Talking in the US context. The Miranda warning says anything you say can be used against you in a court of law but never to support your case. So as I see it talking to the cops makes no sense irrespective of whether you have committed a crime or not. So why do suspects sit for hours long interviews with the cops?
Edit:- “… never to support your case”. As some commenters pointed out the Miranda warning doesn’t say that. That’s right, I meant it in an implicit way. I just saw a defense attorney’s YT video who said that’s the hidden part.
In: Other
>but never to support your case.
Miranda does not say this.
There are a few reasons people don’t remain silent.
They believe they can explain away the situation and/or believe they are smarter than cops.
They believe the courts will go easier on them if they admit their misdeeds. This does sometimes work.
They are unable to not talk.
They are “tricked” into talking. To explain this, police can’t ask direct questions once you invoke your right, but they can still talk to you. People have a need to defend/explain themselves when negative things are being said about them.
People are stupid. Smart people under extreme stress make dumb mistakes
even smart people who are innocent may think they can just explain themselves and be let go
people think they understand the law, but they dont. What they see on TV and reality are far different
people can’t afford an attorney, and are scared of waiting in custody for a public defender to show up
people have lives – jobs, kids, family – and want to get this ordeal over as soon as possible. Many jobs will fire you in a second for missing a shift, and “I was under arrest” is generally not a good excuse
While you’re waiting for a lawyer.. police are doing stuff like this. They can basically conduct psychological warefare on you to the point you’ll say just about anything to get them to stop.
Police are not your friends.
[https://abc11.com/post/city-fontana-reaches-900k-settlement-tom-perez-was-pressured-confess-he-killed-father-alive/15275361/](https://abc11.com/post/city-fontana-reaches-900k-settlement-tom-perez-was-pressured-confess-he-killed-father-alive/15275361/)
Because a lot of people either don’t think that they did anything wrong OR they feel that they can explain their way out of the situation.
Contrary to popular belief, police do not need to read you your Miranda rights. They only need to do this if they plan on questioning you about the crime you’re suspected of. With that said, a lot of municipalities read you your rights when you’re detained or arrested.
Note that your right to remain silent is not absolute. Lets say you were arrested and positively affirmed your right to remain silent. Then in the cop car on the way to the department/jail you mumbled “that guy deserved it”. Even if not read your Miranda rights, such a statement is able to be used against you in court. This is known as a “spontaneous utterance” and are not protected at all.
I think k way too many people here are judging others for talking, calling them “stupid”. It might help to have even a bit of empathy here, most average (white) people trusted law enforcement until very recently. Even now many do. Combined with the fact that these are professionals who have a LOT of experience in getting people to talk and it’s probably the most stressful position an average person has ever been in and it’s not a lack of intelligence or anything. Even quite smart people can start talking very easily. If you are innocent it’s VERY hard to sit there while accused of heinous things and just not defend yourself. You feel INTENSELY like it makes you look guilty and the police will use that. You just want to give obvious statements that show you couldn’t do it, and surely they will understand!
Believe it or not, most people being arrested for criming aren’t known for their restraint and good decision making.
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