Interrogations and Deception
Most people are aware that a person under arrest must be
given his or her Miranda Warning. What I
don’t think is so obvious is how many people actually waive their rights once
they are actually informed of them. Why
do suspects open up to detectives and officers like they are talking to their
close friend? Interrogations and the deception that goes along with them are
set up for the suspect to do just that.
Open up and confess. Unfortunately, the use of deception can actually
lead to false confessions. Types of
deception used in police interrogation include bluff, trickery, and false
evidence. A Supreme Court case that
regulates false statements made to suspects is Frazier v. Cupp, 394 U.S. 731 (1969). Frazier specifically deals
with trickery and false statements, and the Supreme Court held that Mr. Frazier’s
confession was, in fact, admissible.
However, there is still a debate in different jurisdictions when it
comes to fabricated evidence such as lab reports. The question we must ask ourselves is how
far is too far? Is a fabricated DNA test okay as long as it gets a confession?
What happens if that confession is a false confession and it puts someone in
prison for 20 years? I
personally believe one innocent person is one too many.
References
Banks, C. (2013). Criminal Justice Ethics (3 ed.). Thousand Oaks, Ca, USA: SAGE Publications.
During the interrogation process, officer focused on solving the case or to get as much information as possible. If an individual decide waive their rights and give information for a deal for a lighter sentence. Most individuals don't understand the law and sometimes not thinking what they where waiving. From my experience, most of the inmates are unaware of the laws that in place to protect them.
ReplyDeleteChristina I agree with you completely! I often say we must be held accountable for our actions and the end does not always justify the means. I believe you can get a legitimate confession, yes, you may have to work a little harder but it will come.
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ReplyDeleteChristina: You have written a good blog on deception in police interrogations. Professor Taylor
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