To prepare for the start of the lay judge system in May 2009, the Supreme Public Prosecutor's Office has decided to make audio and video recordings, on a trial basis, of the confessions and interrogations of criminal suspects. The trial period will run from this month to yearend. The SPPO will later decide whether to institutionalize the process.
Under the lay judge system, three professional judges, and six lay judges selected from among the citizenry, will decide the guilt or innocence of suspects tried for serious crimes such as murder, arson and kidnapping.
The SPPO decision is a step forward in view of the fact that criminal suspects currently are interrogated in "closets" at police stations and public prosecutor's offices. Because of this practice, the reliability of recorded confessions often becomes a central issue in a trial, contributing to a lengthy hearing process or, in worst cases, to prosecution under false charges.
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