justice served? i'll ask a man who knows the legal system inside out. another best-selling author, john grich grisham. >> we have the crime of the century every six months. so for people like me who enjoy taking the stories and writing about them, the material send lsz. >> plus, she was born to make it in hollywood. why aren't you as a productive two superstars just lying on some sun lounger in a bikini spending daddy's money being a brat? >> that's a really good question. i often ask myself that. >> she is sharing the screen with the muppets. this is "piers morgan tonight." . >> she sold 100 million books and scared the living day lights out of people. patricia joins me now. this is going to terrify me. i know it is. >> i think it will. i won't tell you why. you'll start looking around your kitchen in various places and thinking, i don't feel so good about certain things. you wait, you'll see. >> where do you get this desire to scare people? >> you know, i don't know. but when i was a little kid, i was always writing stories and illustrating little books that i would create. and the kids loved me to tell stories to them. i was the favorite babysitter starting at age 12. i remember one day on a vacancy lot with two little boys my neighbors and i started telling a story. i scared them so badly that they started crying and ran home. i realized i had this ability to terrify people. i felt terrible about it. i'm carol as i write the books today, i want to hold people in suspense but i don't want to give them terrible nightmares. i fear i failed at my kindness. >> you're one of the best people to ask. what is it? >> you have to have really good characters. if you don't have somebody that you really want to spend time with, it might be -- it's going to be a workman like sort of book. it's not going to be that interesting and passionate. that's why i think the scar petta series worked so well. people like spending time with this character. but you got to do your home work. you need to go out there, be a good journalist. >> you do. you go and immerse yourselves into these worlds. >> i started out in journalism. you know, i went looking for stories. i still go out looking for stories. i go to the morgue, the labs, whatever it is. >> on this book, you spent i'm in a female prison in tennessee. and previously you actually witnessed an execution in the preparation for these kind of books. >> you nknow, the execution, it wasn't researched. i that i would have been really inappropriate. but the victim's family asked me to be a witness to the execution of their daughter's killer in oklahoma. i really thought about it hard. you know what, i'm going to. they asked me to and i really want to understand this. people are always asking me about the death penalty. there are reverberations of what i witnessed in this book in "red mist" because right when they were about to administer the lethal injection to this inmate ten years ago, all of a sudden all the inmates in the prison started kick the doors. and it sounded like the indicates of hell slamming. it was unearthly in which i have a scene where that happens in this book. and the mother of the girl who had been killed was sitting next to me. she got this very upset look on her face. and she said to me later that for the first time in all the years that this man had been on death row for this horrible crime he committed she actually envisioned him stabbing his daughter repeatedly with every kick of the doors in that prison. and it itemly caused her to live something she avoided living. and there was so many things that went on with that experience that i've never forgotten. i still see it as if it was yesterday. and i saw him die. >> what conclusions did you draw after that about the death penalty? >> very disturbed. i was very disturbed by it. first of all, it does not deter crime, the death penalty. it doesn't stop people from doing it. and these people are on death row for so many years anyway. the family who was left behind in this case who i spent time talking to, actually the violence created more violence in her mind while she was watching itment she actually saw the violation of her daughter because of the violence of the kicking of the doors and watching somebody to breathe. i hope this guy isn't feeling this because his eyes were shut and his diaphragm was frantically pumping up and down trying to get air while his face turned blue. i was rather horrified. i said i hope -- how do you know that someone's not feeling themselves asphyxiate when this, you know, when the medicine is administered. you know, it paralyzes those muscles so you can't breathe. and the thing is also controversial about it, the very quick acting an thetic that is used, it wears off, obviously, very fast. and if you're not doing this exactly as you should, that may wear off before you're paralyzed and then you can't breathe. >> you have such an incredible recall of the details. >> i am a journalist. >> is that how you feel? >> i do. that's why i like journalists so much and get in trouble all the time. i relate to them and then tell them way too much. i'm still a journalist. i go out and do reporting. i have my little note books. i take my notes. and i report on things faz i'm going to write a real story about it. but then i weave into fiction and kree creates a special bran. if i don't do my home work, i have nothing to say. >> where do you draw the line? >> i draw the line like i was saying a minute ago. do you want to watch an execution for research purposes, i would say no. i did not take notes during that or anything. i was there for the family. i've never really written about it either. i wouldn't do -- i wouldn't do anything -- let's say a forensic pathology says take the scalpel, try the y incision this time. i would never do it. that's a real person. they don't want a crime writer experimenting on their dead body, nor do their relatives want that. i have to have certain barriers that i feel i don't go beyond. >> you had a very, very troubled childhood. 