Chapter 3.2: False Confessions

Question 1

Retracted Confession

Answer 1

• claims false confession at a later date
• says their confession was wrong and they want to explain again

Question 2

Disputed Confession

Answer 2

• legal technicality
• claim confession was never made (ex. case of selective recording - confession was never recorded)

Question 3

False Confessions

Voluntary

Answer 3

• no pressure or prompting by police
  could be because:
• protect real offender
• desire for attention (15 minutes of fame)
• feeling guilty for a different crime they committed (needing to clear their conscious; feel they had it coming)
• difficulty distinguishing fact from fantasy

case example: Linbergh baby
200 people confessed voluntarily to the murder (for fame?)

Question 4

False Confessions

Coerced-Compliant (most common)

Answer 4

• suspect knows they’re not guilty
• decide to comply because of pressure from police and to:
  escape further interrogation
  recieve promised reward/benefit
  avoid/lessen punishment
  short term benefits > long term consequences

case example: Central Park jogger case
- 5 juveniles falsely confessed due to police pressure

Question 5

False Confessions

Coerced-Internalized

Answer 5

• starts to believe they actually committed the crime
• usually the result of highlt suggestive interrogation techniques
• more vulnerable to this confession if: substance abuse, confusion, anxiety, mental state (depression), youth

case example: Amanda Knox
- admitted to murdering her roommate even though she was in italy at the time
- felt she was being brainwashed
- convinced her memory was failing her

Question 6

What are some consequences of false confessions?

Answer 6

• guilty person still out - taints other evidence
• waste of time and resources
• innocent in jail or executed
• impacts justice for victim(s)
• hard for jurors to spot because false confessions are believable
• they don’t believe someone would be stupid enough to do it
• problems with deception detection

Question 7

Compliance

Answer 7

going along with demande from authority even if you don’t agree

Question 8

Confabulation

Answer 8

reporting events that never occurred

Question 9

Internalization

Answer 9

accepting guilt even when you didn’t do it