A Snitch's Story

Leslie White is a prime example of a shady fixture in American justice: the jailhouse snitch. Over the past decade White -- whose rap sheet lists crimes ranging from purse snatching to kidnaping -- has testified against at least a dozen California inmates who he claimed confessed their guilt to him. With information he provided, authorities have unearthed the bodies of murder victims and prosecuted a prison gang leader for murder. In exchange, lawmen accorded him special privileges, including early release, during his frequent returns to the slammer. "Every time I come in here," White boasts, "I inform and get back out."

Now White, 31, has squealed again -- on himself. He confessed that at least some of the information he passed on to lawmen was nothing but a pack of lies. While dismayed law-enforcement officials looked on, White demonstrated how easy it is for a would-be stoolie to concoct a false confession simply by using a telephone in the prison chaplain's office. Identifying himself as a bail bondsman, White called the sheriff's document-control center and got an accused murderer's case number and date of arrest. Then he phoned the district attorney's records bureau, identifying himself as a deputy D.A. to obtain names of witnesses and the prosecutors handling the case. He rang up the coroner's office -- this time masquerading as a cop -- and was provided with details of the murder. In short order White had pieced together enough information to provide lawmen with a credible "confession" from a prisoner he had never laid eyes on.

White's revelation rocked the Los Angeles district attorney's office, which responded by reviewing every conviction of a major crime obtained with jailhouse testimony over the past ten years. The investigation turned up 120 questionable cases. An undetermined number of them may have to be retried.

White claims he confessed his fabrications to absolve a guilty conscience. But he doubts that any other snitch who made up a confession is likely to come clean as he did. "These guys will just get on the stand again and say, 'No, I didn't lie.' Case closed. Back in the closet."