Canada’s highest court has ruled that confessions obtained through so-called “Mr. Big” police stings will not be admissible in court unless prosecutors can prove they are reliable. The Supreme Court rejected the conviction of Nelson Hart who had been found guilty of murdering his twin, three-year-old daughters.
Mr. Big stings involve police pretending to be crime bosses
Police had pretended to be part of criminal gang and, in an elaborate operation, drew Hart into the organization. An officer masquerading as the crime boss told him he would not advance in the organization unless he admitted to killing his children. Hart eventually did and was arrested. But the Supreme Court court ruled the confession was unreliable and ordered a new trial.
ListenFalse confessions ‘a major problem’
“I am thrilled by this decision,” said Russell Silverstein, a criminal lawyer and director of the Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted. He acted as counsel for the association in the Hart case. “This decision will go a long way in reducing the conviction of innocent of innocent people pursuant to these Mr. Big stings.
“I like the decision because it’s very much founded on a recognition by the Supreme Court of Canada, which they’ve recognized before, that false confessions occur and they are a major problem.”
Decision sets precedent
It’s not clear whether prosecutors will go ahead with a new trial for Hart without the benefit of the confession. Other people awaiting trial or appeals involving confessions obtained through police stings may use this decision to strengthen their defence arguments. Those who have been convicted and have exhausted all appeals may petition the justice minister to have their convictions withdrawn.
The national police, the RCMP, say they will refine their sting techniques and to keep using them in gathering evidence for criminal cases. In future court cases, the burden will be on prosecutors to prove confessions obtained this way are reliable.
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