Our founders were well aware of the European practiced of judicial torture and the English court of law known as the Star Chamber. These mechanisms of tyranny were used to persecute dissenters. Suspected Puritans were forced to take an ex officio mero oath and then reveal names of other Puritans. The nefarious purpose was to pose a dilemma to God-fearing defendants: admit offenses and be executed, or deny the charges and face damnation. Later in colonial America, as in England, self-representation by defendants was the norm. As parties to legal action were considered incompetent to testify, the Fifth Amendment simply formalized this custom.

History shows Governments, if given the chance, will resort to physical or psychological torture to produce "confessions." This includes ruining reputations and threatening the loss of livelihood. There is no better way to recruit top sadistic talent into law enforcement then to eliminate the right to remain silent. For far too many of your fellow citizens, idea that a person may have a realistic fear of prosecution, yet be completely innocent, seems difficult to comprehend. Until it happens to them. Then they get it real fast.