Confessional Evidence Essay

1483 Words3 Pages

Without accepting confessions as legitimate form of evidence to be used in the court of law, the justice system would be in complete disarray what with most suspects making confessions to the police, also having a high likelihood of going on to be convicted. Confessional evidence is of great importance seeing as it is one of the exceptions to the hearsay rule. Although it is of high regard in evidential law, it would be naïve to say that the law on confessions is down to perfection, especially with such high-profile cases such as the Guildford four or Birmingham six which brought to the surface the potential possibility of fabrication by police and perversion of the use of confessional evidence to bring about a certain result in a case. While known as the most powerful form of evidence to be adduced, it is also known as the “best and worst form of evidence” to deal with. Whether the implementations of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act has succeeded to remedy the dilemmas in respect to confession is up for discussion.

Before the Police and Criminal Evidence Act was implemented it has long been established from common law, from as early as the 18th …show more content…

How can one know if an admission of confessional evidence is not false? One test proposed on confession is that without independent evidence which corroborates the admission, the confession should not be admitted in evidence. One viewpoint would suggest this would help the authenticity of confessions and deter people from creating false confessions and protect the innocent from unjust convictions, though the justice system requires a balance between this and the ability to convict those which are guilty. Furthermore, a reform implemented as such would undermine the value that is put on confession as being regarded as the highest form of

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