Posted on 01/15/2014 10:48:52 AM PST by Theoria
New York State’s highest court heard arguments in two murder cases on Tuesday that plumbed the question of how far the police can go in lying to suspects during interrogations — even to the point of telling suspects a dead victim is still alive, but might survive if they confess to precise details of the crime.
The question being considered by the Court of Appeals focused on when a police officer’s lies in an interview room cross a line and become coercion. It is a question that has gained attention in legal circles recently, as more false convictions based on coerced confessions have come to light in high-profile cases like the Central Park Five.
“What is acceptable pressure?” Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman asked Kelly L. Egan, a lawyer representing the Rensselaer County district attorney’s office. “What’s O.K. and what’s not O.K. in terms of deception?”
Mr. Lippman was asking about the case of Adrian Thomas, who was convicted in 2009 of murdering his infant son on the strength of a confession he made after detectives in Troy, N.Y., lied to him repeatedly during a long interrogation. Found listless in his crib, the boy, Matthew, was taken a hospital with pneumonia and a severe infection. Doctors also found evidence on X-rays of severe head trauma and told the police of their findings.
Among other things, the Troy detectives told Mr. Thomas repeatedly that the baby’s condition was an accident and that he would not be arrested. Several times they threatened to arrest his wife if he did not confess to abusing the baby, prompting him to say he would “take the rap.” Later they told him his son, who was already brain-dead, might die if he did not help doctors by describing how he hurt the boy.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
I seem to remember courts approving police lying to get confessions, of course us lying to police is a crime.
If you suspect you are a suspect get a lawyer fast.
(according to this they lied about that too)
Torrance Officer Cleared in Dorner Mistaken ID Shooting
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3111957/posts
lie to them and they may need to accidentally shoot you
The bottom line: consider EVERYTHING the police tell you to be a lie. If the cop walks in and says “Good morning, I’m Detective So-and-so,” it’s probably afternoon, he isn’t a detective, and his name is Smith.
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