Glossary / Lexicon

Brown v. Mississippi refers to the Supreme Court Decision ending brutality and "third degree" interrogation tactics.

Brown v. Mississippi is a landmark United States Supreme Court case from 1936 that has implications for the use of coercive interrogation techniques in criminal investigations. In this case, three African-American men were convicted of murder based on confessions that were obtained through physical torture and coercion by law enforcement officials in Mississippi.

The defendants in the case argued that their confessions should be excluded from trial due to the use of these coercive tactics. The Supreme Court ultimately agreed, ruling that the use of torture to extract a confession violated the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

The Brown v. Mississippi decision helped to establish the principle that confessions obtained through torture or other forms of coercion are inadmissible in criminal trials. This principle has since been expanded upon in subsequent court cases and is now a cornerstone of criminal justice practices in the United States.

Examples of coercive interrogation techniques that would be prohibited under the Brown v. Mississippi ruling include physical torture, psychological manipulation, and deprivation of basic needs such as food, water, or sleep. In addition, the ruling has implications for the use of tactics such as lying to a suspect, promising leniency in exchange for a confession, or making threats against a suspect or their loved ones. These types of tactics can also be considered coercive and may render any resulting confession inadmissible in court.