False Confessions
There are only 24 states that require police interrogations
to be recorded from start to end, and Florida
is not one of them. Not recording the
entirety of a police interrogation is a problem, especially considering that in
over 25% of wrongful convictions that have been overturned by DNA evidence, the
Defendant made false confessions to law enforcement during the
interrogation.
Most people believe that they would most certainly not
confess to a crime that they did not commit.
However, studies show that under the conditions of an interrogation,
false confessions are a huge problem that cannot be overlooked.
Law enforcement officers often give details to crimes
leading suspects in the direction that they wish him or her to go. For example, the officer may tell the suspect
that he knows he used a shovel. He knows
he used a shovel to hit him. And he hit
him in the head. He hit him in the head
over and over. This goes on for hours, wearing
the suspect down. Finally, after hours
off camera, the suspect knows all of the details of the offense. Then the suspect cries out yes! Then the camera is turned on and he gives the
entire narrative after it has been fed to him.
Confessions are unreliable.
Children and people with mental disabilities are especially easy to
manipulate and are susceptible to false confessions. In addition, impaired mental states because
of drugs or alcohol, or mental illness also contribute to false confessions.
People don’t realize that it is perfectly legal for law
enforcement officers to use deception, to outright lie, to obtain a
confession. Suspects may be told things
like, we know you did it. We already
have the forensic evidence to prove it.
We have your fingerprints. We
have the weapon. The list goes on. None of this has to be true. After hours of hearing that law enforcement
has all of this evidence against you, it makes a person susceptible to give a
false confession. Some are told they will be convicted and if they confess
their sentence will be more lenient. Law
enforcement has no control over sentencing or over plea deals. Those decisions are left to judges and state
attorneys.
People confess to crimes they did not commit because of
duress, coercion, intoxication, mental impairment, ignorance of the law, fear
of violence, threat of a harsh sentence, misunderstanding of the situation, and
much more.
Recording interrogations, from the very start to the very
end, can prevent these types of issues from arising. Disputes over how suspects were treated, whether
confessions were coerced, etc., will be prevented. If you are a Floridian, I encourage you to
call or write your state senators and tell them to pass Senate Bill 1220, requiring
that all custodial interrogations be recorded in their entirety.
If you have been charged with a crime, you need the help of
an experienced
criminal defense lawyer by your side.
Contact Heather Bryan Law today online, or call
863-825-5309 for your consultation.
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