5 years old your father left. your mother suffered from terrible depression. >> if you had me for a daughter, you would be down, too. >> you and your brother spent time in a foster home and you were sexually molested by a patrolman. all this, you know, any of those thing was have been unsettling for any young child. to have all of that stuff going on, very, very tough for you i would have thought. >> you know, but i don't regret any of it. i'm so grateful because i think it helped make me who i am. you know, my father leaving when he did made me want to be a better father than he was meaning i wanted to be strong and self-sufficient and take care of other people if i could later on in life. you know, the abusive situation in the foster home i think that's why i have a lot of female villians in my books. this was a woman who was very abusive to me xapsychologically. sometimes they can make you stronger. just like having your first books rejected. that is the best thing that do happen to me. now i'm determined to stay where i am because i know what it's like not to be there. >> how do you feel about the people that rejected you? >> well, the first three books i wrote they should have rejected, they were really awful. they were my learning experience. i really didn't understand why post mortem was rejected. but i could understand people understanding the world i was trying to tell them about. and i understood what i was doing was very different. i was disappointed. but i never felt any sort of gloating thing about those people. i don't even know who most of them were. i'm just very grateful that they were wrong. >> take a little break and talk about you have a good connection to billy graham and his family and to the bush familiment let's talk about that and about politics and some of the juicy crime stories over the last year. it's been quite a year for crime. >> it has been quite a year for crime. >> hold your thoughts. this was the gulf's best tourism season in years. all because so many people wanted to visit us... in louisiana. they came to see us in florida... nice try, they came to hang out with us in alabama... once folks heard mississippi had the welcome sign out, they couldn't wait to get here. this year was great but next year's gonna be even better. and anyone who knows the gulf knows that winter is primetime fun time. the sun's out and the water's beautiful. you can go deep sea fishing for amberjack, grouper and mackerel. our golf courses are open. our bed and breakfast have special rates. and migrating waterfowl from all over make this a bird watcher's paradise. so if you missed it earlier this year, come on down. if you've already been here come on back... to mississippi... florida... louisiana... alabama. the gulf's america's get-a-way spot no matter where you go. so come on down and help make 2012 an even better year for tourism on the gulf. brought to you by bp and all of us who call the gulf home. that's why i take doctor recommended colace capsules. i have hemorrhoids and yes, i have constipation. that's why i take colace. 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[ male announcer ] go to colacecapsules.com for savings. with thermacare heatwraps. thermacare works differently. it's the only wrap with patented heat cells that penetrate deep to relax, soothe, and unlock tight muscles. for up to 16 hours of relief, try thermacare. so i used my citi thank you card to pick up some accessories. a new belt. some nylons. and what girl wouldn't need new shoes? we talked about getting a diamond. but with all the thank you points i've been earning... ♪ ...i flew us to the rock i really had in mind. ♪ [ male announcer ] the citi thank you card. earn points you can use for travel on any airline, with no blackout dates. my guest is patricia cornwell. talk about your link to billy graham. >> there is a strange link. most people completely misunderstand it. they were my neighbors when growing up in a little town. i didn't know billy. i mean i would see him occasionally when he came into town. he was, of course, the most famous man in the world at that time. but ruth is the one i knew. she was the one who stayed home and, you know, if i was walking to the tennis courts with my brother's hand me downs on and my little bag of flat tennis balls, she would stop and give me a ride. i got to know her. she's a very kind, wonderful person. she was my friend. but in terms of the entire context of the grahams and their organization, i had nothing to do with any of that. it was just the woman on the mountain who i would go visit and who helped me with money and college and did all kinds of wonderful things and became a very special friend. so i wrote her biography. and interestingly enough, you mentioned politics a little bit earlier. that segued into my meeting barbara bush because i interviewed barbara bush whether i did the ruth graham biography. and then later she got me involved in her literacy programs when i became a novelist. and so my relationship with the bushes started out completely friendship literacy directed. had nothing to do with politics. a lot of people think i'm some diehard republican or used to be. but, in fact, some of the early relationships of mine were completely friendship that's had nothing to do with politics. >> and are you a democrat? >> i think i am a democrat now. i'd be anything where something somebody really good wants to run our country. >> is president obama that person? >> i think we should give him another chance. how does anybody clean up this mess after three or four years? i'm not any owe fish nad yoe or expert when it comes to politics at all. i would like to give -- i'd like him to have another chance to finish what he started. this was a terrible legacy. >> and also big crime stories this year and big trials and so on. what do you make of, let's take natalie wood case being reopened. if you're a crime writer, do you read that kind of thing in the paper and get, you know, pretty excited? >> ai not only heard about that, i looked at the autopsy reported. i wanted to see for myself. >> did you? >> i read all 20 pages of it. >> what was your conclusion? >> that it was a really well done autopsy and there is no evidence whatsoever that she was a victim of foul play. she's a classic drawning case. now what led up to that, that's something that investigation has to prove. science and medicine are not going to change that story. even the bruises they made so much out of, they're consistent with a body that recovered from water. bodies get banged up. it's not pretty. and so in her -- her post mortem artifacts are consistent with her dying very shortly after she went in the water, not having been out there for five hours or something. you have to have some understanding of what these things mean. they're easily misinterpreted. but, you know, i say all the time now that science and medicine don't solve crimes, people do. and that's a perfect case that's going to be investigation and witness reports