Adrian P. Thomas

Last updated

Adrian P. Thomas was a father of seven children living in Troy, New York, when, in September 2008, his four-month-old son died. A preliminary medical examination indicated that the infant died from head trauma. The police interrogated Thomas for nearly 10 hours during which he confessed to throwing his son on the bed three times. The entire interrogation was videotaped. He was charged with second-degree murder, found guilty, and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.

Contents

In 2011, Grover Babcock and Blue Hadaegh were looking for an example of a coerced confession as the basis for a documentary film they were planning and they used Thomas's interrogation video to make the documentary Scenes of a Crime . Thomas appealed his conviction based on a coercive interrogation. However, the state appellate justices of New York denied his appeal in 2012. Thomas then appealed his conviction to the New York Court of Appeals. In February 2014, the seven judges unanimously ruled that Thomas must have another trial excluding the videotaped confession. A second trial was held and on June 12, 2014, the jury found him not guilty of second degree murder of his infant son. The case created controversy about how much coercion is legally permissible in police interrogations.

Background

In September 2008, Thomas was 26 years old, unemployed, and the father of seven children living in Troy, New York. [1] According to his relatives, he moved to Troy from Douglas, Georgia, [2] after he married Wilhelmina Hicks. [3] On September 23, 2008, [2] Thomas's son Mathew Thomas was approximately four months old when he was pronounced brain dead in a hospital in Troy, and subsequently died in Albany Medical Center Hospital. [1] [4] A doctor at the hospital told police that Mathew died of head injuries that he had sustained. Because of the doctor's report, police began questioning Thomas about the circumstances of his son's death, claiming that an adult must have physically hurt his son: specifically, either Thomas or his wife. [1] [4]

Thomas initially denied that he had done anything to his son that could have caused his head injuries. Towards the end of a nearly 10-hour interrogation, Thomas, although continuing to claim innocence, stated he would take the blame if something had accidentally happened to the child. As police continued to press for responses that fit with a physical injury, Thomas confessed to throwing Mathew on to the bed three times and the interrogation ended. [1] [4] He told police he had been fighting with his wife and had thrown his son on the bed out of frustration. [1] He then signed a confession. [1]

First trial

The same doctor who had initially reported to police that Thomas's son had died of head trauma found at a subsequent medical examination no evidence of a skull fracture, and determined the cause of death to be sepsis. Nevertheless, Thomas's trial for second degree murder began in October 2009. [1] [5] The prosecution built their case around the videotaped confession Thomas gave police. [6] They showed the jury the taped demonstration of Thomas throwing an object on the floor to illustrate how he threw his son onto the bed. [6] This was the first time a videotaped confession had been shown to a jury in Rensselaer County, New York. [6]

In his testimony to the jury, Thomas told the jurors that the admissions of guilt he made during the interrogation were all lies. He said he told the police that he weighed 500 pounds (230 kg) when he actually weighed 350 pounds (160 kg). He also denied hitting his son's head with his head, hitting his son's head against the rail of the crib, and throwing his son on the bed three times. He said that he lied to the police during the interrogation because the police kept repeating that he had injured his son and because he wanted to get out of the interrogation so that he could go to the hospital and see his son and wife. [7]

On October 22, 2009, Professor Richard Ofshe, an expert on false confessions during police interrogations, testified at a hearing that after reviewing the taped confession, he concluded that Thomas's confession fit his model of false confessions. [8] However, after hearing the testimony of Professor Paul Cassell, who stated that there was little empirical evidence to back up Ofshe's theory of false confessions, Judge Andrew Ceresia denied the defense's request to call Ofshe to testify. [9] The jury subsequently found Thomas guilty of second degree murder and judge Andrew Ceresia sentenced Thomas to 25 years to life in prison. [3]

Scenes of a Crime

Grover Babcock and Blue Hadaegh are independent documentary producers. [4] [10] They were interested in the phenomenon of false confession during police interrogation. They wanted to document with a real case the kind of interrogation process that could produce false confessions. They began searching for video of an entire police interrogation, which turned out to be difficult to find until they came across the videotape of Thomas's confession. [4] [10] They subsequently produced a documentary film, Scenes of a Crime , using video from the Thomas interrogation to illustrate what can happen during police interrogations. [1] [4] [10] [11] [12]

Appeals

Thomas's appeal was mainly based on the interrogation techniques used. On March 22, 2012, the state appellate justices of New York denied Thomas's appeal. [13] They concluded:

