DETROIT (WXYZ) — A former Detroit police detective claims under oath that the department relied on untrustworthy jailhouse informants to score murder convictions in the 1990s, rewarding those inmates with “privileges” that included visits with girlfriends, food and clothing.
The testimony was made by former Detroit police detective Monica Childs in a deposition given last month as part of a civil lawsuit filed by Larry Smith, a man who spent 26 years in prison for murder.
In 2021, Smith’s conviction was thrown out due to unreliable testimony used against him.
Attorney Jarrett Adams took the deposition of Childs, a former member of DPD’s Squad 7. As w7 Action news first reported in 2021, that squad help arrest and convict 3 men of murder in the mid-1990s based on alleged “jailhouse confessions.”
All three were later freed.
“On the 9th floor of DPD headquarters, there were clear civil rights violations going on,” Adams said. “We’re not guessing anymore. We’ve confirmed this with sworn testimony.”
Under oath, Childs said that she was uncomfortable with methods used by some of her colleagues at the time.
In a deposition taken last month, Childs says the squad relied—at least in part—on supposed jail-house confessions to help score murder convictions.
She said that regularly, other inmates were brought to the 9th floor lockup and would later testify that they heard suspects like Larry Smith admit to murder. Decades later, that testimony was deemed not credible.
Childs testified that, in exchange for their statements to police, those inmates were given extraordinary “privileges” in lockup. They included, she said, letting inmates visit with their girlfriends, seeing family and friends, getting food or a change of clothes or using the police telephone to make calls.
“They had every incentive to keep those enjoyments, so they did exactly what they were asked to do,” Adams said.
Childs was asked: “Is it fair to say...that you felt (the inmates) would tell lies to continue to get those privileges?” Her response: “Yes.”
Even though Childs found the inmates’ stories to be not credible, she says her colleagues in Squad 7 relied on them heavily, even having those informants testify in court. Childs said she did not voice her concerns until recently.
“As Monica Childs has now retired and has an opportunity to look back, she understands that there were moments in time that she could have spoke up louder,” Adams said. “But she’s not alone.”
Childs herself filed a whistleblower suit against D-P-D claiming that, in a separate murder case, her boss illegally obtained a confession and then told Childs to lie about it. The case settled for an undisclosed sum.
The City of Detroit declined to comment on Childs’ testimony, saying they don’t comment on active litigation.
Contact 7 Investigator Ross Jones at ross.jones@wxyz.com or at (248) 827-9466.
