Opinion ID: 1335344
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Failure to correct false testimony

Text: At the 1986 trial, Jason was asked more than once whether he had spoken about the case to anyone other than Officer Harris in August 1985 when he gave his first statement. Jason denied speaking with anyone other than his lawyers, neglecting to mention either the January 22, 1986 statement or the trip on January 24, 1986. The solicitor failed to correct Jason's false trial testimony. The PCR judge found that the State did not violate due process by failing to correct Jason's false testimony because the State may have thought either that Jason misunderstood the questions or that he simply did not recall the recent events. Since the State did not know why Jason failed to testify truthfully, petitioner was found not to have met his burden of showing the State knowingly used perjured testimony. We disagree. The issue is not why Jason failed to tell the truth: rather, it is why the solicitor, who knew Jason's testimony to be false, failed to correct it. A prosecutor's deliberate deception of a court and jurors by the presentation of known false evidence is incompatible with rudimentary demands of justice. Giglio v. U.S., 405 U.S. 150, 153, 92 S.Ct. 763, 31 L.Ed.2d 104 (1972). The failure to correct false evidence is as reprehensible as its presentation. Washington v. State, 324 S.C. 232, 478 S.E.2d 833 (1996). The PCR judge erred in concluding that the State was not obligated to correct Jason's false testimony, and in failing to hold that this violation of petitioner's due process rights required that he be granted a new trial.