As a follow up to the previous post on false confessions, I wanted to discuss a case that I was involved in where all three of the false confession errors—misclassification, coercion and police provision of key details—occurred and resulted in a lengthy period in jail for an innocent man. This case demonstrates how easy it can be for police to get someone, especially someone who has not been in trouble with the law before, to assume that cooperation is in their best interest and end up admitting to things they haven’t done.
The case involved a murder in an affluent neighborhood. The case went unsolved for over a year, and there was tremendous pressure on the local law enforcement to resolve it. In their desperation, the police acted on a dubious lead and arrested a young man.
During his interrogation, the young man, unwisely, waived his right to remain silent, and his right to an attorney, and agreed to talk to the police (believing, as the innocent often do, that the truth would set him free). The police, acting against their own policy, did not turn on the recording device in their interrogation room until over 90 minutes into the session.
Before this point, however, they had misclassified their suspect. Because he was the only lead, they determined that he must be guilty. They ignored his explanations as to where he was and what he was doing on the day in question and failed to investigate evidence that would have tended to exonerate him.
They also coerced him. Because of the brutal nature of the crime, police assured him that he was going to be convicted and would receive the death penalty. His only hope to get a life sentence would be if he cooperated in their investigation.
Finally, during the course of the unrecorded 90 minutes of interrogation, they provided him with all of the details of the crime, including ones that had not been reported in the news. When the tape recorder finally came on, the young man, in tears, fearing for his life, agreed to everything that the police had suggested to him. Because there was no other evidence in the case, pointing to any particular suspect, this “confession” was the sole basis of the prosecution (the prosecution realized that the initial tip that lead police to the young man was so problematic that it would never be useful in court).
The young man spent over a year in jail awaiting trial. His defense counsel motioned the court to suppress his confession as obviously coerced. The judge agreed, and the charges against the young man were dismissed. The police and prosecution, however, refused to admit their error and made statements to the press declaring that the young man was still their prime suspect (charges were never refiled against him and the case remains unsolved).
You do not have to speak to the police. You have the right to remain silent and you should use it. You have the right to an attorney, and you should use it. A criminal defense attorney can help to protect you against these kind of unfair and coercive police techniques. You may be able to explain your situation, but you are always better off not taking any chances. Don’t let the police bully you about “lawyering up.” Those are your constitutional rights and you should never be afraid to use them.
