NEW YORK - A teenage suspect who secretly recorded his interrogation on an MP3 player has landed a veteran detective in the middle of perjury charges, authorities said Thursday.This shows the importance of the AfroSpear's Freedom Technology Christmas campaign, because if the defendant hadn't had an MP3 player to record the police interrogation, that officer's word might have been accepted as fact. Instead, the officer could be looking at some jail time.
Unaware of the recording, Detective Christopher Perino testified in April that the suspect "wasn't questioned" about a shooting in the Bronx, a criminal complaint said. But then the defense confronted the detective with a transcript it said proved he had spent more than an hour unsuccessfully trying to persuade Erik Crespo to confess — at times with vulgar tactics.
Once the transcript was revealed in court, prosecutors asked for a recess, defense attorney Mark DeMarco said. The detective was pulled from the witness stand and advised to get a lawyer.
( . . . )Perino had arrested Crespo on New Year's Eve 2005 while investigating the shooting of a man in an elevator. While in an interrogation room at a station house, Crespo, then 17, stealthily pressed the record button on the MP3 player, a Christmas gift, DeMarco said.
After Crespo was charged with attempted murder, his family surprised DeMarco by playing him the recording.
"I couldn't believe my ears," said the lawyer, who decided to keep the recording under wraps until he cross-examined Perino at the trial.
Prosecutors then offered Crespo, who had faced as many as 25 years if convicted, seven years if he pleaded guilty to a weapons charge. He accepted Yahoo News
December 7, 2007
In Victory for Freedom Technology, Young Man's MP3 Player Changes the Balance of Power in a Criminal Case
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
Great story. Not only does it show the importance of Freedom Technology, but it reveals something we have known all along- that is, investigators routinely lie to gain a conviction.
I tend to look at challenges from a systemic solutions viewpoint. I think by now, in this age of ubiquitous audio and video taping capability, the justice system would REQUIRE that all these law enforcement interactions be recorded. It shouldn't be incumbent upon an individual to have to remember to surreptitiously protect himself against the excesses of state authorities.
While I am happy the young man was able to protect his neck, I certainly hope we don't think that a push for individual responsibility in this area is a workable rallying cry. Rather, we should use this case and any others like it to push for reforms in the criminal justice system that make it literally impssible for enforcers of the law to trample on the legal rights of anyone.
Police brutality happens in the streets all the time. Documenting it helps us to fight it.
Testilying happens all the time and documenting it helps to show the need for mandatory taping of interrogations.
I agree that systemic solutions are needed, but individual struggles for justice often point out the need for and lead the way toward systemic solutions.
Hello. This post is likeable, and your blog is very interesting, congratulations :-). I will add in my blogroll =)THANX FOR MAKING SUCH A COOL BLOG
Let me share with you a great resource,
Christmas Web guide
They really know what they are doing. If you are in need of New Christmas Ideas Or Just Want To know how to make Your Christmas memorable Just Go And Check out this
Post a Comment