Confession in Interrogation Process Police

Confession in Interrogation Process

Police Deception in Criminal Investigations

The American legal system is based on the presumption of innocence, the principle that an accused person in a criminal trial is considered innocent until proven guilty. Therefore, the prosecution must present compelling evidence that proves the guilt of the accused beyond a reasonable doubt. Otherwise, the accused is acquitted. It is sometimes difficult to obtain clear and convincing evidence in criminal trials. This leaves direct confession as the easiest way for a prosecutor to prove guilt. Given the power of a confession by the accused, police detectives have been known to use deception in the interrogation process in an attempt to elicit a confession. This practice is controversial

The extent of deception used by police in interrogations should depend on the nature of the deception and the context of the trial. In the murder trial of Kimberly Ernst in 1995, Philadelphia Detective Eugene Wyatt falsely told Herbert Haat that his co-defendant, Richard Wise, had confessed and named him as the actual killer. Both men were initially ruled guilty but were acquitted by a jury in March of 1997. They later reported being beaten by investigators and forced into a confession. This treatment is unjustified in any circumstance because the accused was presumed guilty without any evidence. In fact, the confessions were the only significant pieces of evidence presented at the trial. The police cannot go against the most basic legal principle, innocent until proven guilty, in order to obtain a confession.

Blatantly providing false information or desperately making threats without any trace of evidence cannot be justified. However, in many cases, substantial evidence against an accused person does exist but it is not sufficient to prove him guilty. If this is case, the investigator relies more heavily on the direct confession and may use deception more liberally. He may present the existing evidence to the offender in a way that makes the guilt appear more certain than it perhaps is, or if he enhances the confidence in the evidence, this could be an effective and acceptable approach to elicit a confession. Coercion and lies, however, should not be an acceptable interrogative practice.

In another case in 1987, detectives lied to Florida resident Thomas Sawyer about the presence of physical evidence at the crime scene. They told the man that they found his hair and clothing fibers on the murder victim's body. After spending 14 months in jail awaiting trial, Sawyer's coerced confession was suppressed and he was exonerated in 1989.