HOW COPS BREAK DOWN THE INNOCENT: FALSE CONFESSIONS

FALSE CONFESSIONS:

How Cops Break Down the Innocent

 

The Growing Tragedy of False Confessions: Yes, it does happen and more often than you might think. False Confessions are quickly joining the ranks of Mistaken or False Eye Witness Testimony as the number one reason for False Convictions in The United States. False confessions are not the only reason we have so many false convictions, but they have joined the ranks of other “FALSE INFORMATION”  that continues to lead to False Convictions and worse, False and Wrongful Executions.

     Here is a list of the top six contributing factors that lead to false convictions.

1.   MISTAKEN IDENTIFICATION

2.   FALSE CONFESSION

3.   FALSE ACCUSATION ( the cousin to False Confession)

4.   Government Misconduct

5.   Junk Science

6.   Poor Lawyering

 

 

 

                 “This is a progressive moment

                          It is ours to lose”

                                            -

Naomi

Klein

                          Author~ The Shock Doctrine http://www.naomiklein.org/shock-doctrine

 

By now most lawyers are familiar with the

Chicago

case, whereby two boys ages seven and eight where charged with the murder of an eleven year old girl named

Ryan

, for more information please visit

http://blog.law.northwestern.edu/bluhm/false_confessions/

But how many of us are familiar with the local

Louisiana

Case of STATE V MICHAEL HUTCHINGS?

     In this soon to be Landmark case, Shreveport/Bossier’s own Criminal Defense Attorney, pulled off what many say cannot be accomplished in   the very conservative Bossier Parish, part of the 26^th Judicial District. I can attest, from my personal experience as the former Chief Assistant District Attorney in charge of the Violent Crimes Division that the longstanding belief among the District Attorney is nothing shorter than this:

“ Why waste time on Jury Selection, if you are the State, for in Bossier parish, we can select the first 12 people to sit on a jury and all we have to do is tell them to convict -----and they will….”  Name Withheld.

Fortunately for

Michael

Hutchings

, justice was not such an easy “Given” for the Bossier Parish District Attorney’s office. Both sides took their time in carefully selecting a fair and impartial jury. That same jury carefully listened to all of the evidence {and lack thereof} and took their oath as serious as it was intended.

Hutchings was accused of the most heinous of all crimes; aggravated rape of a 13 year old child. The State’s case was based primarily on

·        The false confession of a mentally retarded defendant

·        3 Gingerbread House interviews of the minor children

·        State’s expert witness,

Dr.

Deborah

Brown

, Gingerbread House Counselor

·       

Dr.

Jennifer

Rodriquez

,

Cara

Center

Medical Examiner

·       

Dr.

George

Sieden

v The Bossier City Police Detective who obtained the ‘false confession’ from Michael Hutchings, the mentally retarded client of prominent defense attorney, Elton Richey, was currently being sued in The United States Federal District Court for use of intimidating confession tactics; and

v Had previously been accused of using intimidating tactics during the alleged confessions of other mentally retarded suspects

ü But, the real kick in the throat is that this Bossier Detective who was previously accused of using intimidating and unorthodox means of obtaining confessions from the mentally challenged; was accused by J. Michael Lawrence, who just happened to be the prosecutor in the instant case of STATE V MICHAEL HUTCHINGS,   not while serving in his capacity as a prosecutor, of course, but the same person responsible for prosecuting Hutchings and sitting as lead prosecutor in the case, is the same person who accused this detective of unscrupulous tactics when obtaining confessions of the mentally challenged; when he Mr. Mike Lawrence was still working as a defense attorney for the indigent defender board.

ü This police detective, it was shown through the excellent attorney skills of

Elton

Richey

is responsible for at least two prior false confessions in murder cases.

Now how is that for twisted Justice?

Elton

Richey

did a thorough job of investigating all possible angles for his client. He did an excellent job for his client and his work will stand out for years to come as a guideline, a bar so to speak for other defense attorneys to work just as hard  to ensure that their clients get the very best representation possible, whether they are a paid, private attorney or an attorney appointed by the state.

Richey has always been held in highest regard among the criminal defense bar and he is known for not leaving any stone unturned. He deserves to be commended for a job well done. He has exhibited strong moral character and his acquittal is for his client, but it is also for the entire criminal justice system. His work ethic goes a very long way in demonstrating what hard work and fair play can accomplish on our judicial system.

Mr.

Richey

has won an acquittal for his client and he has won a long overdue fight for the rights of the mentally challenged and for the accused in general.

Richey was successful in preventing a state witness from being recognized as an expert in an area he is not an expert.

Mr.

Richey

used his talent and skill in obtaining the best witnesses for the defense. He called

Dr.

