Category: Confession

A confession can be important evidence in a criminal case. But a confession from the accused is only admissible if it is voluntary. A statement from the accused which a court determines has been coerced by law enforcement authorities will be excluded from evidence. In the recent Tennessee case of State v. Woods, M2014-00194-CCA-R9-CD (Tenn.Crim.App. 10-31-2014), the

An out of court confession in a Tennessee criminal case must have independent evidentiary corroboration before it can be sufficient to sustain a conviction. Accomplice witness testimony must also have independent corroboration to be sufficient. Of course, if you have both of these things independently, they can corroborate each other. This occurred in the recent

A confession to the charged crime can be compelling evidence for the prosecution in a criminal case. In the United States, the government cannot force someone to confess to a crime, or even to give statements which may be incriminating. Statements a person makes voluntarily, however, can generally be used by the government in a