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1 month ago in Criminal Law , Criminal Procedure By Suresh

Should we just ban confessions‑ the coercion problem

Japan just exonerated Iwao Hakamada after 48 years on death row—his "confession" was coerced. If confessions are this dangerous, why not just make them completely inadmissible?

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By Natasha Answered 2 months ago

Because reliable confessions remain valuable evidence. The solution isn't blanket exclusion—it's procedural inoculation. Mandatory video recording of entire interrogations. Unrestricted access to counsel. Rigorous judicial review for voluntariness. A corroboration requirementno conviction on confession alone. These safeguards don't ban confessions; they filter out the coerced ones. The Hakamada case isn't an argument against confessions. It's an argument against secret, unregulated, lawyer-free interrogation. Fix the process, don't discard the evidence.

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