The California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice has unanimously recommended that state lawmakers require electronic recording of all jailhouse interrogations. The commission added that the law should include a provision stating that if an officer fails to record an interrogation, jurors would be instructed to view the defendant’s statement with caution. Emphasizing that false confessions have been identified as the second most frequent cause of wrongful convictions, the commission’s report also suggested that the legislature provide funding to police departments to implement a policy of videotaping interrogations in felony cases.
“Although it may seem surprising that factually innocent persons would falsely confess to the commission of serious crimes, the research provides ample evidence that this phenomenon occurs with greater frequency than widely assumed,” the commission stated.
In their report, members of the commission noted that taped interrogations could help prevent wrongful convictions and could provide considerable benefits to law enforcement, including protection against claims of misconduct. During a June 2006 hearing, two wrongfully convicted men, Christopher Ochoa of Texas and Harold Hall of California, testified before the panel and explained that a recording of their false confessions could have prevented them from going to prison for crimes they did not commit. Both men stated that the recordings would have allowed the judge and jurors in their cases to see the coercive techniques used against them during their interrogations.
The 18-member California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice is a blue ribbon panel headed by former California Attorney General John K. Van de Kamp. Among the commission’s members are California Attorney General Bill Lockyer, Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton, three district attorneys, a federal judge, and a Los Angeles County public defender.
(Los Angeles Times, July 26, 2006). See prior recommendations; see Innocence.
