...Innocence is surpassed by confessions. Many are times when the confessions are false. False confessions are made to incriminate a suspect of a crime and have them convicted of the crime that they did not commit. False confessions are made when the mode of interrogation is aimed to put the suspect under pressure, where the police subject the suspect to long hours of interrogation with no rest, interrogation in the absence of an attorney, race difference in the interrogation room and perception of torture during interrogation. This was the case in the interrogation of Amanda Knox. The aim of this paper is to determine why innocence is surpassed by confessions. False confessions have been used to convict innocent victims over the years all over...
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...it was impossible for any sane person to confess to something they did not do and even go to jail for it. There are many reasons an innocent person may make a false confession; for the sake of this discussion I chose confession through coerced internalization. Experts explain that these types of confessions occur when individuals truly believe they are guilty despite the evidence to the contrary. (Chapman 2013) The psychological research has found that some of these false confession happen during interrogation when the interrogator believes the suspect is guilty and they employ whatever means possible to get that confession. So not only will the suspect confess they will form false memories of the crime. (Chapman 2013)The regular american not studying Forensic psychology or criminal justice may assume that an innocent person would only confess if they were beaten or tortured; however there is evidence in our criminal justice system that techniques far less coercive than torture have produced verifiably false confessions in a surprising number of cases. (Contanzo, Krauss 2013) Through the readings for this discussion I have discovered, and while I do not believe it would be fair to say that all investigators use coercion to get confessions, many police interrogation techniques used are designed to elicit a confession and overcome any denial even if the person is innocent. The police interrogation is a psychological process where the police uses three components isolation- to...
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...sense. Naturally, it is difficult to understand why anyone would confess to a crime they didn’t commit. However, false confessions are one the leading causes of wrongful convictions.1 As the Supreme Court of Canada noted in R v. Oickle, innocent people are induced to make false confessions more frequently than those unacquainted with the phenomenon might expect.2 In North America, we can trace the existence of false confessions back to the Salem Witch Trials, where a number of women were persecuted for witchcraft on the basis of confessions that were obtained through torture and threats.3 More recent false confessions have been obtained under psychological duress and not with torture or threats of physical harm.4 Nevertheless, with the developments in law and policies in place to control interrogation methods, false confessions continue to persist.5 This begs the question, are interrogation methods solely responsible for false confessions, or does some of the responsibility fall on the confessor? Scholars and social scientists agree, that it is not solely harsh interrogation tactics that lead to false confessions but it is the combination of these tactics with psychological factors such as, intelligence and personality, which contribute to the likelihood of a suspect providing a false confession.6 While there are currently solutions for avoiding false confessions, they do not adequately address the needs of the most vulnerable individuals who are often induced into falsely confessing...
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...believe something that is not true, especially for personal gain. It is said to bring out the truth by using a lie, but is it really ethical? There are three types of false confessions: Voluntary false confessions are made without external pressure. Compliant false confessions happen when a suspect confesses to the crime just to get out of the interrogative situation. Internalised false confessions occur when the accused starts believing that they have committed the crime. In a criminal case documented by National Geographic’s, in 1988 a 12 year old girl was killed and police believed her 14 year old brother had killed her. The detective told him if he did not confess he would be tried as an adult and if he confessed he would get help. This was a lie. The detectives in a 10 hour interrogation finally led to him confessing to the crime. Luckily, DNA later revealed that he was innocent. There is a misconception amongst arrogant interrogators that they would know a false confession when they hear one. However, it is virtually impossible to tell the difference because they seem exactly the same. The more vulnerable of our society are children and mentally unstable people namely because they are more subject to influence. This does not mean ordinary and intelligent people are not susceptible to a false...
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...Brenton Butler’s false confession during the interrogation process was the main cause of his wrongful prosecution. In a study conducted by Redlich and Goodman, researchers tried to investigate some of the potential factors that can influence the admission of a crime not committed. In the research, they included age and suggestibility as the characteristics of the false confessor and the presentation of false evidence as the characteristics of the interrogation process. Three age groups were included in the study to analyze whether adolescents are more likely than young adults to falsely confess. The incorporated groups were 12 and 13-year-olds, 15 and 16-year-olds, and college students within the range of 18-26 years. Participants were 48 females...
