November, 2012
Extrajudicial Confession Alone is Not Enough to Convict
The Virginia Supreme Court summarized the law in this area in Watson v. Commonwealth: It is true that, as a general principle of law, an accused cannot be convicted solely on his uncorroborated extrajudicial admission or confession. The corpus delicti must be corroborated. Cleek v. Commonwealth, 165 Va. 697, 698, 181 S.E. 359, 360 (1935). […]