The video confirms that defendant was never—at any time—handcuffed or restrained, frisked or placed under arrest, physically or verbally abused, threatened or mistreated; he was not told he had to remain or prevented from leaving ... He was repeatedly offered food, beverages and bathroom breaks, which he declined, and his numerous requests for cigarettes were honored. [13]

The appeal then moved to the New York Court of Appeals. On February 20, 2014, the seven-member appeals court unanimously ruled that Thomas's interrogation went too far and that the videotaped confession should not have been shown to the jury. Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman, writing for the majority, concluded that "What transpired during defendant’s interrogation was not consonant with, and indeed completely undermined, defendant’s right not to incriminate himself—to remain silent". They ordered a new trial and ruled that the taped confession could not be shown to the jury. [14]

Second trial

On May 27, 2014, the second trial for Thomas, now 32 years old, began, again with a charge of second degree murder of his infant son. [15] Because the videotaped interrogation was inadmissible in the second trial, much of the prosecution and defense testimony focused on the cause of death of four-month-old Mathew Thomas. Rensselaer County Medical Examiner Dr. Michael Sikirica told the jury that the infant had subdural hematomas, which are often cause in infants by head injuries resulting from violent shaking. Chicago specialist Dr. Jan Leestma told the jury that the infant died of septic shock due to a bacterial infection. Child abuse expert Dr. Patrick Barnes told the jury that the CT scans that he examined of brain swelling and blood on the brain of the infant were old and could have occurred at child birth. He told the jury that the infant was born premature and was also a twin, which placed him at greater risk for bleeding of the brain. [16] [17]

In closing arguments, Rensselaer County Assistant District Attorney Christa Book argued that Thomas bounced the infant on the bed until he fell on the ground causing head trauma, which killed him. Defense attorney Steve Coffey countered that Dr. Edge, who treated the infant at the hospital, did not testify and neither did neuroradiologist Dr. Hoover. Coffey suggested to the jury that they did not testify because the prosecution did not like what they had to say. Book objected to Coffey's suggestions, saying that they were "ridiculous," but her objections were overruled by Judge Andrew Ceresia. Defense attorney Coffey also questioned the testimony of convicted felon William Terry, who testified that Thomas had confessed to him while they were both in prison. Finally, Coffey reminded the jury that despite hearing terms such as "wicked, evil, inhuman, brutal, despicable, wanton" during the trial, they had to be convinced by the evidence beyond a reasonable doubt to find Thomas guilty. [18]

Jurors deliberated for approximately seven hours spread over two days before returning a verdict. On June 12, 2014, the jury returned a verdict of not guilty. According to Thomas's defense attorney, Thomas was "stunned" by the verdict. [19] [20] [21] Assistant District Attorney Christa Book said after the trial that "I'm sorry that I could not bring Matthew justice." [19] One of the jurors said after the trial: "We were trying to grasp that we could not use stuff that was not allowable but we all agreed in the end he was not guilty based on what we had in front of us." [19] After the verdict was returned, his family members said that he planned to return to Douglas, Georgia, and for a welcome home party. [2] On June 15, 2014, he reunited with his family in Georgia. [22]

Controversy

The controversy over this case revolves around the interrogation technique police used to get a confession out of Thomas. [1] The technique is called the Reid technique. The Reid technique is a nine-step procedure followed by most police agencies in the United States. [23] The technique begins by confronting the suspect with guilt, offering the suspect a reason for why he or she committed the crime, followed by various techniques of applying psychological pressure to get the suspect to confess and ultimately obtaining a written confession. [23]

The New York Court of Appeals ruled in Thomas's case that the extent to which police lied and used coercion during an interrogation went too far, but their ruling did not lay out criteria for how much coercion is too much. According to a CBS Channel 6 report, this will lead police agencies across the state of New York to revise their interrogation protocols. [24] Grover Babcock, in an interview with NPR , argued coercive interrogations elicit too many false confessions. He stated that the Innocence Project has exonerated many people through DNA testing and that of those exonerated, about 25% to 30% had given false confessions. [4] [10] [22]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Memphis Three</span> Three men convicted of the 1993 murders of three boys in West Memphis, Arkansas, United States

The West Memphis Three are three men convicted as teenagers in 1994 of the 1993 murders of three boys in West Memphis, Arkansas, United States. Damien Echols was sentenced to death, Jessie Misskelley Jr. to life imprisonment plus two 20-year sentences, and Jason Baldwin to life imprisonment. During the trial, the prosecution asserted that the juveniles killed the children as part of a Satanic ritual.

