Truemors
Many people have been wondering...what is the difference between a "suspect" and a "person of interest" when it comes to criminal cases.
In the case of Craig Stebic, he has been formally named a "person of interest" into the disappearance of his wife, Lisa Stebic. Guess what? There is no difference between the two terms. The reason? Political correctness, lawsuits, police techniques, etc.
Are the Plainfield, Illinois police trying to evade the fact that Craig Stebic is REALLY A SUSPECT? Were they trying to make him feel better by using the term, "Person of Interest"?
That's food for thought.
So, what IS the difference?
(excerpts from American Journalism Review)
...Many law enforcement officials now use the vague term “person of interest” to describe people caught up in their investigations. That poses a challenge for journalists, who must try to convey a situation accurately without unfairly tarring someone’s reputation.
Once heard primarily in connection with federal cases involving terrorism and national security, many local police departments now use "person of interest" routinely in investigations ranging from murders to brush fires.
...Officially, "person of interest" means..well, nothing. No one has ever formally defined it — not police, not prosecutors, not journalists. The terms "accused," "allege," "arrest" and "indict" all are dealt with in the Associated Press Stylebook, but there is no listing for "person of interest." Similarly, the U.S. Attorneys' Manual — the official guide to federal criminal prosecution — uses the terms "suspect," "subject," "target" and "material witness," but "person of interest" gets no mention. So what are reporters to do?
Jim Kouri, a spokesman for the National Association of Chiefs of Police, says "person of interest" often is a euphemism for "suspect." If it's a suspect and you say 'person of interest,' you're using the euphemism to avoid problems down the line," says Kouri, a former New York housing police officer.
What problems?
Police sometimes "try to maintain that the person really isn't a suspect" in order to get him to agree to questioning without Miranda warnings, Kouri says. "You don't want the guy to lawyer up." Kouri says across the country, "it's the legal counsel telling police chiefs that they should instruct their officers and train them to use that term."
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