The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-04-28
THE VALUE OF CONFESSIONS.

> THE VALUE OF CONFESSIONS.
u The confession Of Mrs. Titon has been tn
occasion of an interesting article in the New
York World upon the "Value of Comics
sions as evidence of guilt. The paper is il
the shape Of an interview with DR.. VIM. A
Hammond, the welI-known professor Of dis
; eases of the mind and nervous SYSTEM and
while it contains much that is old and trite
1t states one conclusion as the result OF his
observations that is startling indeed. This
conclusion DR.. Hammond states in the fol
lowing language:
1 believe that 50 large majority Of these
| persons who make confessions OF the perpe
tration OF crimes are the victi ms of mental de-
rangement, that am strongly In favor of an
amendment to the laws, 80 that no man OF
woman can be convicted and punished on the
strength OF a mere confession.
| Certainly Dr. Hammond's suggestion with
! reference to an amendment of the laws has
no value whatever, and the proof Of it is that
there are constantly confessions OF guilt being
made In courts which are set aside and utterly
disregarded. No Judge or prosecuting attor-
ney would ever allow conviction to be
entered on sentence pronounced against
| any one upon bare confession, unless the
| probability Of guilt were sustained by other
| and extraneous circumstances. It is quite as
safe to leave this matter within the discretion
| Of courts as any Of the many delicate ques-
tions which are Of necessity confided to them
In the end 1t depends upon the credibility Of
the witness, and, In the eye Of the law, he who
confesses to q crime is but witness. The
law goes no further than to say that a con
fession Is the best possible evidence, and so
1t will remain in the common estimation,
DR.. Hammond to the contrary notwthstand-
ing.
This suggestion as to the law being clearly
valueless, we are somewhat disposed to dis
credit the conclusion which led to it.
Upon this question the testimony Of
lawyer would be much more valuable than
that Of q physician, and the records Of the
criminal courts far more conclusive than the
personal observations Of any individual.
These do not bear out the conclusion DR..
Hammond processes to have reached, but,
while they recite numerous instances Of false
confessions, they show that in the main this
sort Of evidence Is the BEST and that the esti-
mate placed upon 1t by the law is just one.
Nor do we believe that in the majority Of in
stances where false confessions are made
that they are due to hystera or any sort
OF hallucnation. This idea is an outgrowth
OF that shrewd professional sophistry
which calls moral depravity by the inoffen-
sive name OF emotional insanity, trick that
some years back was the mainstay OF the de-
Tense in almost every important criminal
To ipfo Sn
Is to assert that in almost every case of false
accusal, that fact itself deprives the person so
accused Of reason-an assertion that is not
borne out by human experience. In cases of
where no suspicion has previous
ly attached, there may be more probability Of
the truth of the assertion; but in such cases
the circumstances surrounding the self-accu-
sation will almost invariably disclose the fact
II the person making It is insane, and then, of
course, no conviction follows.
Persons making voluntary confessions are
merely witnesses and, like other witnesses,
they very often lie, and in the majority of
cases they are induced to do SO by the same
motives of self-preservation, affection, hatred,
and so on, that control people under other cir |
striking illustration of this
in this city the other day, in which
man confessed to the murder of man In
North Carolina, and this procured his extra
diton to that State, In order to escape trial
here for minor offense, of which the proof
was conclusive. Hewas taken to North Caro-
lima. and on the preliminary examination it
was clearly shown that he was not In the
State at the time of the murder and that his
whole story was fabrication.
After all the value of a confession is to be
determined In the same way as that of any
other evidence, and depends upon the credi-
bility of the witness, a question always to be
determined in the mind of the judge or jury
man, and which can never be regulated by
any rule of law. A person of unsound mind
would not be good Witness and the bare
suspicion of that fact would discredit his tes-
imony. even though it were in the shape of a
confession OF crime. Confessions may be
or impugned by showing motive
or other causes OF discredit, just as any other
testimony may be; nevertheless, they will
continue to be regarded, and justly, the very
'est evidence that can be produced, the Gre
ience given them to be modified by the per-
sons making them and the circumstances
lnder which they are made.
Mrs. Tilton is reported to be in excellent ,
lealth-better, in fact, than for years-and /
he hysteria theory will hardly be able to
vercome her confession, sustained, as it is
y the ocean of testimony that corroborates
:. Her evidence must be weighed as any Z
thers in accordance with our observations {