The Central Park jogger case was a criminal case concerning the assault and rape of Trisha Meili, a white woman in Central Park in Manhattan, New York, on April 19, 1989. On the night of the attack, a group of around 30 teenagers had entered the park; some members of the group committed a string of other attacks. Five black and Latino youths were convicted of assaulting the woman, and served sentences ranging from six to twelve years. All later had their charges vacated after a prison inmate, serial rapist Matias Reyes confessed to the crime and DNA evidence confirmed his involvement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disappearance of Etan Patz</span> Unsolved 1979 missing-person case

Etan Kalil Patz was an American boy who was six years old on May 25, 1979, when he disappeared on his way to his school bus stop in the SoHo neighborhood of Lower Manhattan. His disappearance helped launch the missing children movement, which included new legislation and new methods for tracking down missing children. Several years after he disappeared, Patz was one of the first children to be profiled on the "photo on a milk carton" campaigns of the early 1980s. In 1983, President Ronald Reagan designated May 25—the anniversary of Etan's disappearance—as National Missing Children's Day in the United States.

Nicholas John 'Nick' Baker is a British citizen who was convicted of smuggling cocaine and ecstasy into Japan. He was arrested at Narita Airport on 13 April 2002 and found guilty by the Chiba Prefecture District Court in June 2003. He was sentenced to 14 years' jail with forced labour and fined ¥5,000,000. At his trial Baker claimed that he was tricked by his travelling companion, James Prunier, into carrying the drugs through customs in a false-bottomed suitcase. Baker also claimed that during his initial detention he was mistreated by Japanese authorities with sleep deprivation, no access to legal counsel, and that he was forced to sign a confession written in poor and inaccurate English. Baker's conviction was upheld on appeal but Baker's sentence was reduced to 11 years in prison and the fine to ¥3,000,000. Baker was transferred back to England in the Spring of 2008 to serve the remainder of his sentence. After spending six-months at London's Wandsworth prison, Baker was released on licence in October 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Criminal justice system of Japan</span>

Within the criminal justice system of Japan, there exist three basic features that characterize its operations. First, the institutions—police, government prosecutors' offices, courts, and correctional organs—maintain close and cooperative relations with each other, consulting frequently on how best to accomplish the shared goals of limiting and controlling crime. Second, citizens are encouraged to assist in maintaining public order, and they participate extensively in crime prevention campaigns, apprehension of suspects, and offender rehabilitation programs. Finally, officials who administer criminal justice are allowed considerable discretion in dealing with offenders.

A false confession is an admission of guilt for a crime which the individual did not commit. Although such confessions seem counterintuitive, they can be made voluntarily, perhaps to protect a third party, or induced through coercive interrogation techniques. When some degree of coercion is involved, studies have found that subjects with highly sophisticated intelligence or manipulated by their so called "friends" are more likely to make such confessions. Young people are particularly vulnerable to confessing, especially when stressed, tired, or traumatized, and have a significantly higher rate of false confessions than adults. Hundreds of innocent people have been convicted, imprisoned, and sometimes sentenced to death after confessing to crimes they did not commit—but years later, have been exonerated. It was not until several shocking false confession cases were publicized in the late 1980s, combined with the introduction of DNA evidence, that the extent of wrongful convictions began to emerge—and how often false confessions played a role in these.

Richard Jason Ofshe is an American sociologist and professor emeritus of sociology at the University of California, Berkeley. He is known for his expert testimony relating to coercion in small groups, confessions, and interrogations.

Nelson Hart was a Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, resident, who was convicted on March 28, 2007, of murdering his three-year-old twin daughters in 2002. He successfully appealed the conviction in 2007, and his 2014 confession to police, obtained through a Mr. Big Sting operation, was found to be inadmissible. Without the confession, Newfoundland and Labrador prosecutors declined to pursue a new trial.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murders of Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom</span> 2007 carjacking, rape, and murder of a couple in Knoxville, Tennessee

Channon Gail Christian, aged 21, and Hugh Christopher Newsom Jr., aged 23, were from Knoxville, Tennessee, United States. They were kidnapped on the evening of January 6, 2007, when Christian's vehicle was carjacked. The couple were taken to a rental house. Both of them were raped, tortured, and murdered. Four males and one female were arrested, charged, and convicted in the case. In 2007, a grand jury indicted Letalvis Darnell Cobbins, Lemaricus Devall Davidson, George Geovonni Thomas, and Vanessa Lynn Coleman on counts of kidnapping, robbery, rape, and murder. Also in 2007, Eric DeWayne Boyd was indicted by a federal grand jury of being an accessory to a carjacking, resulting in serious bodily injury to another person, and misprision of a felony. In 2018, Boyd was indicted on state-level charges of kidnapping, robbery, rape, and murder.

