PASSAGE ONE OF THE DAY: "The technique, developed in the 1960s, is called the
John Reid technique and “has gone on to influence most of the
interrogation techniques taught in American police academies”. It
involves nine different stages, nine different stages, leading from
confrontation, to spoken confession, to a final written confession. The
technique includes “At the beginning of the interrogation, the
investigator enters the room, stands about three or four feet away from
the suspect, and in a very direct and unequivocal way, accuses him or
her of committing the crime. This technique has allegedly
compelled thousands of innocent people to confess to crimes that they
did not commit. Lamarr Monson underwent 10 hours of interrogation. He
says he was told by the detective, “She sold drugs for you … you killed
her. (It was) just creating a scenario that they wanted “I would go
back and forth, and back and forth, I’m tired. I’m worn. I’m, uh,
confused. “And, um, that’s finally over with. “I’m taken to the 9th
floor lockup at the time. I’m up there, just woke, can’t sleep, can’t
rest, uh, can’t believe what’s going on. “And, um, you just can imagine,
I’m just … my mind is just scrambled.” Two
decades later, a Detroit journalist Bill Proctor received a phone call
from a woman saying she was with the real murderer of Christina Brown
after the murder."
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PASSAGE TWO OF THE DAY: "According to justice experts, the John Reid technique involves the
interviewer using the following tactics: “I
leave the room, and let you sit there for several minutes because I
want you to get anxious. “And then I walk back in, and when I walk back
in, I’m going to have a big, thick file with me …. with all kinds of
papers in it. “I may have some CD disc, like, marked surveillance
video … but it’s to show you that I have a strong investigation and I
have all this evidence. “So, the first thing I tell you is, ‘Our
investigation has proven “that you’re the one who committed this crime.
There is no doubt about it whatsoever’. “There is nothing that you can
say that will convince me otherwise. All I want to know is, why?’” And
the Reid trained interrogator had a whole list of body language
behaviours and verbal behaviours. If a suspect says, “I don’t know,”
that’s considered deceptive. If a suspect says, um, “I swear to God I
had nothing to do with this,” it is also considered deceptive behaviour.
After ten hours of interrogation, Lamarr Monson signed a confession
saying he involuntarily stabbed Christina Brown. The female cop who
obtained Lamarr’s confession has since been sacked from the Detroit
Police."
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STORY: "False confessions: Would you confess to a crime you didn’t commit?" by reporter Candace Sutton, published by news.com au on April 29, 2019.
SUB-HEADING: "Would
you confess to a crime you didn’t commit? These are young innocent
black Americans locked up after being coerced into saying they were
guilty."
GIST: "In 1996, 23-year-old Lamarr Monson was making a living by selling drugs in an apartment building in Detroit. On the night of January 19 that year he spent the night at home with his six-year-old daughter. The next day, a Saturday, he went to do an afternoon shift at the apartment of a woman he knew as Cristal, Christina Brown. He finds the apartment in a state of chaos, with Christina Brown lying motionless on the floor. He believed Cristal was 17 years old. In fact she was just twelve, even though she was one of the other dealers at the apartment. Although she had been beaten, Cristal was still alive and Monson told her, “Just hold on. I’m going to get you help. “It ain’t going to be long.” He banged on apartment doors begging people to call the police, who turned up and immediately decided Monson was their suspect. Lamarr
Monson was taken into custody and interviewed relentlessly and at
length before confessing to and being convicted of murder and sentenced
to 5 years in prison. Now aged 43, he is free, but only after serving 21 years in prison. Would you confess to a crime you didn’t commit? According to
ABC TV’s Four Corners program
False Confessions, in the US, more than a third of overturned wrongful convictions involve a false confession. The
idea that anyone would willingly confess to a crime they didn’t commit
sounds unbelievable, particularly when the punishment may be life in
prison or even the death penalty. But
a series of high-profile cases across America has revealed a slew of
wrongful convictions based on false confessions and placed the spotlight
on a widely used police interrogation technique designed to make people
confess. The technique, developed in the 1960s, is called the
John Reid technique and “has gone on to influence most of the
interrogation techniques taught in American police academies”. It
involves nine different stages, nine different stages, leading from
confrontation, to spoken confession, to a final written confession. The
technique includes “At the beginning of the interrogation, the
investigator enters the room, stands about three or four feet away from
the suspect, and in a very direct and unequivocal way, accuses him or
her of committing the crime. This technique has allegedly compelled thousands of innocent people to confess to crimes that they did not commit. Lamarr Monson underwent 10 hours of interrogation. He
says he was told by the detective, “She sold drugs for you … you killed
her. (It was) just creating a scenario that they wanted “I would go back and forth, and back and forth, I’m tired. I’m worn. I’m, uh, confused. “And, um, that’s finally over with. “I’m taken to the 9th floor lockup at the time. I’m up there, just woke, can’t sleep, can’t rest, uh, can’t believe what’s going on. “And, um, you just can imagine, I’m just … my mind is just scrambled.” Two
decades later, a Detroit journalist Bill Proctor received a phone call
from a woman saying she was with the real murderer of Christina Brown
after the murder. Blood dripping from him, he confessed to Ishelleena Bentley he had “killed the bitch”. A crack addict at the time, Ms Bentley knew Christina had not been stabbed, rather beaten to death. After
coming forward, Ms Bentley’s evidence resulted in a reinvestigation and
it is found that Lamarr’s confession was based on an unsafe confession. The 12-year-old victim had been bludgeoned to death by a heavy ceramic toilet tank. The item was still in police evidence and was covered with bloody fingerprints. They did not match Lamarr Monsons, but those of Robert Lewis, who was Ishelleena Bentley’s boyfriend at the time. Granted a new trial in 2017, Lamarr Monson was exonerated and released from jail."
The entire story can be read at:
https://www.news.com.au/national/courts-law/false-confessions-would-you-confess-to-a-crime-you-didnt-commit/news-story/bfb4d6f3a5270c6db84d805379003c4e
PUBLISHER'S
NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the
Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my
previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put
considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles
Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's
forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic"
section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles
Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.