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...suspects, to reduce the amount of false confessions which lead to wrongful convictions. BACKGOUND: In the last few years there has been a lot of news coverage of convicted people being found innocent after serving years in prison for crimes they did not commit. It can take several years and many appeals for the false confessor to have their case heard in the court system; if at all. Courts seem to have the tendency to accept the confession at face value and are reluctant to question it. I believe this happens because “law enforcement” took the confession and judges tend to believe that all rules were followed by police. I believe that if the prosecution is going to use a confession in their case, and as one of their strongest pieces of “evidence”, a hearing should be set to decide on the validity of the confession. Even when defense attorneys file motions to have them thrown out due to allegations of coercion, the courts deny the motion almost instantly, which leads to a wrongful conviction. This is the very reason new laws, and guidelines need to be implemented in regards to questioning and interrogating a suspect by police, in order to get a confession. OBJECTIVE: My intention is to show that with stricter laws and guidelines for questioning and interrogating suspects, the amount of false confessions would drop considerably, and in turn the wrongful conviction rate would drop as well. Through research of actual cases, law journals, false confession experts’ research, and the...
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...under the Constitution U.S. Legal (2001). These rights protect the individual from falling into the trap of deceptive interrogation. Many people do not understand that if they just kept quiet and wait for a lawyer, their so-called innocence can be saved. Deceptive interrogation by law is acceptable, with the reading of the Miranda rights, and the police will use this tool as much as they can as long as it doesn’t exceed the boundaries they are placed under. Deceptive interrogation is unnecessary for law enforcement to exercise in order to convict the accused. Today’s methods of interrogation are more mental then physical as mentioned before. There are several tools police can use as a means of deceiving a suspect in order to obtain a confession or information. One common strategy is the use of fabricated documents. In the Case State v. Cayward, a man sexually assaulted a 5-year-old girl and killed her. Cayward, being the suspect, the police could not convict him for the crime. The prosecutor in the case told the police to fabricate documents containing evidence from Cayward. During an interview with Cayward, the police revealed the convincing fabricated documents...
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...The Practical Application of the Age of Criminal Responsibilities It is crucial to understand the purpose and the consequences of having the minimum age of criminal responsibilities set at a young age. There have been many studies completed that give appreciation to the rights of children and give an understanding of their specific capabilities. Being informed about children’s culpability, their competence to participate in the criminal justice system (CJS) and the consequences of criminalising them at a young age are crucial areas that need to be looked at in detail when thinking of setting with a minimum age of criminal responsibilities (Farmer, 2011). Adolescents are around the age of maturity and go through many developmental changes in life. It is of utter most importance to focus on the culpability of young individuals when it comes to unlawful behaviours they engage in, how competent these individuals are when it comes to engaging in the Youth Justice System (YJS), and the consequences of getting them involved in the criminal justice system at a young age. These issues must be addressed and taken into consideration when creating the minimum age of criminal responsibility. Culpability Culpability refers to understanding and being responsible for the actions and consequences of a wrong. During adolescence, there are substantial developments in executive functioning (EF), emotional processing and social cognition (Farmer, 2011). These EF skills play a critical role...
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...above mentioned countries and will argue that the United Kingdom has the better approach. Reasons for Wrongful Convictions Research suggests that wrongful convictions are not the result of one individual making a mistake, rather “several individual or systematic factors, alone or in concert, contribute to wrongful convictions” (Babcock, 2017 p.5). Several factors that contribute to wrongful convictions include overzealousness by police and prosecutors, false confessions and erroneous forensic (Huff & Killias, 2010). Overzealousness by police and prosecutors commonly occurs when police target a suspect and attempt to build a case around him or her. There are many reasons why individuals may falsely confess to a crime they did not commit. For example, some lawyers, despite knowing that their client is innocent, may urge or recommend they take a plea deal if the outcome does not look favorable to them (Huff & Killias, 2010). Also, there may be the use of high-pressure police interrogation tactics that can coerce false confessions from individuals. In regards to forensic mistakes, because humans must collect and test DNA samples, the process is susceptible to human error (Taupin, 2014). These errors often lead to innocent individuals wasting many productive years behind bars and in certain cases result in their death. All these factors show how the criminal justice system is not perfect and consequently how wrongful convictions can occur. The Positive Use of DNA Evidence DNA typing...
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...Instrumental-coerced confessions mean that long hours of intense interrogations without any break can lead a suspect to confess to a crime they did not commit. Even if a suspect knows they are innocent they end up confessing due to mental and emotional exhaustion caused by intense interrogation. This is evident in the case of the Central Park Jogger case where five suspects were exonerated years after they had falsely confessed to raping and beating a woman who was jogging through Central Park. Four of the five defendants had videotaped their confessions sharing gruesome details of the crime. Nevertheless, no physical or DNA evidence convicted them of the crime. Years later the perpetrator Matias Reyes, a convicted serial rapist, and murderer,...
