A prosecutor yesterday suggested to an appellate court that only physical force and overbearing pressure, not psychological coercion, can render a confession involuntary and inadmissible. The Appellate Division, Third Department, heard the arguments in People v. Thomas, (NYLJ, Nov. 15, 2011), a case in which the defense argues that the defendant’s nearly 10-hour taped confession was coerced through psychological trickery by police.
Records show that Troy police repeatedly lied to Mr. Thomas and at one point told him they needed to know exactly how his baby was injured because doctors were struggling to save the child’s life. At the time, police knew the infant was brain dead. Mr. Thomas eventually said he had roughly thrown the infant on a bed. He was convicted of second-degree murder.
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