The only problem I have with this and the other video is that they don't mention witnesses. Well, they mention a witness saying they saw you in the area. Going by their suggestion though, that witness should have never told the cops that either as it implies they were in the area too. Not talking with the police ever and always choosing silence is maybe a good way to protect yourself, but if everyone followed that advice society would definitely hurt.
Starts off slow... gets down to the brass tacks at 9min in where he starts going through his reasons. The moral of the story is that a statement CAN ONLY HURT YOU.
And I disagree with the previous comment; he says nothing for or against witnesses providing police with information related to a crime, as long as they are immune or could not possibly be prosecuted. The 'Virginia Beach' witness's testimony should have been provided to officers, and the point was it would have carried less weight but for prosecutors being able to juxtapose the witnesses mistaken testimony with a contradicting denial by the defendant.
prosecutor-"Could you tell us where you saw him?" witness- "I saw him near the bank that was robbed" vs. prosecutor- "The defendant says he was in the Outer Banks, but could you tell us where you saw him?" witness- "I saw him near the bank that was robbed"
Don't break the fucking law and don't associate yourself with lawbreakers.
As for his Rule 3: Why the hell would an innocent persone mostly tell the truth, and not fully tell it?
Why do I tell little white lies some days? I consider myself a very honest person, but sometimes in regard to a particular situation... POP... out comes a little white lie... Why the hell did I say that? Fu** it, I guess I'm stuck with it.
Afterward, I'll think back and try to figure out why that little white lie came out. I had no intention of lying, it just happened. Was I looking for acceptance or just wanting to look better for that new cute co-worker? I guess. It's a mix of conscious and subconscious desires.
Now imagine you are in very stressful situation. The threat (and add on the imaginative threat too) of you going to jail, your life being ruined,etc is sitting right in your face. You really, really want the police to know that you are innocent. POP... Oh, now you're fu**ed. That accidental white lie is now evidence against your good character in court. Doesn't matter that you are innocent, it only matters what the jury thinks because they are the ones that are going to be deciding your fate.
If you are innocent, your story will come out during the trial.
Peripheral add-on in response to the lawbreaker portion: If you watch part 2 (I know it the comment with the video is after MG's comment), the police officer speaking second says that we all break the law. He gives the example of speeding. The professor also gives an example of that there are so, so many laws that you are sure to have broken one. By strict definition, I think it would be extremely hard to find anyone who hasn't broken a single law.
Right, you can "mostly" tell the truth in most cases, most people can't tell the whole truth. What I mean is sometimes the details of particular events are unclear exactly, our brain fills in the gaps. Like they say, the devil is in the details. That is the point of this whole thing. With perfect detectives, perfect information, perfect juries and judges, one could have a different view of how to treat the justice system. We don't have that, so he is giving advice to our current system, not about what an ideal system should look like.
Stumble This
And I disagree with the previous comment; he says nothing for or against witnesses providing police with information related to a crime, as long as they are immune or could not possibly be prosecuted. The 'Virginia Beach' witness's testimony should have been provided to officers, and the point was it would have carried less weight but for prosecutors being able to juxtapose the witnesses mistaken testimony with a contradicting denial by the defendant.
prosecutor-"Could you tell us where you saw him?"
witness- "I saw him near the bank that was robbed"
vs.
prosecutor- "The defendant says he was in the Outer Banks, but could you tell us where you saw him?"
witness- "I saw him near the bank that was robbed"
... again, statement can only hurt you.
Don't break the fucking law and don't associate yourself with lawbreakers.
As for his Rule 3: Why the hell would an innocent persone mostly tell the truth, and not fully tell it?
Interesting lecture, he seems like he's on pep-pills.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_to_silence
Excellent video, i would have loved to hear the officer afterwards.
Spoiler: he agrees with the professor.
Then you have them by the balls.
I have a better idea:
Don't break the fucking law and don't associate yourself with lawbreakers.
As for his Rule 3: Why the hell would an innocent persone mostly tell the truth, and not fully tell it?
Why do I tell little white lies some days? I consider myself a very honest person, but sometimes in regard to a particular situation... POP... out comes a little white lie... Why the hell did I say that? Fu** it, I guess I'm stuck with it.
Afterward, I'll think back and try to figure out why that little white lie came out. I had no intention of lying, it just happened. Was I looking for acceptance or just wanting to look better for that new cute co-worker? I guess. It's a mix of conscious and subconscious desires.
Now imagine you are in very stressful situation. The threat (and add on the imaginative threat too) of you going to jail, your life being ruined,etc is sitting right in your face. You really, really want the police to know that you are innocent. POP... Oh, now you're fu**ed. That accidental white lie is now evidence against your good character in court. Doesn't matter that you are innocent, it only matters what the jury thinks because they are the ones that are going to be deciding your fate.
If you are innocent, your story will come out during the trial.
Peripheral add-on in response to the lawbreaker portion:
If you watch part 2 (I know it the comment with the video is after MG's comment), the police officer speaking second says that we all break the law. He gives the example of speeding. The professor also gives an example of that there are so, so many laws that you are sure to have broken one. By strict definition, I think it would be extremely hard to find anyone who hasn't broken a single law.