Teresadirk:If Someone confesses to the crime shouldn't that be the exact thing that convicts them of the crime? You don't need more evidence when they confess! This is absolutely the weirdest thing I have heard of. I can't believe that our judical system has lost their minds and Morals. What do you have to do now to be a judge? Weird!
This has been the state of the law in the United States since long before the civil war. If you're interested in the background Google the phrase "corroboration of confession".
The purpose of the law, found in most jurisdictions based on English common law, is to protect innocent people, hundreds of thousands of whom have confessed to serious crimes they didn't commit, including murder. Sometimes they confess to protect kids or others, sometimes they're mentally ill and confused, sometimes they're depressed, sometimes they're attention-seeking and they figure they can "undo it" later, etc, etc. (
The sadest case is one in which the parent confessed to murder because she believed her son had done it...and he was innocent!")
Our legal system is based upon the principal that it is better for 100 guilty men to go free than run the risk that one innocent man be convicted. That makes sense to me.
Sometimes a good law can produce a bad result.
I agree with you on the judge front, though. The quality is declining
rapidly. I think that's because our judges are paid so little, so very few qualified attorneys want the job. In fact, until last summer, Oregon judges were 51st out of the 50 states plus District of Columbia in compensation, and two-thirds of the others live in areas with a lower cost of living. In Alabama, for example, the judges are paid 50% more and the housing costs are half those in our area. The best and brightest attorneys have to take a 50% to 70% pay cut to become a judge. To add insult to injury, the legislature forces judges to publish the names of their spouses, children, siblings, parents, and inlaws, so the whole family becomes vulnerable to any thug who has a grudge against the judge. The same is true for the DA and Attorney General. It's no wonder so few qualified people are willing to serve.
Oregon's culture of government poverty extends all the way up to the Governor who gets paid about what a bank manager earns... That's why we tend to see so few applicants for higher government posts. Most of those who would appear qualified can earn two, three or four times as much in the private sector without risk of harm to their families.
