"PUBLISHER'S NOTE: This Blog is interested in false confessions because of the disturbing number of exonerations in the USA, Canada and multiple other jurisdictions throughout the world, where, in the absence of incriminating forensic evidence the conviction is based on self-incrimination – and because of the growing body of scientific research showing how vulnerable suspects are to widely used interrogation methods such as the notorious ‘Reid Technique.’ As all too many of this Blog's post have shown, I also recognize that pressure for false confessions can take many forms, up to and including physical violence, even physical and mental torture.
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog:
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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "The district attorney's office re-investigated the case and found DNA evidence that contradicted Dahls's confession. Prosecutors were able to find and convict the true killer, Michael Green, officials said. Pierson has also been working on fixing systemic problems with the way law enforcement interviews potential suspects. The district attorney hosted numerous trainings for 107 different California law enforcement agencies in 2020, along with several other agencies outside of the state, his office said. California's Peace Officer Standards and Training also announced it would mandate science-based interviewing. “I made a commitment to Mr. Davis that I would do everything I could to change the type of interviewing training that led to his wrongful conviction," Pierson said in a news release. "We will continue teaching and encouraging these new techniques, so we do not have any more individuals falsely convicted like Mr. Davis and Ms. Dahl."
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STORY: "Woman exonerated in 1985 El Dorado County murder a decade after her death," by Digital Producer Lindsay Weber, published by KCRA, on June 28, 2024.
GIST: "An innocent woman who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in a 1985 murder case will now be exonerated a decade after her death.
The El Dorado County District Attorney's office on Friday said it filed a motion to vacate Connie Dahl's 2005 manslaughter guilty plea for the death of Jane Hylton.
Dahl was a co-defendant charged with Ricky Davis. Davis was exonerated in 2020.
The district attorney's office said Dahl and Davis were convicted based on a police interview with Dahl that used outdated methods of questioning.
After aggressive questioning tactics, Dahl falsely confessed that Davis committed the murder while she acted as a lookout.
"There has been an urban myth within policing for decades that the only way to obtain information is to use interviewing tactics that employ pseudoscience and psychological coercion, and that urban myth is finally being debunked," District Attorney Vern Pierson said in a news release. "Mistakes were made, and it is my moral and ethical duty to acknowledge the error, take responsibility, and apologize to those affected."
The district attorney's office re-investigated the case and found DNA evidence that contradicted Dahls's confession. Prosecutors were able to find and convict the true killer, Michael Green, officials said.
Dahl died in 2014 before the truth was revealed, the district attorney's office said.
The district attorney's office said Dahl and Davis were convicted based on a police interview with Dahl that used outdated methods of questioning.
After aggressive questioning tactics, Dahl falsely confessed that Davis committed the murder while she acted as a lookout.
"There has been an urban myth within policing for decades that the only way to obtain information is to use interviewing tactics that employ pseudoscience and psychological coercion, and that urban myth is finally being debunked," District Attorney Vern Pierson said in a news release. "Mistakes were made, and it is my moral and ethical duty to acknowledge the error, take responsibility, and apologize to those affected."
The district attorney's office re-investigated the case and found DNA evidence that contradicted Dahls's confession. Prosecutors were able to find and convict the true killer, Michael Green, officials said.
Pierson has also been working on fixing systemic problems with the way law enforcement interviews potential suspects. The district attorney hosted numerous trainings for 107 different California law enforcement agencies in 2020, along with several other agencies outside of the state, his office said.
California's Peace Officer Standards and Training also announced it would mandate science-based interviewing.
“I made a commitment to Mr. Davis that I would do everything I could to change the type of interviewing training that led to his wrongful conviction," Pierson said in a news release. "We will continue teaching and encouraging these new techniques, so we do not have any more individuals falsely convicted like Mr. Davis and Ms. Dahl."
A taste: ""In 2014, the testing of the nightgown revealed saliva in the area of the bitemark. The testing showed that the person who bit Hylton was not Dahl or Davis, but some unknown male. In addition, testing of fingernail scrapings from Hylton’s right hand revealed a male profile consistent with the male DNA found on the nightgown. The unidentified male profile was uploaded into the FBI Combined Index DNA System (CODIS), but no identification was made. Dahl, meanwhile, had died of a methamphetamine overdose in March 2014. In 2015, Richard Leo, a false confession expert, reviewed the transcripts of Dahl’s interrogations. Leo concluded that the detectives’ interrogations of Dahl were “designed…to pressure and persuade Dahl to adopt an account that matched [the detectives] pre-existing beliefs about how and why the murder of Jane Hylton occurred.”
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Read the National Registry of Justice Entry at:
https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/casedetail.aspx?caseid=5684
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PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. 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.
SEE BREAKDOWN OF SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG, AT THE LINK BELOW: HL:
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985
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FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
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FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;
