during the alleged sexual contact and says he will always regret initiating it.

1. Canary: The Washington Post Investigates examines the final reporting stages of Carol Griffin’s allegation against former D.C. judge Truman Morrison. 2. Amy Britton is the Washington Post investigative reporter leading the inquiry, while Bishop Sand reads Morrison’s written statements and essay excerpts. 3. The episode asks how a reporter can establish accountability when court records are incomplete and the central subject gives limited responses. 4. Britton mails Morrison a letter identifying Griffin, Lauren Clark, and the allegation that Griffin was assaulted on the Morrison family property near Marion, Virginia. 5. Britton and Madeline Davison review more than 4,000 Morrison case numbers to identify cases involving sexual offenses. 6. About 200 reviewed cases involved sexual crimes, including prostitution, lewd conduct, misdemeanor sexual abuse, rape, and sexual abuse of children. 7. Britton identifies five cases in which Morrison gave no jail time to adults convicted of felony sex crimes against minors. 8. Morrison’s essay “Being a Good Judge,” updated in 2020, discusses judicial self-scrutiny, mass incarceration, and the absence of formal review mechanisms. 9. The essay says judges can operate under the radar because lawyers, litigants, reporters, and the public rarely have effective ways to assess their decisions. 10. Morrison’s case history includes a 1990 rape sentence of 10 to 30 years and an 18-year minimum sentence in a 1988 serial-rape case. 11. Morrison’s statement that he acknowledged sexual touching of Griffin gives Britton a partial response but no detailed account of what he admitted. 12. Griffin says she felt relief that Morrison did not initially deny the conduct, while Shea argues that “oh, my bad” is not how justice works. 13. Hannah Jopling questions why Griffin sought publicity after 40 years, while Norman Schneider says victims of sexual assault face severe barriers when accusing powerful men. 14. Schneider describes Morrison as a light sentencer who took rehabilitation seriously and refused special judicial license plates for illegal parking. 15. Virginia prosecutor Chuck Slimp says current law could treat the alleged conduct as object sexual penetration or aggravated sexual battery. 16. Slimp says the 1976 Virginia law offered only assault and battery as a possible charge, a Class I misdemeanor with a one-year limitation period. 17. Britton presents the episode as an investigative narrative combining courthouse research, interviews, legal analysis, and readings from emails. 18. The tone shifts between procedural reporting, conflicting character testimony, and recorded conversations with Griffin about Morrison’s responses. 19. Listeners interested in sexual-assault reporting and judicial accountability will find concrete case research. 20. Listeners seeking a resolved legal outcome or uncomplicated narrative may skip this chapter.

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