JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Law enforcement has long relied on surreptitious means to obtain confessions -- be it recorded phone calls or jailhouse snitches.
But secret recordings of a type not seen before in Duval County have surfaced in the high-profile criminal case of Donald Smith.
Accused of kidnapping, raping and killing 8-year-old Cherish Perrywinkle in June 2013, Smith has been held in solitary confinement pretty much since his arrest. But unbeknownst to him -- and his attorneys -- secret recordings were made while he was in his jail cell.
Janet Johnson is a criminal defense attorney who has represented hundreds of inmates at the Duval County Jail, and is well familiar with the ways law enforcement tries to extract information from her clients.
“There are all kinds of ways to get people to confess, and some are a little sneakier than others,” she said.
But Johnson was not aware that there was surreptitious recordings of inmates in their cells -- because it’s new. On Feb. 2, the state revealed it had secret recordings of Smith talking to another inmate, Randall Deviney, who was sentenced to death last year for killing his neighbor.
Assistant State Attorney Mark Caliel, who is prosecuting Smith, said it will be the first time the state plans to introduce as evidence a surreptitious recording of an inmate made inside an isolation cell at the jail.
Caliel acknowledged that introducing the recordings as evidence could tip the state’s hand to criminals – essentially admitting the practice. He said that was a consideration prosecutors weighed before deciding to enter it as evidence. But he added, “We determined in this case that regardless of impacts … it was necessary.”
Former DEA special agent and First Coast News crime analyst Mark Baughman doesn’t expect the news of the secret recordings to change behavior. “It may deter it a little bit but you’re still going to capture culpable conversations even though they know it’s monitored,” he said. “That’s what happens with these guys -- they get in there, they’re in custody even if they’re in population, they get bored and start talking.”
Johnson agrees. She warns her clients about surveillance, but many can’t help themselves.
“I can tell my clients all day long, 'Be careful what you say in the jail.' It’s not going to stop people from talking to each other in the Duval County Jail.”
Smith’s attorney Julie Schlax filed a notice of intent to challenge the admissibility of the secret recordings, but declined comment. Jail officials, when asked about the practices, said there simply is no expectation of privacy in jail.
Smith is set to go to trial in April 4, though that will likely be delayed. He faces the death penalty if convicted.