Retired Federal Judge H. Lee Sarokin posts, "Why Do Innocent People Confess to Crimes They Did Not Commit?," at Huffington Post.
The answer all too often is coercion, intimidation, deceit and trickery. All of those techniques were employed to obtain the conviction of four innocent sailors for the rape and murder of a woman in Norfolk, Virginia. Danial Williams after only 11 days of marriage was arrested and charged with the crime. After relentless questioning and threats for 11 hours, he confessed. When the confession did not fit the actual facts, he was again questioned and convinced to alter his confession to jibe with those facts.
Because Williams' DNA failed to match any at the crime scene, the police next interrogated his roommate, Joe Dick. Subjected to the same harassment, Dick likewise confessed. For reasons too complicated to recount here, a total of eight men were charged with the gang rape and murder of Michelle Bosko, including two other sailors, Eric Wilson and Derek Tice.
And:
In the 261 exonerations based upon DNA evidence, clear evidence of innocence, approximately 20 percent of the convictions set aside were based upon false confessions. There is no more powerful evidence in a criminal trial than a confession by the defendant himself. There is no greater injustice than when those confessions are obtained through threats and intimidation and result in the conviction of innocent persons.
A reminder that PBS Frontline tonight examines the Norfolk Four in, "The Confessions." Earlier coverage begins here.
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