Friday, May 20, 2005

Prosecutors Choose Science Over Confession

Prosecutors in Indiana have dropped charges against a man who had confessed to murdering a 10-year-old girl after forensic evidence pointed to another perpetrator. I have to give credit here to the prosecutors for following through on the forensic investigation and for ultimately charging the person who is more likely responsible. Some prosecutors can't admit they made a mistake, but it's good to see that these prosecutors chose justice--both for the wrongly charged individual and for the victim--over saving face. I am curious, though, as to what led up to the original defendant's confession. Many people--especially jurors--don't believe people confess to things they didn't do, but it does happen. Police misconduct and extremely coercive interrogations are only some of the many reasons it happens.

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home