Anatomy of a False Confession Essay -- essays research papers

Anatomy of a dishonorable ConfessionDepending on what study is read, the incidence of false blacklegion is slight than 35 per year, up to 600 per year. That is a significant variance in range, and no matter how it is evaluated or what numbers are calculated, the fact system that false confessions are a reality. Why would an innocent person confess to a crime that she did not commit? Are personal factors, much(prenominal) as age, education, and mental state, the primary reason for a suspect to confess? Are law enforcement officers and their interrogation techniques to blame for eliciting false confessions? Regardless of the stimuli that breath to false confessions, society and the notwithstandingice system need to find a solution to prevent the subsequent aftermath.In the adversarial justice system, when the offender admits to the turn act, there is no further controversy and the case promptly proceeds to sentencing. Physical evidence and victim or witness statements may lots be overlooked and not considered. The confession is considered unequivocal evidence of guiltiness and a conviction is ensured. Indeed, the interrogation process sole purpose is to harbor a confession. Zimbardo (1967) estimated that of those criminal cases that are work, more than 80% are solved by a confession. (Conti, 1999) Without the confession, convictions may be reduced significantly. So wherefore does a person falsely confess to a crime if the likeliness of a conviction is eminent? A false confession to whatever crime is self-destructive and counterintuitive.The mental state of the suspect can demo explanation to a false confession. If a person is inebriated and is questioned out front she is sober, that may lead to easier manipulation by the police force. A suspect chthonic the influence of alcohol or drugs may not withdraw whole the events leading up to her arrest. This mental state allows police officers to give guide information, which may imply that the suspect did commit the crime and does not remember the incident. Mental retardation or suspects with low intelligence quotients (IQ) are slowly manipulated by police comments and interrogation tactics. Those suspects usually do not find out the law or the consequences of a confession. They may want to please the police officer by being accommodating or agreeable. They may just wa... ...pThe power of innocence. law of nature and Human demeanour Vol.28, No. 2, p. 211.Kassin, S.M., & McNall, K. (1991). Police interrogations and confessions communication promises and threats by pragmatic implication. Law andHuman Behavior Vol. 15, No. 3, p. 233 251.Kassin, S.M., & Sukel, H. (1997). Coerced confessions and the gore an experimentalTest of the harmless error rule. Law and Human Behavior Vol. 21, No. 1, p.27 28.Kassin, S. (2004, April 26). Videotape police interrogations. Retrieved August 21, 2005,From The Boston Globe.Meissner, C.A., & Kassin, S.M. (2002, October). Hes guilty inve stigator bias in Judgments of truth and deception. Law and Human Behavior Vol. 26, No. 5, 469 479.Osterburg, J.W., & Ward, R.H. (2004). Criminal Investigation A rule For Reconstructing The Past. (4th ed.). Anderson Publishing LexisNexis Group.Perina, A. (2004, March 1). I confess. Psychology Today Vol. 36, Issue 2.