S v Collen and Another (214/86)
S v Collen and Another (214/86) [1987] ZASCA 29 (27 March 1987)
The Supreme Court of Appeal found that the trial court erred by failing to assess the cumulative evidence regarding the voluntariness of the confessions. The court held that there was reasonable doubt as to whether the confessions of both appellants were made voluntarily, given the allegations of assault, the improbability of spontaneous confessions after years of denial, and inconsistencies between the confessions and objective facts. The court further found that, in the absence of other sufficient evidence linking the appellants to the murder, their convictions could not stand. Accordingly,…
Source excerpt
- Admissibility Of Confessions
- Voluntariness Of Confession
- Burden Of Proof
- Assault By Police
- Evidentiary Value Of Confession