None, I assume. In fact, for once my post has–almost–nothing to do with the campaign. I write instead to call attention to the eye-opening blog of my friend, the lawyer/scholar/writer Alan Hirsch. An expert in the problem of false confessions, he’s now got an informative website on the topic, one that, among other things, puts in context the recent confession in the JonBenet case.
False confessions are far more common than most people think, and they help reveal some of the shortcomings of our criminal justice system. (And that’s leaving aside interrogation techniques found in whatever it is–“criminal justice” seems rather inapt–you’d call Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, and other points in the carcereal archipelago that the Bush administration has assembled in the name of “national security.”) This site is very much worth checking out.
If, however, you want to know whether or not Tom Reilly was making a false confession when he told us that politics is not his strong suit, Hirsch’s “truthaboutfalseconfessions” blog can’t tell you. For that, you’ll have to wait until Tuesday, September 19. Me, I’m betting that Reilly was telling the truth.
