 Bertrand Russell Quotes 366 |
The desire to obtain a confession was the basis of the tortures of the Inquisition. In Old China, torture of suspected persons was habitual, because a humanitarian Emperor had decreed that no man should be condemned except on his own confession. For the taming of the power of the police, one essential is that a confession shall never, in any circumstances, be accepted as evidence.
Source： Bertrand Russell: Power, a new social analysis, 1938, chap. 18: The Taming Power
More info.: https://russell-j.com/cool/36T-1801.HTM
* a brief comment
It has become common knowledge in developed countries that confessions should not be adopted as evidence. In Japan, however, it was not ‘common sense’ until the Showa period, and many exonerations were born. Some of these are still being tried to this day.
* Amazon Gift Card
