2. Confessions to Crime PDF

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Tony Ward - Criminal Process (Evidence) Lecture 2...

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Lecture 2

24/01/2018

Confessions -

Christopher Halliwell and Det. Supt. Fulcher (2011)

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A confession is – “Any statement wholly or partly adverse to the maker, whether made to a person in authority or not and whether made in words or otherwise” – PACE s82 (1), it includes mixed statements which include a defence or other important areas of the statement, it may only be used in prosecution evidence against the maker of the confession.

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Whenever the prosecution wants to rely on a confession, the defence may raise one of two issues to counter argue the confession; (1) by oppression of the person who made it (2) in consequence of anything said or done which was likely to render unreliable in the circumstances at the time any confession which might be made by him in consequence thereof. – R v Paris, Abdullahi & Miller (1993), R v L (1994)

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If the defence raise one of these problems, it is up to the prosecution to completely prove beyond reasonable doubt that this was not how the confession was obtained.

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False Confessions …

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Cherie McGovern Case Study – Questioning somebody who is not well, has been denied a solicitor and then confessed to murder but this was achieved in circumstances that were likely to make the admission unreliable, she then re-confessed but this was also unreliable because the things said and done in the firs interview still impacted the confession.

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Generally ‘serious and substantial’ breaches of the codes of practice will render any admission unfair – Keenan (1990), Walsh (1989), examples of reasons that evidence was not admissible: Deception of suspect and solicitor – Mason (1987), Kirk (1999), Failure to caution suspect as to offence being investigated – Kirk (1999), breach to the right of free impartial legal advice – Samuel (1988), Walsh (1989), breach of the regulations of having an ‘appropriate adult’ – Aspinall (1999)....