Scott Turow

About the author: Scott Turow is a lawyer and the author of several novels.

Police officers frequently lie under oath. They either commit perjury to conceal their own crimes or else they testify about events they can no longer remember, which also constitutes perjury. Most police officers do not frame innocent people, but they do believe that it is acceptable to perjure themselves if they can help convict a suspect whom they believe is guilty. Moreover, in the officers' minds, the suspect need not have committed the crime in question; if the police believe the suspect is guilty of another crime equally deserving of a prison or jail sentence, the officers will willingly perjure themselves. Courts and lawyers must stand up and insist that police officers stop perjuring...