RICHMOND — A bill in the Virginia House of Delegates aims to prohibit the use of false documents in securing confessions, a practice that was discovered in Virginia Beach after a prosecutor asked the state for a DNA report that had been created by a detective.
Virginia Beach police said the tactic was used rarely, and the department put a stop to it after it was discovered two years ago.
The bill [HB1281] was introduced by state Del. Jackie Glass, D-89th District. As the Sunday, Jan. 30, print edition of The Independent News went to press late Thursday, Jan. 27, the bill was still in committee.
“This bill is about preserving the integrity of forensic scientist’s work and the work of our law enforcement officers,” Glass said during an interview in Richmond on Tuesday, Jan. 25
Glass said the bill aims to stop the use of all “inauthentic replica documents” during custodial interviews, not just ones made to look like they are from the state.
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