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The Case for Videotaping Interrogations

By standdown

That's the title of an OpEd in today's Los Angeles Times by Jim Trainum, a police detective.  LINKI've been a police officer for 25 years, and I never understood why someone would admit to a crime he or she didn't commit. Until I secured a false confession in a murder case.I stepped into the interrogation room believing that we had evidence linking the suspect to the murder of a 34-year-old federal employee in Washington. I used standard, approved interrogation techniques -- no screaming or threats, no physical abuse, no 12-hour sessions without food or water. Many hours later, I left with a solid confession.And:Even the suspect's attorney later told me that she believed her client was guilty, based on the confession...continue to full post

Full post as published by StandDown Texas Project on October 24, 2008 (boomark / email).