The Illinois House of Representatives passed a bill Thursday to require video or audio taping of all homicide interrogations, bringing one of Northwestern’s Center on Wrongful Convictions’ reforms just a step away from becoming a law.
The House passed the bill by a vote of 109-7 and the Illinois Senate approved the bill 58-0 last month.
Taped confessions are one of the reforms the center has advocated in the months since former Gov. George Ryan cleared death row, prompted by work done at the center and by NU journalism Prof. David Protess’ investigative journalism class.
“None of this would have happened without the Northwestern commitment — without the Law School and the Medill School of Journalism,” said Robert Warden, the center’s director, who added that the bill is the first of its kind in the country.
The bill, now awaiting only Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s signature before becoming law, would require police to audio- or videotape all interrogations and confessions related to homicide cases in order to make the confessions admissible in court.
The governor has indicated he supports the measure.
Police departments will have two years before they have to comply with the law, Warden said. He added the measure could have a positive impact on the way other reforms such as eyewitness testimony, “jailhouse snitches” and scientific testimony such as DNA evidence could be used in court.
The center is pushing for these reforms as well.
“We were quite confident that we were going to get most of the other things through, but this is definitely a good sign,” Warden said.
Although the center and some lawmakers hoped the taping requirement would include rape cases and other violent crimes besides homicides, they said they are pleased with the progress the bill has made.
“This is a wonderful step,” said Larry Marshall, the center’s legal director. “The bill is not as robust as what we would have preferred, but it is a very positive step in the direction of improving accuracy in the criminal justice system, and it’s one of very many steps that are needed.”
Some jurisdictions already tape confessions on their own accord. Warden said he thinks that once departments begin taping for homicide cases, they will extend the practice to all interrogations.
“Police swear by it,” Warden said. “(Taping) prevents challenges that confessions weren’t voluntary.”
Marshall said he agreed, saying taping offers benefits to both prosecutors and prisoners.
“It will obviously deter a lot of (police) misconduct but it will also lead to a lot of convictions,” Marshall said. “It’s a win-win — the guilty will be convicted more easily and the innocent will be exonerated more easily.”
