tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post6638667408857594931..comments2024-03-25T20:06:39.794-05:00Comments on Grits for Breakfast: El Paso case highlights need for recording custodial interrogationsGritsforbreakfasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10152152869466958902noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-29455238422487001402013-04-17T13:44:09.671-05:002013-04-17T13:44:09.671-05:00LOL someone needs to tell the judge that "eve...LOL someone needs to tell the judge that "eventually" hit about 2 decades ago.<br /><br />as for the original case.<br /><br />I know a number of cops are crooked...just like everyone else. But this buch was pitiful. They were so sure nobody would give a shit they didn't even bother to feed the kid the RIGHT info.<br /><br />as for the original judge. For him/her to replace the paid lawyer who was willing to stay for the 2nd ILLEGAL retrial and replace him with a overworked unqualified public defended 60 DAYS before the 2nd ILLEGAL trial. He/she needs to be imprisoned for treason for violation of his/her oath of office. I'm sure the other inmates can then issue the appropriate punishment this asshole deserves!rodsmithnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-25350947683300573072013-04-17T12:21:34.790-05:002013-04-17T12:21:34.790-05:00When I was a kid, there was a case in which a 17 y...When I was a kid, there was a case in which a 17 year-old kid was accused of murdering an elderly woman.<br /><br />The 17 year-old confessed to the crime, but the manner in which his confession was obtained has always bothered me.<br /><br />After hours of interrogation, the police sent in an officer who was "known for his ability to get confessions". This officer talked to the 17 year-old alone and unobserved and emerged a short time later with a typewritten confession that the 17 year-old refused to sign.<br /><br />That's an instance where a video would be incredibly helpful in determining what happened, but at the time especially (this was the early 1980s), no one questioned the confession.<br /><br />Years later, cold case detectives used DNA evidence to solve a very similar murder of an elderly woman in a nearby neighborhood that happened three months before the one the 17 year-old "confessed" to. <br /><br />Granted, we can't revisit the 17 year-old's conviction since the evidence was thrown away (including semen samples that were thrown away before the trial even began) and the kid was executed a long time ago, so the possibility certainly exists that the unusual confession simply resulted in a guilty man getting what he deserved.<br /><br />But it sure would've helped prevent some (though not all) later questions had a videotape been made of the man's interrogation and "confession"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-88007240933844463432013-04-17T09:07:36.807-05:002013-04-17T09:07:36.807-05:00“For our justice system to work it must make two i...“For our justice system to work it must make two important promises to its citizens: a fundamentally fair trial and an accurate result. If either of these two promises are not kept, our system loses its credibility, our citizens lose their faith and confidence in our court system, and eventually our decisions and laws become meaningless.”<br /><br />So very true!Steve Hendersonnoreply@blogger.com