Solomon

Fulero

as an expert in the field of interrogation tactics and false confessions. He also called

Dr.

Bruce

McCormick

as an expert in the field of “suggestibility of children” and also called expert witnesses for the defense;

Dr.

mark

Vigen and Pediatric urologist,

Dr.

John Van Savage.

Kudos to

Elton

Richey

for continuing to give a good name to

Louisiana

’s criminal defense bar.

For more information on False Confessions please read

THE TRAGEDIES OF FALSE CONFESSIONS BY

RALPH

NADER

The Tragedy Of False Confessions

by Ralph Nader

There are enough injustices in our society without innocent people being convicted of heinous crimes. Yet, it turns out that happens with far greater frequency than we ever imagined. DNA testing, a relatively new phenomenon, has already exonerated 175 people convicted of crimes. Then the more amazing part: one fifth of them had confessed to the crime! And when it comes to false confessions, this is only the tip of the iceberg. One study by two law professors documented 125 proven false confessions - these include people exonerated before or during trial. And these are only the cases we /know/ about. Why would anyone confess to a crime he didn't commit? A new website/blog devoted to false confessions (www.truthaboutfalseconfessions.com), created by my sometime co-author Alan Hirsch , notes many reasons. But, Hirsch says, "In most cases, it's a function of interrogation tactics geared to break people down. These tactics succeed too well - they break down innocent people." Some of the tactics are obviously deplorable. For example, interrogators exaggerate or fabricate evidence -- for example, falsely telling a suspect that eyewitnesses saw him commit the crime. They often imply that the suspect will receive lenient treatment if he confesses and the most severe punishment if he refuses. Many false confessors are young or borderline mentally retarded, but the interrogation tactics taught to police could break down anyone. (In one social science experiment, students at Williams College falsely confessed to misconduct when confronted with bogus evidence.) The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution protects a person from being a "witness against himself." All too often that is what happens - not on the witness stand but in the police station, and even after a person has been read his rights. The spirit and sometimes letter of the Fifth Amendment are violated routinely as such police cajole and bully innocent people to confess. Prosecutors, judges, and juries usually ratify the error because they can't believe the confessor innocent - only adding to the suspect's Kafkaesque nightmare. Why would the police engage in outrageous tactics that implicate the innocent? For the same reason that prosecutors, judges, and juries play their roles in this tragedy - they are convinced that no one would actually confess if he were innocent. Since we now know that this intuition is false, we need to take measures that guard against false confessions. Hirsch's website proposes a range of reforms, including mandatory taping of interrogations. But, he suggests, the most important reform is education. Everyone must recognize that false confessions can and do occur. The realization is particularly important among law enforcement and judges -- but also everyday citizens. This is partly because everyday citizens comprise juries, and it is typically juries who convict false confessors. Ordinary citizens also elect representatives, and some of the necessary reforms require legislation. Again, nothing will happen until we overcome the intuition that innocent people don't confess. How strong is that intuition? Even /after/ DNA exoneration, many defendants remain incarcerated or have to face another trial, because prosecutors or judges still refuse to believe that the confession was false. Sometimes prosecutors concoct an entirely new theory of the case (for example, that the defendant was an accomplice rather than the actual perpetrator) supported by zero evidence. False confessions are far from the only cause of wrongful conviction. Other common sources include mistaken identification, false accusations (a cousin of false confessions), government misconduct, junk science, and poor defense lawyering. Some of these problems are particularly acute, such as the unreliability of eyewitness identification and the inadequacy of many over-worked and under-funded public defenders and court-appointed attorneys. The reality of wrongful convictions has many ramifications, including for capital punishment. Some people who do not object to the death penalty in principle recognize that it will inevitably result (and no doubt already has) in the execution of some innocent people. Indeed, some of the wrongfully convicted exonerated by DNA were only days away from execution. We cannot possibly accept putting people to death without knowing that they are guilty. The false confession phenomenon is a powerful reminder that we often /think/ we're certain of guilt without an adequate basis. After all, what could be more reliable than a defendant's own admission that he committed the crime? That's what we used to think. Now that we know better, it should give people pause about many aspects of our criminal justice system, including the death penalty. For serious insight into these problems, for laymen and lawyers alike, and a sense of what you can do to help, www.truthaboutfalseconfessions.com is a good place to start

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0508-29.htm

OTHER INTERESTING & INFORMATIVE LINKS

VIA

FALSE CONFESSIONS:

http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2009/07/are-false-confessions-coerced-or.html

http://texascriminaldefenselawyer.blogspot.com/

Please leave comments, questions, suggestions, etc. your comments and questions will be answered. If you are aware of a case that hinged on a false confession; we would like to hear about it.