Suppose that you’ve been arrested by
the police. To your surprise, you find out that you’re a suspect in a
high-profile murder case. You’re
obviously nervous – not too long ago, you were enjoying your time relaxing at
home, and now the eyes of the media are upon you – and many people think that
you are guilty simply because you are a suspect. Fortunately, you meet someone
friendly – a nice police officer who wants
to interview you to hear about your side of the story. Eager to go prove your
innocence, you agree – and by doing so, you’ve made one of the worst possible
mistakes you could make – you’ve talked to the police without consulting your
lawyer.
There are several reasons why
answering the questions of the police is a mistake, the first of which is that
it is extremely difficult to be certain that you have not committed any crimes.
Every year, thousands of new acts and laws are introduced, and remembering them
all is simply impossible. Because of that, you might unwittingly implicate
yourself in a crime, even though you were sure that everything you did was
legal.
Secondly, even if you know the law like the palm of your own
hand, you still might accidentally say something that could be used as evidence
or make a correct assumption that will turn out to be correct, making it look
like you know more than you should about the crime. For example, you could say
that you didn’t like the victim, which would make it look like you had a
motive, or you could assume that the murder was done using a knife, even though
no one has really said that.
However, even if you are a genius and somehow manage to avoid
all the pitfalls that might still not be enough. Your testimony might be
remembered incorrectly, or, worst of all, one of the witnesses will make an
honest mistake and say something that disagrees with the facts you’ve presented
(for example, they’ll say that you own a knife like the one used in the murder
even though you’ve never used such a knife in your life). It’s suddenly your
word against theirs, and even though what you’ve said is completely true, your
testimony is still undermined.
So, with all of this in mind, what should you do when you get
arrested? You don’t have to exercise your right to silence no matter what, but
before you do so, you should do everything in your power to gain access to a
lawyer first – which is something that is guaranteed by law in most countries.
Once you’ve done that, just do whatever your lawyer says, and your chances of
being proven innocent should increase substantially.
Have you had
any personal experiences with being interrogated by the police, or know someone
who has? If so, did it help you/them or not? Do you know
of any cases where someone innocent was wrongfully convicted?
Sources:
Comments
Yes, I do know. As the commenter from above claims in Ukraine you it is not a surprise that you can get arrested without doing anything wrong. It is terrible.
I do not have such experience and I don't know anyone who has but I agree with you that if someone got arrested he shouldn't try to convience police about their innocence but wait for a lawyer. He probably has more experience in this kind of situation and knows what to say.
2. Do you know of any cases where someone innocent was wrongfully convicted?
Yes, there were many situations that person was arrested and it turned after several years in jail that he was innocent. In Poland we had Tomasz Komenda case who spend 18 years in prison after he was wrongly accused for rape and murder on 15 year old girl
I have no such experience. And in my environment as far as I remember, such people are also absent. But it seems to me that in any case a person should be aware of the behavior during interrogation, at least that he has the right to speak in the presence of his human rights activist.
2. Do you know of any cases where someone innocent was wrongfully convicted?
Yes, this happens, unfortunately, not rarely. A lot of cases appeared in the press on a similar topic. There have been cases when people were acquitted even 40-50 years after serving a term, and it happened that people generally recognized innocence posthumously.
But I know that I have the right to remain silent and speak only with a lawyer. Without a lawyer, I would not answer more than one question, especially if I was not guilty.
Straight to know no, I saw a video like 12 years later, a man was declared innocent in court. In general, I saw the video by chance, this man had tears of happiness, and he probably waited for this for 12 years, considering that he understood that he was not guilty. But I am not interested in this topic at all, because I don’t want to do something illegal to be convicted.
Unfortunately, I personally do not know a person who was convicted, but the most recent issue in poland was to leave prison after 20 years for rape, which was a lie and now this person is fighting for a million-dollar compensation.
I don't know cases in which an innocent person has been convicted. But I can read a lot about it on the internet, and often cases of innocent people are shown.
Recently, there was loud case of innocent person that has been convicted. The man is Tomasz Komenda. He was sentenced for 18 years of prison. Even our former president Lech Kaczynski was involved into that. Apparently when he was minister of justice, he pushed prosecutors to sentence that man
“what’s the weather like today?”. These questions are used to get you comfortable talking and more open to answering pertinent questions.
The correct thing to do is to tell the truth to your lawyer and let them handle
it from there. You are going to be so jacked up from whatever happened that you may dig yourself a deeper hole than you deserve to be in.
Once - it's not a nice memory :)
If so, did it help you/them or not? Do you know of any cases where someone innocent was wrongfully convicted?
I heard about a case just a few weeks ago, in which a guy has been sentenced for murder, but it turned out that he was innocent
Yes, when it comes to murder, the case of Mr. Tomasz Komenda was very loud in Poland. He was sentenced by mistake or intentional operation of the prosecution and police to 18 years for murder, which he did not commit.
Hmm, it's not real example but situation when innocent was wrongfully convicted is main story arc of Prison Break. Have you ever heard about that TV series? Main character, Lincoln Burrows, was convicted of brutal murder. It's good example of wrong decisions.
Knowing that everything I say might be used against me, I’d rather not to answer this question.
2.If so, did it help you/them or not?
I believe that as long as someone does not have anything ‘behind their ears’ it is really hard to get yourself in troubles just by being interrogated.
3.Do you know of any cases where someone innocent was wrongfully convicted?
There surely are tones of cases which have been closed by convicting innocent people. Many of them are being currently revisited thanks to the development of technology. Just a couple months ago there was pretty loud about the guy in U.S. who spent several (?) years in prison for the crimes he did not commit and only due to the DNA analysis with some newer machines it was possible for him to get out. Countries, however, are not really keen towards doing so as the amount of money they have to pay such people for the misjudgements is tremendous.
It cannot help you!
I have never been interrogated by the police in my life and I hope that it will remain this way. Unless, as a witness and my testimony, they can help another man.
Do I know a person who was doomed innocent? Personally not, but it was loud about Tomasz Komenda who was ordered to be innocent and film "symmetry" which presented similar situations.
I know cases where someone innocent was wrongfully convicted but only from media. Nothing from my own personal experience.
Personally I've never had any experience with being interrogated, and right now I can't think of anyone from my close friends or family has.
If so, did it help you/them or not? Do you know of any cases where someone innocent was wrongfully convicted?
I've heard about Tomasz Komenda - he was sentenced for a very long time, and not so long time ago he was claimed innocent. It's a shock for me - how could it happen? His best times are wasted, he has no memories from his life, only the prison... That's dramatic