“We stand for organized terror - this should be frankly admitted. Terror is an absolute necessity during times of revolution. Our aim is to fight against the enemies of the Soviet Government and of the new order of life. We judge quickly. In most cases only a day passes between the apprehension of the criminal and his sentence. When confronted with evidence criminals in almost every case confess; and what argument can have greater weight than a criminal's own confession?”
― Felix Dzerzhinsky
"...and what argument can have greater weight than a criminal's own confession?"
ReplyDeleteWas this Dzerzhinsky who said this or was it from the District Attorney's handbook used by local proscutors in every jurisdiction in America?
ps....
In the murder of four teen girls in my neighborhood's Yogurt Shop in 1991 our Austin, Texas city police received over 50 contradictory confessions, and selected out one as the easiest to bring to trial. Even that conviction was eventually thrown out.