‘Nothing happens to the police’: forced confessions go unpunished in Chicago
All coercion is to be rejected as it allows the guilty impunity and often leads to punishment of the innocent.
But not only physical torture is coercion.
Intimidation is coercion.
And so are other things such as offers of special deals to whichever of a supposed criminal team confesses first, or relative leniency in sentencing to accused who plead guilty rather than forcing the state to the trouble, expense, and risk of a trial.
At best a coerced confession lets the police stop trying to solve the crime.
At worst it also gets an innocent person convicted and punished.
Coercion belongs with planted or faked evidence under the heading "frame-up."
American police are a disgrace, deservedly reputed mere thugs in uniforms.
And the prosecutorial staff are just thugs in suits.
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