Oh, cops say that they know the suspect is guilty all the time. Sometimes, they even believe it. Also, courts, at least in the US, have decided that cops can get away with basically anything during an interrogation. Obviously faulty confessions obtained through illegal means have literally been ruled binding and admissible.

The weird thing is that in police procedurals you always have the cops doing the “here’s how we know you did it” during the interrogation. Like they’re doing a Poirot-style drawing-room summation scene except in a police station. I’m pretty sure they don’t do that in real life. (And then of course the guy gets hauled away and you never see the actual trial because obviously he’s guilty and the cops couldn’t possibly have made any mistakes right?)

Thank you! It’s been a minute since I last heard it.

The Shadow Circus