Even 25 years ago, we might not have believed it. We knew there were crazy people, people who for some strange reason might confess to a crime he or she did not commit, and we understood torture, but we didn't understand the psychological factors that would make it possible. |
He was very sincere about this. |
In capital murder cases, snitches are the No. 1 factor, being present in 45 percent of wrongful convictions identified since 1976. When I define snitch, by the way, I don't mean just anybody who's in jail, but anybody who has an incentive to testify a certain way. |
It's spreading nationally. That, I think, is George Ryan's legacy. This is where it started and that's his contribution. |