Issue of False Confessions

Sometimes, America's system of justice fails, and fails badly. In recent years, national attention has been focused on the issue of false confessions, or innocent people admitting to crimes they did not commit. Perhaps the most sensational case was that of the Central Park jogger in 1989. Five youths were sentenced to between five and fifteen years in prison after confessing to raping a woman jogger in New York City. The so called "wilding" case drew national media attention and was resolved quickly in the courts. In 2002, a convicted serial rapist stepped forward and admitted to the crime. His DNA matched the semen found on the jogger's clothing. Thirteen years after their convictions, it turned out that the five youths who confessed to the crime were in fact innocent. Their convictions were subsequently overturned (Drizin, 896-897). More recently, investigations into death row sentences in Illinois revealed 42 wrongful convictions since 1970, of which sixty percent rested in whole or in part on wrongful confessions. A full third of the false confessions were given by the defendants themselves (Warden).

These cases beg the question: why do innocent people confess to crimes they did not commit? They are clearly damaging themselves by the act of confessing to a crime which they did not commit. Some false confessions can be explained by the weakened mental state of the confessor. This is particularly true in regards to confessions extracted from juveniles,

Related Essays

Issue of Interview Bias .... The issue of interview bias is examined at both a .... reliability and validity of criminal confessions, the inclusion .... perceives to be "true" or "false" in relation .... (2437 10 )

The Death Penalty and Exucutions .... death penalty becomes an accepted form of punishment, the issue persists as .... Other reasons include false confessions, fabrication of evidence or suppression of .... (4730 19 )

Pretrial and Trial .... rules reflected in the development of the common law on the issue. .... of proof to the defendant and would pressure innocent persons into making false confessions. .... (10626 43 )

Police Actions & the Laws on Several Cases 1. (20 points) Terry .... Platt's room, then called in a false police report .... The federal law regarding confessions (and that of many .... the Miranda warning and the issue of admissability .... (4113 16 )

ENRON: HOW THE COMPANY GOT INTO TROUBLE .... gain points by grandstanding on the issue, (b) the .... some lower-level Enron executives into confessions, and (c) the .... to the creation of a false representation of .... (2459 10 )

Category: Government - I