Why would four innocent men confess to a brutal crime they didn’t commit? FRONTLINE producer Ofra Bikel (Innocence Lost, An Ordinary Crime) investigates the conviction of four Navy sailors for the rape and murder of a Norfolk, Va., woman in 1997. In interviews with the sailors, Bikel learns of some of the high-pressure police interrogation techniques -- including the threat of the death penalty, sleep deprivation, and intimidation -- that led each of the “Norfolk Four” to confess, despite a lack of evidence linking them to the crime. All four sailors are now out of prison -- one served his sentence and the other three were granted conditional pardons last summer -- but the men were not exonerated as felons or sex offenders. The case raises disturbing questions about the actions of the police and prosecutors, who relied on the sailors’ often contradictory confessions for their convictions, and disregarded DNA evidence that pointed to a lone assailant who would later confess to the crime himself while serving prison time for another rape.Police interrogators see false confessions more frequently than many people realize. More than 50 people falsely confessed to Austin's Yogurt Shop murders; 200+ confessed to kidnapping the Lindbergh Baby. More recently, false confessions or plea bargains took place in about 25% of DNA exoneration cases nationwide. Here's a brief excerpt from tonight's Frontline story:
The four men described in the story were all Navy sailors, so it's notable that under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, their confessions would have to be corroborated to secure a conviction. Under Texas law, however, a confession alone is sufficient to convict.
UPDATE: This was really a chilling but well done documentary. You can now watch the whole thing online.
Watched this online last night. Very sad that our justice system has failed so many.
ReplyDeleteI agree, the justice system in this country need overhauling. It's all like a big point system. Check, got a sex offender, check, got a drug dealer, CHECK, got a confession out of an innocent man. Who cares if they are innocent or not? It matters about those check marks. I believe, one day, they will pay for their wrongful actions and I pray that somehow the broken system can be glued back together and laws changed to have TRUE evidence instead of forcing people to confess to something they didn't do just so they can get a drink, get sleep, etc. How sad.
ReplyDeleteWhat I find bad too, is the guy in California who is still serving all these years after proven he screwed up on those cases of child abuse YEARS ago. Amazing.
FWIW, the detective responsible for the coerced confessions was convicted of extorting money out of suspects in unrelated cases. He hasn't been sentenced yet, so don't get too happy.
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