False Recantations: Cry Rape

Police coercion can result in unreliable testimony from a variety of sources.  Although false confessions are the subject of this post, the same tactics have been used by police to peruade witnesses to finger innocent people.  Less common, however, is the use of aggressive interrogation tactics by police on crime victims, usually sexual assault victims, to recant their claims of being assaulted.  There have been several cases where rape victims have contacted police, police have been unable to verify the claims of sexual assault, and for whatever reason, they then begin to doubt the victim's claims.  Tunnelvision takes over and police then turn their interrogation techniques on victims and have convinced some to recant their claims.  Several years ago, a detective in White Bear Lake, MN, was caught on tape interrogating aggressively a teenage girl who had claimed she was raped.  He didn't believe her and tried to get her to recant; she did not and it later turned out she had been telling the truth.  Here's a snapshot of that case -- http://www.truthinjustice.org/abduction.htm  This was followed by a second case from Inver Grove Heights, MN where officers were successful in coercing a teenage victim to recant her claims she had been sexually assaulted.  http://wcco.com/topstories/local_story_311142618.html

A new book written by Bill Lueders CRY RAPE:  The True Story of One Woman’s Harrowing Quest for Justice tells the story of how police officers and prosecutors from one of the most progressive cities in the country -- Madison, Wisconsin -- refused to believe a rape victim and then coerced her into falsely recanting her statement.  Although I have not yet read the book, the following recommendation, from a law enforcement officer who was involved in the case and who defended the detectives who pressured the victim to recant, is a better endorsement than any I could ever give (I just ordered the book online). She writes:

"Although I am not proud of being one of the characters in the book who, with the best of intentions, initially contributed to the horrible re-victimization of an innocent victim and the injustices that took place in this case, I think it is must reading for every single person concerned about justice in the form of preventing the arrests, charges, and convictions of innocent persons.  In fact, I think it is must reading for all of us working in the criminal justice system.   

It is an example of how very competent, ethical, well-intentioned, and community-oriented police officers and detectives, in one of the most progressive police departments I am aware of, are capable of human error.  It shows how tunnel vision works and is also an example of how the kinds of perfectly legal deceptive interrogation practices, including ruses, that most police departments train their officers and detectives in (whether through formal specialized training or informal peer training) can compel innocent people to confess to things they did not do under pressure from interrogators.  I think Leuders did an excellent job of letting the facts speak for themselves and I am recommending this book to everybody I can."

She concludes by saying: "This case is a personal reminder to me everyday of the importance of humility when you have the authority of the State behind you."

Such honesty is so refreshing. If only more police and prosecutors felt this way and learned from their mistakes, we'd have much fewer wrongful convictions.    

For more about the book, go to www.cryrapebook.com

Comments

[Bill Lueders]

Thanks for posting this. This is indeed one of the lessons of Cry Rape, how the use of these powerful techniques invite the wrong result. And is it amazing that the person who literally wrote the book on these techniques was brought into this case and paid handsomely -- $150 per hour, or $1,500 per day, plus expenses -- to justify their use against a blind rape victim.

Readers of this website and my book may be interested to know that there has been, in the month since the book’s release, a huge political reaction in Madison. The president of the Madison Common Council has introduced a resolution calling on the city to apologize to Patty and to pay her $35,000 for costs and lost wages.

Most importantly, the resolution calls on the chief of police to develop a policy to "eliminate the use of lies, coercion, deception, ruses, or other techniques designed to break down individuals who are reporting that they are victims of domestic violence or sexual assault, in all but the rarest of circumstances."

There is significant public support for this resolution -- more than 100 people turned out for a panel discussion on Oct. 22 -- and some signs of police opposition. The chief of police has expressed wariness with this part of the resolution. But the pressure is clearly building. A few days ago, the chief stood before the Madison Common Council and formally apologized to Patty for the way she was treated.

You can read more about these developments, as they unfold, on the book's web site, cryrapebook.com, especially under the section “Justice for Patty.”

I agree with Prof. Drizin that Wisconsin’s new state rules regarding the use of videotape is good idea. But, as I understand it, police will only need to videotape juvenile and adult felony cases, not misdemeanor cases. Of course, people charged with lower-level offenses are also susceptible to coercion -- perhaps more so, as they may perceive that the consequences of their admissions are less severe.

Finally, as the Madison resolution intimates, the use of these techniques against witnesses and purported victims should be precluded by law and policy.

[km]

My situation does not involve rape, but I know what it is like to try to stand up for myself against the powers that be only to be told that I am twisted and crazy (by law enforcement), and to be mocked because I did and still do want to go to the press and bring everything into the open.

The harder one stands up for self as a human being and a victim, when not believed, the authorities have no bounds in their efforts to discredit and to degrade, and ridicule.

The city offer of $35,000.00 cash settlement is a mere pitance for what she was put through. She will live with the emotional scars of their treatment of her for the rest of her life.

This is a "shame on them" big time.

I withhold my name for my well being.