The murder of 12-year-old Stephanie Crowe took place in her bedroom inside her home at Escondido, California, sometime between late night January 20, 1998, to early morning January 21, 1998. Stephanie's parents and grandmother found her body on the floor of her bedroom on the morning of January 21, 1998. She had been stabbed eight times. There was no sign of forced entry. Stephanie's window was found unlocked, but a screen was in place and there was no disturbance of accumulated grime and insect traces. A sliding glass door in her parents' bedroom was also unlocked. No knives were found at the scene that seemed consistent with the murder weapon, and no bloody clothing was found despite an exhaustive search.

Michael Mark Welner, M.D., is an American forensic psychiatrist and Chairman of The Forensic Panel. Welner is best known for his work in sensitive and complex litigation. He has acted as lead forensic psychiatric examiner in numerous criminal or court proceedings of national and international prominence, including precedent-setting trials and higher court decisions. Welner is also known for a number of innovations in forensic science, forensic psychiatry and justice, including protocols for prospective peer review in forensic medicine consultation, research to standardize an evidence-based distinction of the worst crimes, The Depravity Standard, and recommendations for upgrading forensic science assessment. He has been featured in network television news coverage of forensic psychiatry issues, has authored publications for professional and public audiences, and has contributed to emerging legislation on mental health reform.

The Norfolk Four are four former United States Navy sailors: Joseph J. Dick Jr., Derek Tice, Danial Williams, and Eric C. Wilson, who were wrongfully convicted of the 1997 rape and murder of Michelle Moore-Bosko while they were stationed at Naval Station Norfolk. They each declared that they had made false confessions, and their convictions are considered highly controversial. A fifth man, Omar Ballard, confessed and pleaded guilty to the crime in 2000, insisting that he had acted alone. He had been in prison since 1998 because of violent attacks on two other women in 1997. He was the only one of the suspects whose DNA matched that collected at the crime scene, and whose confession was consistent with other forensic evidence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jon Burge</span> Chicago cop charged with misconduct

Jon Graham Burge was an American police detective and commander in the Chicago Police Department who was found guilty of having "directly participated in or implicitly approved the torture" of at least 118 people in police custody in order to force false confessions.

Saul Kassin is a distinguished professor of psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice - City University of New York and Massachusetts Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Death of Caylee Anthony</span> American girl killed in 2008

Caylee Marie Anthony was an American girl who lived in Orlando, Florida, with her mother, Casey Marie Anthony, and her maternal grandparents, George and Cindy Anthony. On July 15, 2008, she was reported missing in a 9-1-1 call made by Cindy, who said she had not seen Caylee for 31 days and that Casey's car smelled like a dead body had been inside it. Cindy said Casey had given varied explanations as to Caylee's whereabouts before finally telling her that she had not seen Caylee for weeks. Casey lied to detectives, telling them Caylee had been kidnapped by a nanny on June 9, and that she had been trying to find her, too frightened to alert the authorities. She was charged with first-degree murder in October 2008 and pled not guilty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brenton Butler case</span>

The Brenton Butler case was a murder case in Jacksonville, Florida. During the investigation of a shooting death outside a motel in 2000, police arrested 15-year-old Brenton Butler and charged him with the murder. Butler subsequently confessed to the crime, and the case went to trial. However, during the trial he testified that he had been brutalized into his confession, and he was acquitted. The case gained significant notice in the media, and became the subject of an award-winning documentary, Murder on a Sunday Morning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheshire home invasion murders</span> 2007 triple-murder in Chesire, Connecticut

On July 23, 2007, Linda Hayes and Joshua Komisarjevsky invaded the residence of the Petit family in Cheshire, Connecticut. Though initially planning only to rob the house, she and Komisarjevsky murdered Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters, 17-year-old Hayley Petit and 11-year-old Michaela Petit. Their father Dr. William Petit escaped with severe injuries.

<i>Scenes of a Crime</i> 2011 American film

Scenes of a Crime is a documentary film that focuses on the case of Adrian P. Thomas who was the subject of nearly 10 hours of interrogation by Troy, New York police, culminating in a controversial confession and high profile murder trial. The film won multiple festival awards, a Gotham Award for "Best Film Not Playing At Theater Near You," played theatrically and was broadcast nationally. Reviews of the film were highly favorable.

