Coerced Confessions No Good from Iran But OK from the FBI?

Coerced confessions were involved in two different stories I saw reported last Friday, April 6.

I took my first clip from a story on PBS's NewsHour about the release of British sailors from Iran that you can find in its entirety at: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/military/jan-june07/soldiers_04-06.html

My second clip comes from a KXTV channel 10 which has a story on the new trial hearing in the Hamid Hayat case on the webpage at: http://www.news10.net/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=26350

My third clip comes from a PBS Frontline story from last year that you can see in its entirety at: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/enemywithin/view

And, finally, the quote from the Atlantic article referenced in my video is available at: http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200610/waldman-islam/7

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• iran
• british
• sailors
• confession
• coerced
• uk
• terrorism
• lodi
• hamid
• hayat
• joseph
• cote
• PBS
• Frontline
• Newshour
• kxtv
• jury
• bias

[rtoddjohnson1]

If more Americans were like you we would be speaking German!

[LiberalViewer]

rtoddjohnson1,

Actually, English and German are divergent continuations of a common ancestral Germanic language, so we are already "speaking German." But, that's only one reason your argument makes no sense. Still,

thanks for taking the time to post a comment :-)

[rtoddjohnson1]

Talk about divergent...wow.

With your leap in logic we are also speaking Italian, French, and Spanish all at the same time. If you are so disingenuous as to construe identical roots to mean identity (i.e. English = German) then I see how you could quantify American government = Iranian government. You sir are an anti-American!

[LiberalViewer]

rtoddjohnson1,

Calling me names does not help your argument, nor does lumping in the Romance languages with the Germanic languages. And, coerced confessions are what's actually "anti-American" given that they violate basic American principles enshrined in the Bill of Rights. That's why I join with over half a million other patriotic Americans in the ACLU to fight the use of coerced confessions in the United States. Want to join, or are you "anti-American?"

Thx 4 comments :-)

[1LTCobraPilot]

Why would people admit to something they didn't do? Law Enforcement interrogation tactics are to get answers. Why lie and incriminate yourself?

[LiberalViewer]

1LTCobraPilot,

Why did the British Sailors give false confessions? Because the interrogators convinced them it would help out someone else or lead to a quicker release. The point of the "reid method" I linked in my response to thucy2 is 2 get u 2 believe u will never leave without confessing but that everything will be great when u do confess. Do some reading and u will find it happens a lot, but I thought the Brit sailors were a good example in the news

Thx 4 comment :-)

[megaburt]

If more Americans were like you, the world would be a better place. Greetings from Sweden.

[Kalanc69]

I think plenty of Americans think like this. Why do you put the fate of the world upon Americans only? I think that responsibility lies with all humans.

[hbqw]

go plug yur mammas bung hole

[xWatChYouRHeaDx]

theres a movie called the End of America. We are becoming just like Nazi Germany.. but instead of Jewish people.. we harass Iranians and Iraqis. And also the bills that G.W. Bush passed without a care.. is perfect for torturing these "terrorists" which no one rly knows if they are.

[conservativegreen]

in iran they will cut off body parts and also words are words but wounds bleed liberalasshole

[FrostbittenWolf]

The fact that pretty much every expert says that torture doesn't work and the fact that the U.S. constitution declares it illegal is... what? A side note? Grow a brain.

[PochiesRosie]

Shameful? Babies. Grow a pair. ALL confessions are "coerced" everywhere in the world. It's just a matter of degree. The FBI is nothing like Iran. You want to invite terrorists to stop by when they have some free time and volunteer information over cookies and coffee?

[wildbloodydragon]

Well not if we claim to be better than Iran. I mean, the Iranian government is pretty hardcore, they're pretty fucked up when it comes to shutting people up and making them talk. If FBI is just as bad, then we might as well declare ourselves a terrorist state too.

[jimmo42]

Your point?

[vk2xvj]

The defendants at the Nuremberg trials were complying with the orders of the State lest they be killed themselves.

Remember Erwin Romel was part of the plot to kill Hitler and had to pay with his life otherwise ALL of his family would have been killed!

[jimmo42]

fuckbigbrother-If I am not mistaken everyone of the defendants at the Nuremberg trial pleaded innoncent. There was nothing about "changing their plea" after any kind of confession, so there were no "coerced confessions".

[Othelie]

Or an even bigger question, should the practice of jury trial continue?