Legal Question in Criminal Law in Indiana

Re: Innocent man charged with murder

If this case is pending in Elkhart County, then we may have already discussed this. If not, please call at317 686-0000. A discussion here would not be secure.

Re: Innocent man charged with murder

By now you realize that cooperating with the detectives was a mistake. You and your fiance should not have any further communications with the police or prosecution without an attorney present at all times. At this point, the Murder charges need to be defended--the water's already over the dam, so to speak. Your fiance, if he has credible evidence about the crime, may have no choice but to cooperate with the investigation. Otherwise, he may be convicting himself of something he didn't do. An attorney should be retained immediately to represent him. The attorney will obtain discovery (copies of all the evidence the State has) and evaluate the case. If any deals are made with the prosecutor to trade his cooperation in return for dismissal or a plea agreement, they will be negotiated by your attorney and put in writing. DO NOT TRUST anyone except your attorney. Also, tell your fiance not to talk to anyone in the jail about the case. Prison "snitches" can be a problem, and sometimes are even planted by the police to get admissions from defendants. TRUST NO ONE.

One further note: Police are trained to trick suspects into making damaging statements and false confessions (I have copies of their manuals--I know). You need a competent, experienced criminal defense attorney on your side to protect him. No matter what anyone else tells you, nobody (from the government) is there to help you, only to get what they want, which is a conviction.