Go for the World Records in the OLYMPICS for COP-GRILLING
A few days before John Grisham's book "THE CONFESSION" came out, a black Congressman proposed the 'YOU BEAT THE TRUTH OUT OF a PERP WE WANT TO SEE how you did it, requiring a mandatory ENTIRE PROCEDURE RECORDED" (The Grisham novel is about the grilling and Tex-ecution of a boy who after 15 hrs of savage cops on him, confesses to a rape and murder that he didn't do.) Sadly, the House Bill Requiring Federal Law Enforcement to Record Interrogations DID NOT PASS. It is dead in the water. So the OLYMPICS MARATHON for HAVING COPS GRILL YOU RECORD ? NY TIMES has it at 20 HOURS:
http://www.nytimes.com/2000/07/31/opinion/l-grilling-a-suspect-426555.html
Headlines in Oct 2010 read: "A House bill requiring federal police agencies to record all suspect interrogations or forfeit the statements a suspect said during all questioning, will protect both law enforcement officials and suspects, says a Capitol Hill staffer who works for the House member who introduced the bill. (I'm betting Grisham gave the pol an early copy of the novel!
Rep. Henry Johnson (D-Ga.) an African American, introduced the proposed
“Effective Law Enforcement Through Transparent Interrogations Act”
(HR
6245) in the House on Sept. 29, and the bill was referred to the
Judiciary Committee. However, action on the bill by the committee is
not
expected until the Congress reconvenes in a “lame duck” session after
the November elections, according to Andy Phelan, who works for Johnson.
http://www.medicareresources.org/congress/412199
The bill says “a statement by an individual during a custodial
interrogation that is not electronically recorded, and all statements
made thereafter by such individual during such interrogation, including
statements that are electronically recorded, are inadmissible against
such individual in a prosecution for a federal felony.” Under that
provision, all questioning of a suspect accused of a federal crime
would
have to be recorded, or none of the information acquired from a suspect
could be used to prosecute the suspect, except in circumstances outlined
in the bill.
That exception is “if the court determines an imminent threat of bodily
injury or other exigent circumstance made the electronic recording
of a
custodial interrogation impracticable.”
Other provisions of the bill require the attorney general to provide
a
copy of the recording to the individual who was subject to the
interrogation. In addition, the attorney general would be responsible
for maintaining the recording for “all appeals, post-conviction, habeas
corpus proceedings, and all other orders and judgments” until the
suspect has exhausted all judicial avenues; or by “the deadline by
which
such individual must file such proceedings,” or once the deadline has
expired; or until “the statute of limitations” of the federal felony,
or
any related offenses, for which an individual was subjected to an
interrogation has expired.
The law enforcement community, suspects who are being questioned, and
the general public, will all benefit from HR 6245, said Phelan. By
recording interrogations, the law enforcement community is protected
from false claims of abuse or coercion, he said, adding electronic
recordings
will also help the law enforcement for the recordings may contain
admissions that will strengthen the prosecution’s case. Recordings
can
be reviewed later to observe the suspect’s responses and to detect
inconsistencies, and they can be useful in training officers how to
properly conduct interrogations.
In addition, suspects who might actually be innocent will benefit from
the bill because the recording of custodial interrogations might help
prevent wrongful convictions stemming from false confessions, Phelan
said. Such a recording might provide the courts with information
necessary to accurately assess whether a defendant’s statement is
reliable and voluntary, he said. Fewer wrongful convictions stemming
from false confessions will help increase public confidence in the
judicial system, and electronic recording could also contain exculpatory
statements that are favorable to the defense, he added.
Most importantly, recording helps develop the strongest evidence
possible to convict the guilty and ultimately protect the public, Phelan
said. Ensuring that the criminal justice system convicts the right
person for a crime will keep the public safe, and the public does not
benefit when an innocent person is convicted, and the guilty culprit
remains on the streets to commit more crimes.
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