From May 24, 2003
IF SHAWN Drumgold is eventually exonerated, why did it take 14 years for the truth to come out? Drumgold was convicted by a jury, his trial reviewed by the Supreme Judicial Court, and two motions for a new trial denied. How did the truth escape such scrutiny?
I think the answer can be found in the words of Chief Justice Earl Warren when he wrote the majority opinion in Miranda v. Arizona in 1966. Warren writes about the closed interrogation room where the homicide detectives question suspects and witnesses: "Interrogation still takes place in privacy. Privacy results in secrecy and this in turn results in a gap in our knowledge as to what in fact goes on in the interrogation rooms."
This gap in our knowledge remains today. Homicide detectives still question suspects and witnesses in closed interrogation rooms. We need to open up these closed interrogation rooms.
RANDY GIOIA
Boston
