As stated previously, US citizens do not have a constitutional right not to be framed so consequently, prosecutors have the power to covertly threaten, pressure, cajole, intimidate or bribe a target with a recommendation of “no time in prison” if the target will be a witness for the government. Arrests and convictions are sometimes made because of stings, and on the testimony of paid informants, who, like bounty hunters, do it for the pay.
Under the status quo, federal and state courts have held that due process rules and disclosure statutes do not require prosecutors and their agents to record interviews with government witnesses. As a result, prosecutors can submit transcripts with specific lines tampered with or omitted. Oftentimes, the most relevant parts of interviews are intentionally blurred out, or no recording made, or no notes are taken at all.
Therefore, every witness and defendant interview should have mandated audio recordings for the purpose of gathering verifiable evidence. To stop prosecutors from pressuring witnesses to give false testimony, all interviews with witnesses or targets should be recorded. Those recordings should be made available to the defense and to lawyers representing families who are victims of the use of excessive force by police.