In United States law, a statement against penal interest is a statement that puts the person making the statement at risk of prosecution. It is the criminal equivalent of a statement against interest

Statement against interest

In United States law, a statement against interest is a statement a person would not normally make, usually in reference to a proceeding in a trial, which would put them in a disadvantaged position to that they would have had if they had not made the statement in the first place...

, a statement a person would not normally make, which would put them in a disadvantaged position to that they would have had if they had not made the statement in the first place.

In certain circumstances, it can be a factor in allowing as evidence statements that would otherwise be excluded through the law of hearsay

Hearsay

Hearsay is information gathered by one person from another person concerning some event, condition, or thing of which the first person had no direct experience. When submitted as evidence, such statements are called hearsay evidence. As a legal term, "hearsay" can also have the narrower meaning of...

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