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Eternal Satemouths. For police, at least, perhaps the most interesting news is that warnings by no means stop confessions. In Philadelphia last October, police began giving verbal warnings as soon as they suspected anyone of being "involved." After that comes a six-question written warning that detectives carefully read aloud and suspects sign. By last month 76% of all felony suspects had nonetheless made voluntary statements; the confessors ranged from 68.8% of robbery defendants to 82.6% of murder defendants. To the Supreme Court, on the other hand, such statistics may suggest that a suspect who waives his rights to silence is obviously in need of a lawyer to tell him precisely what he is waiving.
However it may complicate the solution of some crimes, many experts see Escobedo as a spur to better police training, more computerized law-enforcement procedures, and faster development of scientific crime detection. Moreover, no matter how far the Supreme Court goes, a large number of suspects will always be "gatemouths," compulsive confessors who need no encouragement to announce their guilt. "Human nature saves us," says one California prosecutor. "People talk anyway." In Seattle, for example, police insist that a burglar recently emerged from a skylight to be confronted by two waiting cops with drawn guns. Their first words: "You have the right to remain silent; you may consult an attorney before you make a statement; anything you say may be held against you." Astonished, the burglar admitted his guilt and cleared the books then and there.
* The photographs on the cover are from the files of the Chicago police department.