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'Deathbed confession' man charged

Infinite Chaos

Infinite Chaos

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A US man who thought he was dying and confessed to having killed a neighbour in 1977 has been charged with murder after making a recovery, US media say.

James Brewer could now face the death penalty over the unsolved killing in Tennessee 32 years ago, reports say.

Convinced he was dying after a stroke, Mr Brewer reportedly admitted to police he shot dead 20-year-old Jimmy Carroll.

The 58-year-old, who had fled Tennessee after the killing, was arrested after his condition improved, reports say.

"He wanted to cleanse his soul, because he thought he was going to the great beyond," said police detective Tony Grasso, who interviewed Mr Brewer in an Oklahoma hospital, The Oklahoman website reported.
BBC Story here
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If you think you're going to go - make sure you get a reliable opinion before you confess. :rofl

"He wanted to cleanse his soul" - looks like he may get his wish if he goes to the Electric Chair - I hear those things clean right down to the bone.
 
If fell the need to confess your sins... best confess to a priest, not a cop.
 
Khayembii Communique said:
Couldn't it just be argued that the confession is inadmissible?
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Not really. Dying declarations are considered very solid evidence. This murderer was seeking to make peace, now he'll really get a chance to answer for his crime.
 
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Khayembii Communique said:
Couldn't it just be argued that the confession is inadmissible?
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IIRC, the fact that he believed he was on his deathbed is actually a red herring here - it doesn't need to qualify as a dying declaration because it's a statement against interest that is admissible as a hearsay exception on it's own right.

(Assuming that OK doesn't have weird rules of evidence)
 
RightinNYC said:
While it's admissible in this case, we do have rules of evidence for a reason.
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Just out of curiosity, if I went to a confessional and I confessed something illegal, does the Priest have the authority to report it?
 
Arch Enemy said:
Just out of curiosity, if I went to a confessional and I confessed something illegal, does the Priest have the authority to report it?
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Depends.

The only thing that's certain is that the court cannot force the priest to testify as to what you said. However, if the priest wants to testify about what you said, then it depends on the state. To the best of my knowledge, NY and some other states hold that it's admissible, while several others don't.

(This is not legal advice)
 
RightinNYC said:
Depends.

The only thing that's certain is that the court cannot force the priest to testify as to what you said. However, if the priest wants to testify about what you said, then it depends on the state. To the best of my knowledge, NY and some other states hold that it's admissible, while several others don't.

(This is not legal advice)
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I hope, and I suspect, that Priests are highly confidential and professional with the things they are told.
 
Arch Enemy said:
I hope, and I suspect, that Priests are highly confidential and professional with the things they are told.
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Interesting point - if someone confessed to ongoing serious sexual abuse of children I would hope the Priest felt morally obliged to warn the authorities. Certainly as a teacher - if a student confesses to me they are or have been abused in such a way I am obliged by the profession and my employer to break confiddence and warn the authorities.

I am however required to inform the student in the first instance of my obligation to inform.
 
Infinite Chaos said:
Interesting point - if someone confessed to ongoing serious sexual abuse of children I would hope the Priest felt morally obliged to warn the authorities. Certainly as a teacher - if a student confesses to me they are or have been abused in such a way I am obliged by the profession and my employer to break confiddence and warn the authorities.

I am however required to inform the student in the first instance of my obligation to inform.
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Assuming that priest wasn't committing sexual abuse himself. I'm still disgusted by that whole debacle within the Catholic church. That was the last straw for me on why I left the church.
 
aps said:
Assuming that priest wasn't committing sexual abuse himself.
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That's a WHOLE other side to the story - the worst scenario would be the priest and the confessor exchanging notes and victims after such a confession.
 
Infinite Chaos said:
That's a WHOLE other side to the story - the worst scenario would be the priest and the confessor exchanging notes and victims after such a confession.
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Agree. I agreed with your prior post (hoping that a priest would report sexual abuse) but have a hard time thinking that a priest would turn someone in when so many were corrupt themselves (or can relate to the desires expressed by a pedophile).
 
Isn't there a statute of limitations on murder in the U.S.?
 
Orius said:
Isn't there a statute of limitations on murder in the U.S.?
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I don't believe there is for "murder." For lesser crimes, yes.
 
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