LONGVIEW, Texas — As the state and defense presented evidence about the issue of intellectual disability, a psychologist for the prosecution testified Tuesday that Gregory Newson, the man convicted of killing an East Texas deputy, she diagnosed him with antisocial personality disorder.
Newson, of Shreveport, Louisiana, was found guilty of capital murder on Oct. 28 for killing Panola County Deputy Chris Dickerson as he made a routine patrol in the small community of Gary in Panola County around 2 a.m. on Dec. 31, 2019.
Sentencing continued Tuesday as the state seeks the death penalty, while the defense would like a life without parole sentence.
The defense is wanting to prove that Newson has an intellectual disability. The Supreme Court has ruled that if a person has an intellectual disability they cannot be executed. The prosecution spent Tuesday presenting evidence trying to counter the defense’s claim. It is up to the jury to decide whether or not he has an intellectual disability.
Dr. Christine Reed, a clinical and forensic psychologist, evaluated Newson at the request of the prosecution and based on that, she diagnosed him with antisocial personality disorder.
She explained that those with the disorder have a disregard for other people. People with this chronic condition can be manipulative, reckless and ignore the law. Someone with APD also lacks remorse for their actions.
Her general impression of Newson was that he portrayed himself in a positive light, and any negativity was caused by circumstances in life or other people.
His criminal history began when he was a juvenile with a theft charge, and his run-ins with the law continued onward into adulthood. He was incarcerated from about age 19 to 30 years old.
In an interview with Reed, Newson said he had injuries after the car crash in Shreveport just before his arrest for killing Dickerson. Newson claimed he had a concussion, but records showed he never had a concussion. Throughout the interview, Newson brought up instances of racial issues in his life and even said the shooting of the deputy was because of race.
Reed said that at one point, Newson insinuated that the whole state of Oklahoma was racist.
Dr. Matthew Clem, a psychologist for the prosecution, said his opinion based on the IQ score that he found Newson to have is that Newson does not have an intellectual disability.
Statistically, there were no differences between Clem's report and the defense's report, but they made different clinical observations. The defense report claimed that Newson has an intellectual disability.
In the making progress category of Newson’s report card, Newson appeared to have negative reviews and very few positive signs. Academic records show he attended sixth grade twice and the ninth grade twice as well.
Newson was performing at a third grade level in the ninth grade based on an assessment in California at the time. His academic records were subpar, Clem said.
A lack of education can be a factor in determining if a person has an intellectual disability, but Clem said just because someone does poorly in school, it doesn't mean that they're a candidate for having an intellectual disability.
Newson explained his poor grades were because he lacked motivation and the teachers didn't push him hard enough, Reed said.
Clem told the jury the IQ definition of a person with intellectual disability is a score of 70, and Newson is above that mark.
Gregg County Sheriff Maxey Cerliano testified that Newson was evaluated as he came into the Gregg County Jail, and he did not appear to have an intellectual disability based on their review. Cerliano acknowledged that sometimes the evaluation does not catch all intellectual disabilities.
The state then played a series of phone calls over the roughly five years that Newson has been in jail since the shooting.
In a video call, Newson talked about how the state planned to use the song he wrote about killing a police officer. He also incorrectly claimed that Dickerson was out of his jurisdiction when the traffic stop and shooting happened.
In another call, Newson says he didn’t kill Dickerson, but instead the deputy killed himself. He said people don’t know what really happened that night. In a different call, he claimed to be the victim in the shooting that killed Dickerson.
On Oct. 26, 2024 (two days before his conviction), he talked about professional football and baseball games. He then argues over the reason why he was pulled over on Dec. 31, 2019. He continued to claim that he feared for his life when Dickerson made the traffic stop.
The deputy from the jail said it’s not smart to say these things on a jail phone call, knowing that they are being recorded. He doesn’t believe that Newson has an intellectual disability, but he did show bad judgment the night Dickerson was killed.
After the phone calls were played, the state rested its rebuttal case. The jury was asked to return at 10 a.m. Wednesday.
CBS19 is available live and on-demand on your favorite TV streaming device, anytime from anywhere in the U.S.
The free CBS19+ app for Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV and smart TV devices features a 24/7 stream with the latest from CBS19.
In addition to the live stream, watch the latest from CBS19 on-demand, along with additional programming from our partners at TEGNA (like Verify, "Murder at My Door" and "In the News") and Locked On Sports, plus special collections from CBS19 like Under the Lights, Hooked on East Texas and CBS19 Originals.
DOWNLOAD ON ROKU
Add the free CBS19 channel by searching for CBS19 East Texas News in the Roku Channel Store on your device, or add the CBS19+ Roku channel using this link.
DOWNLOAD ON FIRE TV
Search for the free CBS19+ app in the Amazon App Store directly on your Fire TV or Fire TV Stick, or add the CBS19+ Fire TV app using this link.
DOWNLOAD ON APPLE TV
Learn more about the free CBS19+ app in the Apple TV App Store and download directly from your Apple TV device.
DOWNLOAD ON YOUR SMART TV
The CBS19+ app is also now available directly on "smart" or "connected" televisions made by Samsung, LG and Philips, as well as televisions with Android TV. Search for CBS19 East Texas News in your television's app store to add CBS19+.
OTHER FREE WAYS TO WATCH
The CBS19+ 24/7 stream can be viewed on any desktop or mobile web browser anytime on the Watch page here on cbs19.tv.