Friday, May 20, 2011

False Testimony at Kerry Lyn Dalton's Trial

False Confessions

False testimony presented at Kerry Lyn Dalton's trial  happens all too often; the following article from the Innocence Project can be applied to persons who give false testimony; such as Kenneth Waters' case, Anthony Grave's case, Troy Davis and a number of others.
 A major issue with this frequent problem is that district attorneys cannot be sued civilly for misconduct; there is no accountability.

http://www.innocenceproject.org/understand/False-Confessions.php

In about 25% of DNA exoneration cases, innocent defendants made incriminating statements, delivered outright confessions or pled guilty.

These cases show that confessions are not always prompted by internal knowledge or actual guilt, but are sometimes motivated by external influences.

Why do innocent people confess?
A variety of factors can contribute to a false confession during a police interrogation. Many cases have included a combination of several of these causes. They include:

•duress
•coercion
•intoxication
•diminished capacity
•mental impairment
•ignorance of the law
•fear of violence
•the actual infliction of harm
•the threat of a harsh sentence
•Misunderstanding the situation

Some false confessions can be explained by the mental state of the confessor.

•Confessions obtained from juveniles are often unreliable – children can be easy to manipulate and are not always fully aware of their situation. Children and adults both are often convinced that that they can “go home” as soon as they admit guilt.

•People with mental disabilities have often falsely confessed because they are tempted to accommodate and agree with authority figures. Further, many law enforcement interrogators are not given any special training on questioning suspects with mental disabilities. An impaired mental state due to mental illness, drugs or alcohol may also elicit false admissions of guilt.

•Mentally capable adults also give false confessions due to a variety of factors like the length of interrogation, exhaustion or a belief that they can be released after confessing and prove their innocence later.
Regardless of the age, capacity or state of the confessor, what they often have in common is a decision – at some point during the interrogation process – that confessing will be more beneficial to them than continuing to maintain their innocence.

From threats to torture
Sometimes law enforcement use harsh interrogation tactics with uncooperative suspects. But some police officers, convinced of a suspect’s guilt, occasionally use tactics so persuasive that an innocent person feels compelled to confess. Some suspects have confessed to avoid physical harm or discomfort. Others are told they will be convicted with or without a confession, and that their sentence will be more lenient if they confess. Some are told a confession is the only way to avoid the death penalty.

 

8 comments:

  1. What a bunch of crap!

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  2. The so-called "crap" are facts; statistics. I'm sorry it scares you, but the truth is only scary if you hide from it. It hurts all of society to victimize anyone. It sends a negative message to our youth when we de-humanize and abuse people then turn our backs and pretend we are justified...

    Please come out of the dark and look at the truth.

    From Victoria

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  3. So are you saying Irene Louise May is not dead?

    http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2002/04/04/loc_pulfer_death_row.html

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  4. I have no knowledge of Ms May's death, neither does the state of CA. They declared her deceased when the jury passed judgement over a story presented in the S.D. Superior court in February 1995. Neither the state nor the jury had ANY physical reason to believe (or prove) Melanie (Irene went by Melanie while living in S.D.)had died or been killed.
    I have read the interview you provided many times (it has been amongst my collected research for a few years now). It touched me to hear of Jillian's pain - there are many victims in this case. I am so sorry for her loss.
    If you would like to truly understand & know for yourself why I believe in Kerry's innocence, I reccommend you read the entire copy of the trial transcripts. If you have interest & specific questions, please ask me & I'll answer.
    Sincerely,
    Victoria

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  5. I seen deadly women is that whole story a fabrication

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  6. Hi Victoria,

    I live in Australia and have become interested in the case and are wondering if you could please email me the trial transcript?
    I am also wondering how the case began as I would find it difficult to understand how the case even started and why someone would bring a murder case against themself and others, if there isn't one?

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  7. Hello Stevenyzwife:
    If you'd like the transcripts from Sheriff Wilson's testimony, I'll need your email to send it to. All comments are sent to my email before I publish them, I will not publish your email address, this is how I've sent others the transcripts.
    The case began from two points: Joann Fedor needed a story to cover her issues with Child Protective services and the Task Force needed/hoped for someone else to blame for their issues over a serial killing their own were implicated in.
    As most trials are, this one is quite complicated, that is why I wrote the book, CAGES. Please take a look and see if you are interested in reading the facts from start to finish. Copies and excerpts are available at VictoriaAnnThorpe.com and also on Amazon.
    I will send you transcripts by email as soon as you let me know where.
    Thank you for your interest, Victoria

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  8. Hi Victoria,

    I hope you still maintain this website. I want to remind you that there still countless people who support your cause - If you could, I would like you to email me a copy of the Transcripts of Kerry Lyn's trial.. My email address is l.daly.81@hotmail.com

    I live in Australia and just happened to come across the Deadly Women Episode on YouTube... Having had minor scrapes with the law in my younger years I learned a lot about human nature as it is applied in any legal justice system... The so called justice system does not reflect truth or impartiality as it should - Prosecutors and police alike aim to win their case at any cost, including inventing and omitting evidence, allowing secondhand and even third and fourth hand hearsay (ie: gossip NOT fact) to be admitted into Court proceedings, "losing" documentation which may support the defense, fabricating false statements, perjury, the list of deebauchery is endless - Not to mention that there ARE indeed people in this world who will point the finger at another on the basis of any number of misconceived reasons or motives, including revenge, jealousy or purely just to save their own skin or earn another pip on their shoulders - The true basic principle and concept of law and justice is a beautiful thing but sadly rarely attained in a world where greed and corruption run rife - The average person called to jury duty does not perceive the enormous false paradigms that exist within an unjust system. They place too much faith in persons in positions of power and authority without realising any reasonable doubt in their infallibility, despite the evidence or in this case, lack of evidence - I vigorously oppose the death penalty in any legal system and if I were a US resident, I would do everything in my power to support and fight for its abolishion in every US State - There is only one way to true justice in this world, love, compassion, wisdom and truth in sprit... If every human being lived by those very simple, basic ideals then finally we would live as one - How hard can that be ?

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