GIST: "The judge in Bobby Griffin Jr.’s trial on a murder charge Wednesday ruled that an expert on false confessions will be allowed to testify on behalf of the defense. Griffin’s attorneys argued the jury should hear about false confessions because the two lawyers contend police detectives coerced Griffin into saying he fatally shot Nathaniel Bradley during a robbery attempt five years ago on Ella T. Grasso Boulevard. Griffin, 25, of Peck Street, is charged with felony murder, murder, attempted first-degree robbery and conspiracy to commit first-degree robbery. Bradley, 36, of Hamden, was shot as he stood outside his car on the night of Oct. 14, 2013. Superior Court Judge Elpedio N. Vitale Wednesday listened to preliminary testimony from the false confessions expert, Williams College professor Alan Hirsch, while the jury was absent. Vitale held that hearing to determine whether to let Hirsch testify with the jurors present. Prosecutors Sean McGuinness and John P. Doyle Jr. objected to having Hirsch testify. McGuinness said, “He is an academic” who has never himself participated in or watched an interrogation, except on videotape. “I don’t think he’s qualified.” McGuinness also noted that during the voir dire process, when the jurors were questioned before being selected, they were asked about confessions and said they understood some such statements can be false. “It won’t help the jury to have him (Hirsch) come in and re-state it.” McGuinness said such testimony would be prejudicial. “It’s speculative, as he admits. It’s ‘wink, wink, this happens all the time, don’t convict this guy.’” But defense attorney Wade Luckett said Hirsch’s testimony would be relevant, especially since the state’s case is “built on his confession.” “It would assist the jury,” Luckett added. “You can’t be sure they understand this this (false confessions) always happens across the country.” During the hearing, Hirsch said people find it hard to accept the idea of false confessions. “They find it counter-intuitive.” But Hirsch cited statistics from the Innocence Project, whose lawyers began testing the DNA of convicted persons and the evidence in those cases starting in the late 1980s. “They found that hundreds of people had been wrongly convicted and about one-quarter of them had confessed.” Hirsch called those cases “just a sliver of the universe of false confessions.” Hirsch described the Reid technique, commonly used by police during interrogations. He said the nine-step process uses confrontation. He quoted what police or detectives say: “You did it; we know you did it. We have the evidence; you’re done.” Hirsch said this is followed by minimalization, in which the police tell the suspect: “If you confess, it won’t be so bad. Somebody else was the main guy. Your punishment won’t be that severe.” Under this technique, Hirsch said, “The suspect is told confession is the only way out and it’s not a particularly bad way out.” But Hirsch added, “The problem with the Reid technique is it breaks down the innocent as well as the guilty.” Griffin’s attorneys have asserted that during his interrogation by two detectives, which lasted 3 to 4 hours, the detectives lied to him about the evidence they had against him and told him he needed to confess. Detective David Zaweski acknowledged during his testimony Tuesday that he and Detective Nicole Natale did lie about the evidence they had, which police are allowed to do in such situations. Luckett told Vitale Wednesday during arguments about Hirsch testifying that if people watch the videotape of Griffin’s interrogation, “you can tell it (Reid) is the method that was used.” He said the jury will be able to study this during its deliberations. They have seen the videotape already and have the option of watching it again. When Vitale announced his ruling late Wednesday afternoon, again with the jury absent, he specified Hirsch will not be allowed to discuss the interrogation of Griffin and his confession. Instead he will be permitted to talk generally about the techniques of confrontation and minimalization. Vitale summoned the jurors into the courtroom at about 4:30 p.m. and instructed them to report back to hear testimony Thursday morning. Hirsch will be the first to testify. Earlier Wednesday the state rested its case. The prosecution’s final witness was Ryan Rosozinski, a corrections officer for the state Department of Correction. He testified about recorded phone conversations of calls Griffin made from prison and a letter he wrote which authorities intercepted. Those materials appeared to depict Griffin asking friends to give police a version of events that would show he was not the one who shot Bradley. The jurors listened to several of the phone calls and the court clerk read the letter to them."

The entire story can be found at: