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THE RIGHT AGAINST ABUSES OF
PERSON AND PROPERTY
The Fifth Amendment bundles several significant
rights and protections, among them: the right
against self-incrimination, the protection against
being tried twice for the same offense, the right to
just compensation if the government seizes your
property, and the rights of due process under the
law.
“Pleading the Fifth” is a phrase you’ve almost
certainly heard used on TV police shows and
during broadcasts of famous criminal trials. It refers
to that clause in the middle of the text, fashioned to
protect citizens from being forced to incriminate
themselves.
What you may not know is that this right stems
from a long history of confessions elicited by
torture. Indeed, torture was an accepted practice in
16th and 17th century England. But even in
current-day America, methods not as brutal as
direct physical injury, but in the same way cruel,
inhumane and coercive, have been used to obtain
confessions.
For instance, subjecting an accused to severe
psychological duress or coercion – like threatening
family members with prosecution or placing an
accused in pre-trial solitary confinement – could
result in authorities obtaining false confessions. Of
note, is the 1966 landmark and most renowned
Fifth Amendment case regarding our right against
self-incrimination, Miranda v Arizona 348 U.S.
436.Then Chief Justice Earl Warren, writing for the
majority, proclaimed: “. . . the prosecution may not
use statements, whether exculpatory or inculpatory,
stemming from custodial interrogation of the
defendant unless it demonstrates the use of
procedural safeguards effective to secure the
privilege against self-incrimination.”
The Fifth Amendment has been one of the chief
protections against vicious abuses of power against
our persons, loved ones, and property. America’s
Future is a strong supporter of our great and brave
law enforcement heroes. But as our Founding
Fathers recognized, unbridled power often leads to
corruption, and we must remain ever vigilant
against abuse of authority.
Safeguarding the individual rights of citizens.
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