If you were Martin Tankleff, six hours of VHS tape could have saved you 17 years. Last week, the New York State Attorney General's office decided not seek a new trial against Tankleff, who was recently set free after serving 17 years of a prison sentence for his parents' murder, which he did not commit but falsely confessed to.
Just 17 years-old at the time, Tankleff was told by his interrogators that his father had awakened from a coma and identified him as the culprit, and that his dead mother had his hair in his hands. He wondered aloud whether he could've committed the murder in a blackout and produced a confession at the detectives' encouragement, a confession he quickly recanted. If there had been an audio or video recording of the confession, the jury that convicted Tankleff may well have reached a different conclusion.
Tankleff is hardly alone. Studies suggest that 15-25% of wrongful convictions stem from false confessions. Research shows that juveniles, like Tankleff, and people with mental disabilities are especially vulnerable to police pressure and thus more likely to falsely confess to crimes they did not commit. Because confessions are often viewed as the most powerful evidence at trial, they frequently trump other evidence that indicates a defendant's innocence.
It's much less expensive and far easier to videotape an interrogation now than it was in 1988, and over 450 police and sheriff's departments across the country have independently adopted electronic recording procedures, with uniformly positive experiences. But only seven states and the District of Columbia require electronic recording of custodial interrogations for homicide interrogations.
The other 43 states should follow their lead by requiring custodial interrogations to be recorded electronically from beginning to end. Recording creates an objective record that helps convict the guilty, protects officers from false claims of abuse or coercion, and reduces the number of motions to suppress, speeding up the judicial process. It cans also prevent innocent men like Martin Tankleff from spending half their lives incarcerated for crimes they did not commit.
The Justice Project, an organization which works to increase fairness and accuracy in the American criminal justice system, is proud to sponsor the Justice Newsladder, a new tool to find the top news and articles about criminal justice reform.