Ashcraft v. State of Tennessee

The Supreme Court agreed to hear the case because Ware and Ashcraft believed that the alleged confessions used at their trial had been extorted from them in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment and that they had been convicted solely on the basis of the confessions. Justice Black wrote the opinion for the majority. He noted that the dispute over what actually happened to Ashcraft during the 36 hours of questioning is an "inescapable consequence of secret inquisitorial practices. And always evidence concerning the inner details of secret inquisitions is weighted against an accused." The majority concluded that if Ashcraft made a confession it was not voluntary but compelled. Black noted that the situation was so inherently coercive that its very existence was irreconcilable with the possession of mental freedom. The Constitution has stood as a bar against the conviction of anyone in an American court by means of a coerced confession. Black mentioned that there were certain foreign nations whose governments convict individuals with testimony obtained by police organizations with unrestrained power to seize people, hold them in secret custody, and wring confessions from them using physical or mental torture. "So long as the Constitution remains the basic law of our Republic, America will not have that kind of government." The Court vacated the judgment of the Tennessee Supreme Court affirming Ware's conviction and remanded his case to that court. Ashcraft's conviction was reversed and remanded.