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...Areiann Johnson Final Paper April 16, 2012 False Confessions She was killed Mr. Cope. She was raped and murdered! You are in shock. You are confused. You feel indescribable, unbearable pain. This pain is so emotional that it affects you physically too! Someone has ripped your heart out of your chest and made you watch as they relentlessly take a knife to it. All hope is lost. You will surely die from this ordeal. At least you wish you could! Your heart is weak; it drops into your stomach making you nauseated. How will you ever heal? You have been broken. Now every thought that runs through your mind is consumed with your desire for revenge. You want nothing more than to catch the person that has taken someone so precious from you; to make them suffer as you have. Police ask you to come in for questioning. You want to help them do their job and find the perpetrator. You have no idea that the real reason they asked you to come in is because you are their main suspect. They believe you did it. They think that you have taken your own daughters life and have sexually abused her, your little princess…impossible! Billy Wayne Cope is a religious man and has spent numerous hours in church activities with his twelve year old daughter Amanda. On November 29, 2001 Amanda was found on her bed raped and strangled to death. Billy Wayne Cope became police detectives’ main suspect. He initially thought he was helping catch the person that has done this horrific thing...
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...1) PSYCHOLOGY OF INTERROGATION Interrogation- questioning a suspect or witness by law enforcement authorities. Once a person being questioned is arrested, he/she is entitled to be informed of his/her legal rights, and in no case may the interrogation violate rules of due process. * Interrogation may be considered as accusatory, which differentiates it from interviewing. * Context of interrogation is always coercive. Although police powers may be small, psychological powers are very great * Some interrogation tactics use physical coercion, as evidenced in US with Afghanistan non-combatants e.g. water boarding. * Generally, interrogation tactics are based on psychological techniques or deceptive tactics. These techniques are designed to play on the emotions of the suspect- in the case of water boarding the fear of drowning. 1.1 The Reid Technique * Most extensively used and promoted ‘interrogation system’ * Developed by the FBI * Works on the principle of escape- * Make the interrogation as uncomfortable as possible * Suspects extricate themselves by confessing Strategy includes * Make context anxiety inducing * Use interrogation tactics to induce anxiety * Help suspects confess 1.2 The Physical Environment Of The Interrogation Characteristics which induce dependence and submission to authority, anxiety, anger and/or fear. * Isolation in cell, in an interview room (no distractions) * Inability to make choices- tea, coffee, going...
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...the administration of justice, especially when an innocent is convicted in a crime (Dictionary.com, 2007). Miscarriage of justice is also known as wrongful conviction. If someone is wrongfully convicted, that person is punished for an offence he or she did not commit and the actual perpetrator of the crime goes free. As well, public confidence in the system declines when wrongful convictions are identified. There are several elements that cause a miscarriage of justice, such as non-disclosure of evidence by police or prosecution, confirmation bias on the part of investigators, fabrication of evidence, poor identification, and unreliable confessions due to police pressure or psychological instability. They are all considered unjust as they violate the principle of justice. The three major causes for wrongful conviction are false confession, eyewitness error, and official misconduct. When a defendant has confessed to committing a crime, the vast majority of police, prosecutors, and jurors see it as rock-solid evidence of guilt. Many of these involved children or suspects with mental illnesses or mental retardation. Even more cases involve adults with no history of mental illness or retardation who...
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...From this 10 minute video of two detectives interrogating Larry for 7 hours displayed three tactics known to elicit a confession from suspects. One of the most popular interrogation method used mostly in the United States is The Reid Technique (Schwartz, 2015, p. 35). The Reid Technique approach relies on a nine-step approach, with the main goal of this approach is to obtain a confession during interrogation (Schwartz, 2015, p. 35). Additionally to this approach, the interrogators has time on their side as a factor of getting the confession they want to hear. This is due to the influence of being fatigue has on a suspect due to a lengthy interrogation, wearing a suspect down to confessing a crime they didn’t do, whether they were tricked into...
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...“Eight men charged. Five confessions. But only one DNA match. Why would four innocent men confess to a brutal crime they didn't commit?”1 According to the video and the interviews from the video you have to understand how police interrogation works. The police are trained to interrogate suspects using mental, emotional, and pressured methods that have to rely on persuasion and pressure alone. Prior to an interrogation, the police have made up their mind that the person who they are interrogating is guilty. You don't interrogate somebody unless you first believe they're guilty. The goal is to get the person to confess. Most people who have never been arrested for a crime have no experience with interrogation. Everyone has that point where they just break down. The Norfolk four didn’t know what it's like to be in that situation. In the video, Ford, the interrogator was accusing them, telling them that they’re lying, yelling at them; and telling them they have your DNA. The men thought they could depend on the system, but, they didn’t know that police can pretend to have evidence they don't have. This process can go on from two hours to 11 hours. In “The Confessions” The Norfolk Four were high pressured and were threatened about getting the death penalty, going to prison for life, and threats about what will happen if you don't cooperate with the interrogators. This case is just a miniature version of almost everything that happens for the wrong reason when innocent people get...
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