A confession by a person suspected of a crime is one of the most compelling pieces of evidence the state can obtain. As such, police officers are often eager to push people into confessing during an investigation or immediately after their arrest.
In some cases, police officers engage in abusive or coercive conduct intended to manipulate people into confessing to crimes that they did not even commit. In those circumstances, a false confession made represents a violation of an individual’s civil rights. This situation may have a profound impact on the legal process ahead.
What are the warning signs of a coerced confession?
A lengthy interrogation is one of the biggest red flags for coerced confessions. The Innocence Project, a national nonprofit that focuses on overturning unjust guilty verdicts, asserts that a significant amount of false confessions occur after 16 hours or more of questioning.
Police officers can usually hold people for up to 48 hours after arresting if the state has not yet brought charges. They can continue questioning them throughout those 48 hours. The longer questioning persists, the more fatigued and desperate the person subject to questioning becomes, and therefore the more likely they are to confess to simply escape the interrogation session.
Another red flag of a coerced confession involves police officers’ lies. Neither federal nor state laws prohibit police officers from outright lying to individuals about the case against them. If police officers stated that another party confessed but there was no confession or if they claimed to have forensic evidence that didn’t actually exist, the confession that they secured may have been the result of coercion from someone terrified of an unjust conviction and the maximum penalties possible.
Lies about police officer support or cooperation are also common warning signs of a coerced confession. Officers often misrepresent their legal authority by claiming that they can limit the penalties imposed, convince the prosecutor to reduce the charges or testify on behalf of the defendant. Any signs of manipulation and misrepresentation can indicate a coerced confession.
The impacts of a coerced confession
An experienced criminal defense attorney can challenge and potentially suppress a coerced confession. When there is proof that police officers or other investigators engaged in coercive tactics to manipulate someone into making a false confession, it may be possible to ask the courts to set aside the confession. A coerced confession could also be grounds for a future wrongful conviction lawsuit.
Consulting with an attorney immediately after a coerced confession can help criminal defendants to protect themselves from unfair convictions. The right legal strategy can make a major difference for people who have been pressured into confessing under unfair circumstances accordingly.
