Police in Illinois might have to rethink their tactics at this point. According to a new bill signed by Gov. JB Pritzker — police in the state are no longer permitted to use common interrogation tactics out of concern that they often produce false confessions. Police coercion is fairly common and often leads to mistrials; innocent people behind bars when they shouldn’t have been, just to name a few.
As of January 1, cases or confessions that were brought on by false coercion from an officer will be dismissed in the court of law. The bill appears to highlight one prime example of a young man who spent 17 years behind bars for a rape he didn’t actually commit. Back in 1995, Terrill Swift then 17 was told he could go home if he confessed to being present during a rape, a rape he never saw nor was he actually present. DNA evidence despite police coercion led to Swift being behind bars for 17 years.
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