24
Coercive interrogations
A statement produced by fear or exhaustion is not a reliable path to truth
Interrogations can become coercive through threats, promises, deception, isolation, sleep deprivation, prolonged questioning, denial of basic needs, or exploitation of youth, disability, language, trauma, or mental illness. These pressures can produce unreliable admissions and false confessions as well as constitutional violations.
What failure can look like
- Questioning continued after an invocation of rights or request for counsel under circumstances where questioning should stop
- Threats involving children, family, punishment, immigration, or promised leniency used to obtain agreement
- Key details first supplied by investigators and later repeated as if independently known
Protect the record
Preserve complete recordings rather than clips, start and end times, breaks, rights warnings, requests for counsel, physical conditions, medications, interpreter information, written statements, and every version of the account. Do not discuss an active case publicly; contact qualified defense counsel promptly.