The arduous task of upholding justice

Former US District Attorney Preet Bharara’s book, ‘Doing Justice – A prosecutor’s thoughts on crime, punishment and the rule of law’ is an eye-opener for ordinary readers and a must-read for those in law enforcement

By Shevlin Sebastian

On March 11, 2004, terrorists blew up four passenger trains in Madrid. 196 people died. 2000 suffered from a devastating injury. After an intensive search, the Spanish National Police (SNP) found a blue plastic bag inside an abandoned van. This contained seven copper detonators. There were two fingerprints on it. These did not match any in the SNP database. They sent the images to Interpol, which forwarded them to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the US. Three fingerprint experts, one after the other, matched it to a single individual.

His name was Brandon Mayfield. He had married a Muslim from Egypt. Following the marriage, Brandon had also converted to Islam. He attended a mosque in Beaverton, Oregon; this was under investigation by the local authorities.

As a lawyer, Mayfield had represented a terrorist, who was convicted of providing material support to Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. On May 6, 2004, the FBI took Mayfield into custody, but he protested his innocence.

The SNP also did not accept the finding. Following their investigations, they said the fingerprints matched that of an Algerian national, Ouhnane Daoud. Later, the SNP charged him with 191 counts of murder. The FBI had made a mistake. They conducted an internal investigation. The conclusion: the initial examiner, a senior and experienced forensic investigator, had made an error. The others agreed with him, without doing a vigorous check. Thereafter, the state exonerated Brandon and paid a compensation of $2 million.

Mistakes happen all the time in police investigations. As a result, people have spent decades in jail accused of crimes they have not committed. If this happens in the most sophisticated country in the world, with the most advanced technology, you can imagine the situation in other countries.

Indian-born United States Attorney Preet Bharara recounted this anecdote in his book, ‘Doing Justice — A prosecutor’s thoughts on crime, punishment and the rule of law’.

Some of the chapter headings include, ‘The Truth is Elusive’, ‘Things are not what they seem’, ‘The Need for Rigour’, ‘Curiosity and Query’, and the ‘Principles of Interrogation’.

On the cover, there is a blurb attributed to ‘The Secret Barrister’, which describes the book as ‘bursting with humility and humanity.’

This is true. This is what Preet writes about prisons: ‘Prisons and jails are crucibles of dehumanisation. The very dynamic of a prison rationalises and rewards subjugation. There are many ways to dehumanise people in prison. There is the complete stripping away of privacy; the drab identical uniforms and identification by number, and the en masse herding to meals.

‘The road to hell is paved with laziness. Punitiveness doesn’t require brainpower. Force is easy; restraint is hard. Someone resists. He gets a fist to the head. Someone violates, he gets solitary. It is easy to deal with most problems with brute force.’

One of the most interesting stories is that of the Luftwaffe investigator, Hanns Scharff. As Preet wrote: ‘He became known as the slyest and most effective stealer of secrets in Germany. His style was gentle, his manner soft. He posed as every captured pilot’s greatest ally and advocate. He fed them and he joked with them. Scharff famously took nature walks with his POWs, who strolled unrestrained, as long as they promised they would not try to escape. He relied on trust and intellect and took advantage of their human need for contact and kinship. And POW after POW dropped his guard with such frequency that Scharff became the stuff of legend throughout the Luftwaffe.’

This was in stark contrast to the Gestapo, which always used harsh interrogation methods. As Scharff said, “Soft words do more than hard blows.” Or, as Preet said, “Strategy beats savagery and patience outperforms force.”

After the war, Scharff migrated to America and settled in California. The US Air Force invited Scharff to give speeches to military audiences about his methods. They incorporated most of his techniques into the military curriculum.

But Scharff did not bask in his achievements. Since he had studied textile design as a young man, Scharff became a mosaic artist and had a highly successful career. His art was seen all over the world and he was much respected. Scharff, who never married, died on September 10, 1992, at 84. To know more, you can read the book, ‘The Interrogator: The Story of Hanns Scharff, Master Interrogator of the Luftwaffe’ by Raymond F Toliver.

As for Preet’s book, it is studded with insights about policing and crime.

Here are a few:

‘Speed is an investigator’s best friend and its worst enemy. Speed is your friend because some evidence evaporates like a puddle in the sun. But undue speed can cause you to overlook evidence or misinterpret it.

An investigator must maintain a near-impossible balance between patience and impatience.

Every conclusion must be subject to challenge and revision. This is hard because human beings have egos. That stubbornness can cause tremendous injustice.

Self-doubt in moderation is animating and motivating, not paralysing. Leaders who have purged themselves of all self-doubt will not be leaders for long and dangerous while in command. I learned over time that self-doubt was my friend and arrogance, my enemy.

You can always find that bit of humanity inside a criminal if you look hard enough. Find that moment of connection, not that lever of fear.’

Overall, Preet’s book is a must-read for those in law enforcement. This is more so in India, where third-degree methods are the go-to method, to extract information of any kind. However, most information gleaned this way ends up becoming unreliable. As a result, many offences remain unresolved. So, the police adopt the easy way out: they charge innocent people with the crime.