Sunday, December 27, 2009

iPost: Factors contributing to induced false confessions

Factors influencing police-induced confessions--including intellectual disability. Complete paper can be downloaded by following  link here.


Police-Induced Confessions: Risk Factors and Recommendations




Saul M. Kassin 
John Jay College of Criminal Justice

Steven A. Drizin 
Northwestern University - School of Law, Bluhm Legal Clinic

Thomas Grisso 
University of Massachusetts at Worcester - University of Massachusetts Medical School

Gisli H. Gudjonsson 
University of London - King's College London

Richard A. Leo 
University of San Francisco - School of Law

Allison D. Redlich 
affiliation not provided to SSRN



Law and Human Behavior, 2009

Abstract:      
Recent DNA exonerations have shed light on the problem that people sometimes confess to crimes they did not commit. Drawing on police practices, laws concerning the admissibility of confession evidence, core principles of psychology, and forensic studies involving multiple methodologies, this White Paper summarizes what is known about police-induced confessions. In this review, we identify suspect characteristics (e.g., adolescence; intellectual disability; mental illness; and certain personality traits), interrogation tactics (e.g., excessive interrogation time; presentations of false evidence; and minimization), and the phenomenology of innocence (e.g., the tendency to waive Miranda rights) that influence confessions as well as their effects on judges and juries. This article concludes with a strong recommendation for the mandatory electronic recording of interrogations and considers other possibilities for the reform of interrogation practices and the protection of vulnerable suspect populations.

Keywords: police interviews, interrogations, false confessions
Accepted Paper Series


Sent from KMcGrew iPhone (IQMobile). (If message includes an image-double click on it to make larger-if hard to see)