Words Matter (again)

As a Forensic Linguist, I urge you to listen to this post: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/activity-7092641540887511043-3lwS?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop.

Poor Police Practice

We’re finding more and more false confessions. Most of these are the result of poor police practice.

The confession is the gold standard for criminal convictions. You will find many of those confessions are typewritten by officers who carefully construct the confession to incorporate what the confessor said with his/her admission to all the elements of the crime committed. This is a terrible practice and unintentionally promotes false confessions. 

Police practices should require the confessor to write handwritten confessions. The officers can supplement that with additional questions to which the confessor can write responses. However, the confession needs to be in the confessor’s own handwriting. If the confessor cannot handwrite, the officer should record the confession and, with a witness, have the confessor sign an accurate transcription.

There are many reasons for this recommendation:
- The officer’s rendition will include terms the confessor defines differently; 
- precise details would have been written differently by the confessor; 
- the confession will be much more difficult to challenge; 
- the confession is much less likely to be a false confession.

If you find an officer-typed confession in your case, give it a closer look. This is a poor police practice that deserves close inspection.

FBI Speech

I’m looking forward to my speech on Forensic Linguistics (“Understanding Communication”) at the 2023 FBI National Academy Annual Conference in Denver, CO. 

Words Reveal Intent

Words reveal intent.

Watch for the subtleties, the rays of truth, and the shadows of evil.