e. In the body of the statement of confession, the maker should always be
referred to in the first person, even though the writer of the document may be the
SA, or the stenographer.
When a stenographer records a person's statement or
confession, she should be briefed about the case and be given pertinent details,
such as the maker's name and address, prior to entering the interrogation room.
She should sit off to the side of the subject, and refrain from talking or asking
any questions, except to ask the person to speak up or to repeat a point not heard.
f. When recording a confession, the only persons who should be present are
the maker, the SA, and the stenographer. In addition to the psychological factor
discussed in lesson one, there is the legal consideration of possible duress or
coercion if too many witnesses are present.
g. Profanity or slang should not be in a statement unless they are key points
and are the exact words of the maker. In some cases profanity may be the basis for
the crime and is, therefore, essential to the statement.
h. Abbreviations should only be used when they are standard and accepted in
the military service.
NOTE: If more pages are needed to complete the statement, blank, white 8 1/2" x 11"
sheets will be used. To identify these pages the following heading will be used on
each sheet:
STATEMENT OF CPL JOHN LEROY KLAXSON
TAKEN AT FORT MONMOUTH, NJ, DATED 22 MAR
XX CONTINUED
i. Once an oral statement or confession has been prepared in written form it
should be signed immediately. A delay of a few hours or until the next morning may
be too long. During the time before signing, the maker may have second thoughts,
have talked to others, or have regained his resolve not to tell; he may even claim
that he did not commit the crime or confess to it. Whenever a long delay follows
the oral testimony and the signing of the written one, you should prepare a short,
handwritten statement, a few sentences long, on the subject's testimony; this
statement should, however, cover the main points of the confession statement. The
subject should sign the handwritten statement upon its completion.
This signed
document may prevent a subject from having second thoughts or deny making the
statement of confession.
j. Other suggestions regarding statements and confessions.
(1) A confession is not the end to an investigation. On the contrary, it
may be only the beginning.
Each confession must be supported by evidence gained
through an independent investigation, as will be explained in paragraph 6d(l),
established of corpus delicti.
(2) If a confession or statement was
recorded by a stenographer,
her original (shorthand) notes should be kept.
These notes may be useful if
MP1016
3-12
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