that might bring a little more clarity to that very sad night 30 years ago. >> if i'm watching this interview as a woman, i'm thinking patricia cornwell looks bloody good for whatever age you must be. >> i have a drip of ferm ald hide every morning before my coffee. don't tell anybody though. >> i wouldn't know how old you are. >> i'm 55. >> listen, you just had jane fonda on and saying the same thing about her. that's your line. i got you all figured out. >> she is 74. >> listen, i'd like to look like that at 34. wow. >> how do you keep in such good looks? >> i go to the gym. i do walking and i try stay fit. i believe alcohol helps preserve you. isn't true? we put specimens on it. >> we british follow that philosophy. >> i try to take care of myself. i'm vein, so i do whatever it takes. >> do you have crazies coming after you? >> sure, you get some. there are a lot of disturbed people out there. you know, it's just smart to be vigilant. i can't imagine you don't worry about the same thing. i mean i read your tweets. i thought you were being followed the other day. i know a lot about you. you better watch out. you better worry about me. >> you and i have -- we have a twitter relationship. >> well, you got me in so much trouble because i was going through my tweets. i saw you say i don't know why i bother. i thought oh, boy, he's having a bad day. poor piers. so i tweeted back and said but everybody loves that you do. and suddenly i had cyber beer bottles being flung at me from the uk. all these rage soccer fans, i mean football fans. i had no idea what i just walked into. >> if i reply to someone well known and they're not expecting what's coming, it can be quite a difficult moment. >> i've never been called such names in my life. i really turned three shades of white. >> i can only apologize. i deliberately enflame the soccer fans. >> you do do it deliberately. >> i watched, yes. >> it just amuses me. it's very childish but i enjoy it. pa trish yashgs it's been a great pleasure. >> this has been great fun. >> i'm told that arrange leana joe lee may be playing sc ax rpetta? >> we're attached. >> how cool is that? >> i think it's going to be way cool, lots of fun. >> it was a cracking book, "red mist." warmly recommended. it will send chills down your spine. that's what you want to hear. >> absolutely. >> patricia, thank you so much. >> so much fun. thank you. i really appreciate you having me on your show. >> don't go anywhere. you're not allowed to. >> oh, okay. >> next up, john grisham, best-selling author, what do you think of the cases that fascinate america? they didn't take a dime. how much in fees does your bank take to watch your money ? if your bank takes more money than a stranger, you need an ally. ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense. the doctor leaned over and said to me, "you just beat the widow-maker." i was put on an aspirin, and it's part of my regimen now. [ male announcer ] be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. go see your doctor now. we all know john grisham as an author of legal thrillers. he's also in a real life crusade, one that put him in front of a senate committee this week. he is working the innocence project to save people who are behind bars after being wrongfully convicted. john grisham joins me now. i've been curious about this. your books got me through many a vacation. will you ever think about that time before you sold a quarter of a billion books, before you all the movies were made based on the books and now grossed a billion dollars worldwide, you were a humble criminal lawyer. do you ever do that? >> i think about it every day. i still get inspiration from cases i had back then, clients i knew, people i knew back 20, 30 years ago. that's where many of the ideas come from for novels today. so i have never gotten away from those days whether i was a young lawyer in the trenches and, you know, fighting to help people who were accused, sometimes falsely accused. i think that's led to my work with the innocence project today and tomorrow. >> what was the moment for you when you thought i'm going to be a writer. i'm going to make money and a career out of this. was there a wakeup moment where you went, whoa? >> no, it was very gradual. after i had been a lawyer for five or six years, i started playing around with fiction. i had an idea for a novel, a courtroom drama as seen through the eyes of this young idealistic attorney in a small town in mississippi. and i began writing this book, you know, sort of as a secret hobby. and the success of the writing, even though it was a five-year process of writing to the two books back to back, the success hit quickly. and i could walk away from the law office. i never once said okay, i'm tired of being a lawyer. i'm going to be a writer. it just sort of gradually happened until one day when i could walk away. >> well the firm obviously became fantastic success in terms of the book and movie. let's see a clip from the movie and talk with you about it afterwards. >> let me get this straight. steal files from the firm, turn them over to the fbi. testify against my colleagues, send them to jail. >> they suckered you into this. >> reveal privilege information that violates attorney-client confidence gets me disbarred and then testify in open court against the mafia. let me ask you something, are you out of your. [ beep ] mind? >> tom cruise in "the firm." i noticed, by wait, that every single lawyer in these movies of your books are incredibly good looking. tom cruise, matt dame on, julia roberts, sandra bullock, matthew mccon hay, susan sayer done. no ugly lawyers. but that's not true in real life, is it? >> it's certainly not true in real life. i have nothing to do with the casting of the movies. in fact, i have nothing to do with the movies, period. especially the early films when i just went to the set one time and said hello and never went back. and i hoped the movies were good. the movies were good. i mean i've had nine of my books adapted to film. and almost all were enjoyable. i've been very lucky with hollywood and look forward to more moofies being adapted. i don't get involved in that process. i know nothing about making movies. i stay away from it and hope for the best. >> let's talk about the innocence project. it's been running theme i felt this year of miscarriages of justice, particularly since the discovery of dna, overturning previous convictions and so on. the debate is raging about the death penalty. there are so many people