CREATORS
April 1, 2025
In 1969, Martin Frazier and an accomplice were convicted in
Oregon of second-degree murder.
During an interview with police, "the officer
questioning (Frazier) told him, falsely, that (his accomplice) had been brought
in and that he had confessed." That was a lie. Frazier was still reluctant
to talk, but when the officer persisted Frazier "began to spill out his
story."
Frazier's case made it all the way to the U.S. Supreme
Court. Frazier argued that his confession was involuntary because the police
lied to him about his accomplice's confession. Justice Thurgood Marshall,
writing for the majority, ruled "The fact that the police misrepresented
the statements that (the accomplice) had made is, while relevant, insufficient,
in our view, to make this otherwise voluntary confession inadmissible."
The Frazier decision provided a precedent for a confession
being voluntary, even though deceptive police tactics were used. Police
departments have run with the decision ever since and haven't looked back.
According to the Cato Institute, police routinely employ a
variety of manipulative practices, including lying about the existence of
incriminating evidence like DNA, fingerprints or an accomplice's confession.
Police also falsely imply leniency in exchange for "taking
responsibility."
These techniques are core components of interrogations
across the country. Deception is taught as a fundamental police training
technique, tolerated by judges and considered a widely accepted law enforcement
practice. The upside for police is the streamlining of investigations — a
confession is often the end of an interrogation and the end of an investigation
for that matter.
The downside is that the use of deceptive interrogation
techniques significantly increases the risk of false confessions. The
psychological pressure and manipulation inherent in deceptive interrogation
tactics can induce even an innocent suspect to admit to a crime.
When faced with repeated assertions that incontrovertible
evidence exists to secure a conviction — such as an eyewitness — some suspects
begin to doubt their recollections, reported the Cato Institute.
Saul Kassin, professor emeritus of psychology at Williams
College wrote in Time Magazine in December of 2022, "Within the scientific
community, proof of the risk posed by the false evidence ploy is beyond
dispute. Basic psychology research in a multitude of venues shows that
misinformation can alter people's visual perceptions, beliefs, emotions,
physiological states, memories, and the decisions they make."
Policymakers should question the role deception plays in
criminal investigations and consider policies to limit its pervasiveness.
Ironically, Oregon recently became one of the first states
in the country to ban police deception during the interrogation of juvenile
suspects.
While juveniles and people with cognitive deficits or mental
illnesses are particularly vulnerable when it comes to deceptive interrogation
techniques, it is important to also understand that capable adults without any
limitations regularly provide false confessions.
A person might falsely confess due to stress, exhaustion,
confusion, feelings of hopelessness and inevitability, fear of harsher
punishment for a failure to confess, substance use, mental health problems or a
history of trauma due to sexual abuse or domestic violence.
Even more troubling is the fact that judges and juries often
take confessions at face value. Confessions are often not critically
scrutinized. The Innocence Project suggests regulating techniques and methods
employed in the interrogation room.
For instance, policymakers should limit the length of
interrogations, as research shows the reliability of statements after two hours
of sustained interrogation decreases. Policymakers should also implement
trauma-informed interviewing methods, which not only protect victims of
emotional, physical and sexual violence, but also improve the reliability of
statements made by suspects of crime.
In addition, interrogations from start to finish should be
recorded. Currently, 30 states and the District of Columbia mandate the
recording of interrogations, either by statute or court action.
In some states — California, Connecticut and New York —
legislative proposals mandating an assessment of reliability for all
confessions before admission at trial are currently pending.
These measures are meaningful attempts to reduce false
confessions, but there is still a long way to go.
Matthew T. Mangino is of counsel with Luxenberg, Garbett,
Kelly & George P.C. His book The Executioner's Toll, 2010 was released by
McFarland Publishing. You can reach him at www.mattmangino.com and follow him
on Twitter @MatthewTMangino
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