Alvarez-Toro Viviana, Lopez-Morales Cesar A
Dr. Alvarez-Toro is a Resident in the University of Maryland/Sheppard Pratt Psychiatry Residency Program, Baltimore, MD. Mr. Lopez-Morales is a Trial Attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC. A version of this paper was presented at the 46th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, October 22-25, 2015, Ft. Lauderdale, FL.
J Am Acad Psychiatry Law. 2018 Mar;46(1):34-44.
Despite the existence of important safeguards in our criminal legal system, innocent suspects often succumb to forceful and deceptive interrogation techniques. Among those over-represented members of the false confessor population are minors, people with cognitive and intellectual disabilities, and those with psychiatric disorders. Some of the confessions made by these at-risk populations can hardly be considered voluntary or reliable, but they are generally admitted at trial, regardless of their prejudicial effect. Forensic psychiatrists should become more involved in the overall process of evaluating confessions, not only testifying in courts, but also assisting policymakers in reforming the interrogation process and influencing the legal process. Thus, forensic psychiatrists may give their expert opinion by providing proper training to police interrogators and examining videotaped interrogations. In addition, forensic experts can be instrumental in contributing to three legal solutions that we propose to the false confession problem: a constitutional approach, an evidence law approach, and a jury instruction approach. Each of these approaches requires forensic psychiatrists to help judges and jurors understand the coercive nature of the interrogation process and its effect on suspects' behavior.
尽管我们的刑事法律体系中有重要的保障措施，但无辜的嫌疑人常常屈服于强制和欺骗性的审讯技巧。在虚假供述人群中占比过高的群体包括未成年人、认知和智力残疾者以及患有精神疾病的人。这些高危人群做出的一些供述很难被视为自愿或可靠的，但在审判中通常会被采纳，而不顾其 prejudicial effect（此处原文可能有误，暂按字面理解为“不利影响”）。法医精神病学家应更多地参与到评估供述的整个过程中，不仅要在法庭上作证，还要协助政策制定者改革审讯过程并影响法律程序。因此，法医精神病学家可以通过为警方审讯人员提供适当培训以及审查审讯录像来给出专家意见。此外，法医专家可以为我们针对虚假供述问题提出的三种法律解决方案发挥作用：宪法途径、证据法途径和陪审团指示途径。这些途径中的每一种都要求法医精神病学家帮助法官和陪审员理解审讯过程的强制性本质及其对嫌疑人行为的影响。