Daniel Ken Holtzclaw is a former police officer in the United States. He was convicted in December 2015 of multiple counts of rape, sexual battery, forcible oral sodomy, and other sexual charges while working for the Oklahoma City Police Department.

Brendan Ray Dassey is an American convicted murderer from Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, who at 16 confessed to being a party to first-degree murder, mutilation of a corpse, and second-degree sexual assault. He was sentenced to life in prison with the earliest possibility of parole in 2048. His videotaped interrogation and confession, which he recanted at trial, substantially contributed to his conviction. Parts were shown in the Netflix documentary series Making a Murderer (2015). The series examined the 2005–2007 investigation, prosecution, and trials of Dassey and his uncle, Steven Avery, both of whom were convicted of murdering the photographer Teresa Halbach on October 31, 2005.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Holden, Stephen (March 29, 2012). "A Death, a Conviction, and a Disputed Confession". The New York Times . Archived from the original on June 18, 2014. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 Roberts, Luke (June 13, 2014). "Former Douglas Man 'Not Guilty' On Murder Charges In New York". The Douglas Enterprise. Archived from the original on June 18, 2014. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  3. 1 2 Crowe II, Kenneth C. (November 13, 2009). "Troy father learns fate for killing: Adrian Thomas gets 25 years to life in the death of his infant son". Times Union . Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Martin, Michel (November 14, 2011). "'Scenes Of A Crime' Probes Police Interrogations". NPR. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  5. ↑ Eadie, Molly (June 6, 2014). "Neuropathologist's opinion is that Matthew Thomas died of bacterial sepsis". The Record . Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  6. 1 2 3 Gardinier, Bob (November 10, 2009). "A defendant's words, on video". Times Union . Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  7. ↑ Gardinier, Bob. "Video: They were all lies". Times Union . Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  8. ↑ Gardinier, Bob (October 20, 2008). "Witness: Dad's confession in slaying coerced". Times Union . Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  9. ↑ Canfield, Dave (October 21, 2009). "Closing arguments to begin". The Record . Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Martin, Michel (June 17, 2014). "Man Freed After Confessing To Killing Son During Interrogation". NPR. Archived from the original on June 18, 2014. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  11. ↑ Turan, Kenneth (April 12, 2012). "Movie review: 'Scenes of a Crime'". Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  12. ↑ Kaufman, Anthony (March 26, 2012). ""Scenes of a Crime": Unjust Verdict Upheld as Doc Winner Hits Theaters". Indiewire. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  13. 1 2 Gardineir, Bob (March 22, 2012). "Appeal denied in slaying of son". Times Union . Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  14. ↑ McKinley, James C. Jr. (February 20, 2014). "Police Coercion Cited in Order for Retrial in Upstate New York Killing". The New York Times . Archived from the original on March 3, 2014. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  15. ↑ Gardinier, Bob (May 27, 2014). "A child's death: Retrial begins Tuesday". Times Union . Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
  16. ↑ Gardinier, Bob (June 11, 2014). "Jury to weigh in on Adrian Thomas infanticide retrial". Times Union . Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  17. ↑ Gardinier, Bob (June 9, 2014). "No testimony Monday in Adrian Thomas trial". Times Union . Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  18. ↑ Eadie, Molly (June 12, 2014). "Jury begins to deliberate Adrian Thomas' fate". The Record . Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  19. 1 2 3 Gardinier, Bob (June 12, 2014). "Stunning 'not guilty': Adrian Thomas acquitted of killing infant son six years ago at second trial". Times Union . Archived from the original on June 15, 2014. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  20. ↑ Staff (June 12, 2014). "Not guilty verdict leaves Adrian Thomas surprised". Fox 23 News. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  21. ↑ The Associated Press (June 13, 2014). "Adrian Thomas, New York father, acquitted of killing infant son". Newsday. Archived from the original on June 16, 2014. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  22. 1 2 Felsenstein, Sara (June 25, 2014). ""Scenes of a Crime" subject Adrian Thomas found not guilty in retrial". MSNBC. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved June 27, 2014.
  23. 1 2 Gallini, Brian (September 17, 2009). "Police 'Science' in the Interrogation Room: Seventy Years of Pseudo-Psychological Interrogation Methods to Obtain Inadmissible Confessions". Hastings Law Journal, Vol. 61. SSRN   1474813.
  24. ↑ Staff (June 13, 2014). "How Far is Too Far in the Interrogation Room?". WRGB. Archived from the original on June 25, 2014. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.