The story has gone around the world.  In 1989 Jacob Wetterling was kidnapped on a dead-end road in a small town in central Minnesota.  For years, law enforcement worked the case—without success.  We all suffered with the Wetterling family as they lived through the horrible events.  A local man, Danny Heinrich, was a suspect from the start, but officials couldn’t establish enough evidence to charge him.  A few months ago, his house was searched, child porn was found, and he was charged with a couple dozen federal criminal charges—but not for murder.

Law enforcement, the prosecutors, and the Wetterling family agreed that if Heinrich made a confession to the killing of Jacob Wetterling, the authorities would not charge him with the murder and would let him plead guilty to some of the child porn charges with a prison sentence of twenty years.

That’s the sticking point—many people feel like Jacob Wetterling’s killer got away with murder.  How could someone who had done what Heinrich did, serve anything less than the rest of his life in prison?  Some wanted him executed, although that is not available to prosecutors in Minnesota.

I’ve worked almost forty years as both a prosecutor and a defense lawyer and have handled dozens of murder cases that were similar to this one but without the notoriety.  I don’t think Heinrich “got away with murder.”  Here’s why—

1.  Had he been convicted of many of the child porn charges, he probably woudn’t have even been sentenced to the twenty years he will get with this plea deal.
2. The prosecutors had absolutely no case against him for the murder of Jacob Wetterling.  No matter how much they wanted to get this guy, they couldn’t.  Of course, had Heinrich been charged with the murder and convicted (not possible really), he could have been sentenced to life in prison, perhaps without parole.  But since he wasn’t going to be charged, this is not a possibility.
3. Heinrich had an absolute right to remain silent under the constitution.  He couldn’t be forced to say anything.
4. The Wetterling family, prosecutors, and most of the rest of us wanted closure on the case.  What really happened?

For all these reasons, the prosecutors and defense lawyers agreed to the plea to the child porn case, a confession in court to the murder, and a twenty year sentence.  Actually, I’m surprised that Heinrich agreed with it.  My personal thoughts are that he felt guilty—perhaps for years—about what he did and this was the right opportunity to come clean about what happened to clear his conscience.  Here’s the story from the StarTribune– http://www.startribune.com/danny-heinrich-confesses-to-abducting-and-killing-jacob-wetterling/392438361/

So when people get mad and say Jacob Wetterling’s killer got away with murder, they’re wrong.

The post Did Jacob Wetterling’s Killer get Away with Murder? appeared first on Colin T. Nelson.

Why did the killer of Jacob Wetterling confess?

I’ve worked for almost forty years as both a prosecutor and a criminal defense lawyer.  I’ve prosecuted and defended similar cases.  Here’s what I’ve learned over the years.

1.  Of course, the obvious reason the killer of Jacob Wetterling confessed is because of the plea deal he received from prosecutors.  Heinrich faced several counts of child porn charges in federal court but was not charged with murder of Jacob Wetterling.  Prosecutors and defense lawyers agreed that if Heinrich plead guilty to the child porn case and confessed to murdering Jacob Wetterling, he would receive a sentence of 20 years and not be charged with murder.  Potentially, if he had been charged and convicted of the sexual assault of the boy and the murder, Heinrich could have faced more than 20 years in prison.  Unfortunately for prosecutors, they didn’t have any evidence to charge him with murder.  They wanted an answer that has haunted thousands of people around the country for 27 years
2. In my experience, there is often more to a confession than simply less prison time—although that is certainly a strong motivation.  I think there’s more to this case that caused the killer of Jacob Wetterling to confess.  After all, he would never have been charged with murder because of the lack of evidence.  Even if convicted of the child porn case, he probably would’ve served less time in federal prison.  So, why did he confess?
3. One reason I’ve seen quite often is an appeal to the killer based on moral standards.  The investigators will often say things like: “You know you’re guilty.  Why don’t you get right with God and confess?”  Guilt goes a long way.  For those defendants who believe in God, the appeal can work and make them confess even when it seems in their best interest—in this world—to keep quiet.
4. Another tactic I’ve seen is for the investigator to appeal to family, especially the defendant’s mother.  Something like:  “What would your mother say if she knew you murdered someone?  Wouldn’t you want to come straight for her sake and get this off your chest?”  This approach works with certain defendants.
5. Sometimes, it’s a reminder of how the victims and the families are suffering that will move a defendant to confess to a murder.

I don’t know exactly what motivated the killer of Jacob Wetterling to confess, but I would guess it involved not only the plea deal on prison time and potential charges, but also one of the other appeals to a higher moral obligation that even the most hardened criminals often respond to.

The post Why did the Killer of Jacob Wetterling Confess? appeared first on Colin T. Nelson.