Innocence Blog

Frontline: False Confessions and the Norfolk Four

Posted: November 5, 2010 3:10 pm

On Tuesday night Nov. 9, PBS’ Frontline will premiere a highly anticipated new episode on false confessions and the case of the Norfolk Four, who were wrongfully convicted of a 1997 murder in Virginia based on false confessions given after hours of police interrogation.

“The Confessions” premieres Tuesday and will be available for viewing online as well.

The Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project is organizing viewing parties for the episode, and participants will be posting updates to twitter during the show using the hashtag #deathpenalty.

In the Norfolk Four case, four U.S. Navy sailors served between eight and 11 years in prison for a murder that evidence shows they didn’t commit. DNA tests have pointed to the involvement of another man, who says he committed the crime alone.

The police officer who allegedly coerced the men to confess was convicted last month of accepting bribes from criminal defendants in exchange for giving them breaks in court. http://hamptonroads.com/2010/10/cops-conviction-taints-other-cases.

The episode is producer by award-winning documentary filmmaker Ofra Bikel, who produced Frontline’s “Requiem for Frank Lee Smith,” among many others about wrongful accusation and conviction.

Read more about the Norfolk Four case.

Visit Frontline’s website to watch clips from the documentary and to find local showtimes.

Learn more about recording of interrogations, a reform shown to prevent false confessions and assist in law enforcement investigations.