While we tend to think that no-one would confess to a crime they've never committed the phenomenon is a lot more common than we assume. The article cites studies where convicted people have been subsequently proved innocent, largely through DNA evidence, and 14-25% had made a false confession.
Research has now established that certain police interrogation techniques can lead to false confessions, and it is not only through intimidated suspects confessing even though they know they're innocent. In some cases, categorised as 'coerced-internalized' false confessions, the person starts to doubt their own memory and actually comes to believe that they did commit the crime.'
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There is another form of false confession, the police have a nickname for it that I don't recall.
ReplyDeleteThey have a prolific criminal in the cells who is, without doubt, going to get a three year sentence for robbery, burglary, multiple car thefts or whatever.
He will freely confess to a few extra crimes committed by his mates so he has enough information to be credible. This pleases his captors who might reward him with some booze, possibly a ciggy in the yard or, in extreme circumstances, get his mum rehoused by the council. It will make no difference to his time in gaol, gets his mates off the hook because 'their' crime has been 'solved' and even makes the victim happy because their criminal has been caught and punished.
Sometimes the police might feed their prisoner with enough information for him to 'fess up on other crimes that they can add to their record of success.