Should it be illegal to confess to a crime that you know you didn't commit?

Question

I'm an advocate of free speech, but you can't yell "Fire! Fire!" in a theater right? I mean you can say some stuff that can really mess up people's lives. You can't yell "Bomb!" in an Airplane. So I'm kind of puzzled that there are not laws in the books for the kind of mess that John Carr caused, and he's probably going to write books about this whole mess and make money. It seems like he should be in jail for at least 6 months for some kind of endangerment of public safety or something. Those Boulder Cops have got to win some award for thier poor investigative work.

Answer 1

It is a Crime. S/he could be reporting a false incident or if s/he is under oath they would be committing perjury.

Statue 240.50 Falsely reporting an incident in the third degree.

A person is guilty of falsely reporting an incident in the third degree when, knowing the information reported, conveyed or circulated to be false or baseless, he: 3. Gratuitously reports to a law enforcement officer or agency (a) the alleged occurrence of an offense or incident which did not in fact occur; or (b) an allegedly impending occurrence of an offense or incident which in fact is not about to occur; or (c) false information relating to an actual offense or incident or to the alleged implication of some person therein.

Statue 210.15 Perjury in the first degree.

A person is guilty of perjury in the first degree when he swears falsely and when his false statement (a) consists of testimony, and (b) is material to the action, proceeding or matter in which it is made. Perjury in the first degree is a class D felony.

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

As previous responders have mentioned, there are laws against wasting Police time, making false reports, etc. However, none of them apply to Karr.

If news reports are to be believed, since Karr got on the plane back to the US he has refused to make further statements to the Police. As a consequence he has asserted his legal right to silence, which is NOT a crime. You cannot be charged for hindering an investigation by refusing to talk. Equally, despite his reported online confession, he has hardly wasted Police time. It was the decision of the DA to go to Thailand and extradite Karr, based purely (apparently) on email exchanges, but absolutely no physical evidence - an extremely dumb decision. It would have been very easy to have obtained a DNA sample from him while he was in Thailand so that they could have saved Colorado taxpayers a ton of money, the Ramsey family more heartache, and Boulder Police yet more embarrasment. Frankly the world would have been better served by leaving him in Thailand, as Thai jails are not reknowned for their humane conditions, which is where he was otherwise headed. The Boulder cops played right into his hands.

Answer 4

I agree! I heard on the news that this was the most expensive DNA test in the History of Colorado. Not only he caused a mess, but also put Jonbenet's family in more emotional and mental problems, when they already are having major ones!

He said things such as he is a dark person and that he was with her when she got murdered! Now the a$$ is really famous and is going to make money out of it! I agree with you, no laws regarding this matter is really annoying!!!

More to your question, I heard the a European businessman entered the States in the 1990s and when asked what was the purpose of the visit, he claimed that he is here to kill Clinton, the US president at the time. He said it as a joke and was deported immediately! I think this is one big stupid joke! There are many matters and situation that cannot take this kind of silly jokes and false testimony! ITS STUPID! Its all a waste of resources; money, time, effort...etc.

The first answerer is also right, there is a law against these kind of crimes that is called perjury, which is basically the deliberate willful giving of false testimony under oath or affirmation, before a competent tribunal, upon a point material to a legal inquiry.

Answer 5

I agree 100% with U. They did shoddy work. But then,
supposedly so did the cops on the OJ crap. There was so much
evidence....God!! Any way, that Carr dude just wanted a free ride back to good ol USA. Yes, Why doesn't law legislators update or upgrade the "system" ?????? What the heck do they
do all friggin day ??? Besides go to the titty bars to entertain their
"clients" or "constituents" . They are slackers....they don't care about "the people" and our constitution. Theyr'e in it for power & greed. Our laws, are outdated. And they need to be worked on.

Answer 6

It depends on the mental stability of the person confessing. (for the case in Boulder I doubt Karr is very stable). However it is actually ILLEGAL. It's called hindering a police investigation and can become purgery. It is punishable by jail time - but not always.

Answer 7

I believe this would be considered hindering an official investigation and, as such, illegal ... whether the appropriate authorities feel it is in the public's interest to file charges varies with the region and situation.

Answer 8

The problem is, this is what he wants, the attention, and will get it obviously at any cost...So he goes to jail for 6 months or whatever, he's had his 15 minutes and that's all that matters to him...He definately has a mental issue...and needs help...IMO

Answer 9

You so got it. The problem is that Karr didn't confess. Listen to his statement again. I wonder if they can get him for some kind of fraud? More time than child porn if the statutes haven't run out.

Answer 10

I don't think karr did it either. it is fair to say he is retarded. For confessing to a crime he did not commit. I think he should be lock away just because he is sick not to mention a liar. It is wrong to confess to a crime you did not commit, it should be punishable by law.