False Confessions

Abstract

Studies have shown that the police have a huge influence on false confessions through the use of coercion , manipulation or threatening their life with a longer sentence, which leads to false confessions and wrongful convictions. There are certain aspects such as health impairments or mental disorders which make people admit to crimes that did not commit. A confession is one of the most powerful pieces of evidence that can be presented in court: juries almost always believe a defendant who confesses to a crime. (Westerville, Humphrey, 2005) In 2004, Drizin and Leo looked over the cases and found these statistics: “93% false confessions were made by males, 81% occurred in murder cases, 74% of the time the real perpetrator was found, 30% of the cases involved multiple false confessions from several innocent suspects, 63% were younger than 25, and four out of five of the false confessor who went to trial were convicted”. (Drizin, Leo, 2004)

The Law enforcement should come up with better ways for interrogating suspects to prevent false confessions and wrongful convictions.

False Confessions

The Law Enforcement has a huge influence on innocent people who plead guilty. A false confession happens when a person confesses to a crime that they did not commit. There are three categories pertaining to false confessions. People give false confessions because of the fear for violence, mental impairments or the threat of a harsh sentence. People with Cognitive Impairments, Mental health problems and juveniles are major risks for false confessions. (Donhue, Levesky, 2004, pg. 966)

Confessions and Supreme Court Cases

In criminal law, a confession is an admission of guilt that is made by the accused party. A voluntary false confession is a confession that is given out of a suspect’s own free will, and has not been obtained by force, coercion, or intimidation. (Hollingsworth, 2016) This relates to the Supreme Court case Miranda vs. Arizona. Miranda was convicted...