What Evidence is There for a Link Between Mental Impairment and an Increased Risk of False Confessions (original) (raw)
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From false confession to wrongful conviction: Seven psychological processes
A steadily increasing tide of literature has documented the existence and causes of false confession as well as the link between false confession and wrongful conviction of the innocent. This literature has primarily addressed three issues: the manner in which false confessions are generated by police interrogation, individual differences in susceptibility to interrogative influence, and the role false confessions have played in documented wrongful convictions of the innocent. Although the specific mechanisms through which interrogation tactics can induce false confessions, and through which they can exert enhanced influence on vulnerable individuals have been widely addressed in this literature, the processes through which false confessions, once obtained by police, may lead to wrongful conviction have remained largely unaddressed. This article addresses this gap in the literature, examining seven psychological processes linking false confession to wrongful conviction and failures of post-conviction relief: (1) powerful biasing effects of the confession itself, including incorporated “misleading specialized knowledge” (inside crime- relevant knowledge displayed by the suspect in the false confession, but acquired through outside sources (such as the interrogator) rather than in the course of the commission of the crime); (2) tunnel vision and confirmation biases, (3) motivational biases, (4) emotional influences on thinking and behavior; (5) institutional influences on evidence production and decision making; and inadequate context for evaluation of claims of innocence, including (6) inadequate or incorrect relevant knowledge, and (7) progressively constricting relevant evidence. We discuss reciprocal influences of these mechanisms and their biasing impact on the perceptions and behaviors of suspects, investigators, prosecution and defense attorneys, juries, and trial and appellate judges.
Police interviewing and psychological vulnerabilities: predicting the likelihood of a confession
Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 1998
This paper is concerned with examining the dierences between people who confess and those who deny oences during a police interview. The main hypothesis under investigation is that psychologically vulnerable suspects are particularly likely to confess. This paper is also concerned with identifying variables that might be related to the confession process. One hundred and sixty suspects detained at two London police stations were assessed psychologically prior to being interviewed by the police. The results of this assessment, an analysis of the interview procedure and biographic details were subjected to a logistic regression analysis. There was no evidence to support our main hypothesis. However, suspects were more likely to confess if they reported having consumed an illicit (non-prescribed) drug in the previous 24-hour period, and less likely to confess when interviewed in the presence of a legal adviser or if they had experience of prison or custodial remand. In this study younger suspects were also more likely to confess. #
The Influence Mental Illness has on False Confessions
UC Merced Undergraduate Research Journal, 2019
Author(s): Richardson, Dylan Matthew | Abstract: False confessions are very important to understand in order to prevent them from occurring and to seek true justice. A false confession is defined by the admission of guilt for a crime where the confessor is innocent. This literature review draws upon previous studies on false confessions in order to come to a conclusion on how mental illness affects the possibility of falsely confessing to a crime. This paper critically analyzes ten different studies that all relate to either mental illness, false confessions, or both. There have been many studies done on how young age and intense interrogations impact false confessions, however, this literature review aims to gather evidence that focuses on mental illness being a major influencer on false confessions. Another point this literature review focuses on is the fact that people are unwilling to help those who have falsely confessed to a crime reintegrate back into society. Majority of the...
The journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, 2010
The vast majority of false confessions occur in the context of interrogation, and in response to the sources of distress and persuasive tactics of the interrogation. However, there are widely held mistaken assumptions that a false confessor must suffer some personal defect such as a mental disorder. In this article, we explain that many normal people may give false confessions under certain social situations. We examine such situations and their effects on false confessions. We urge courts to recognize that suspect-enhanced vulnerabilities are not a necessary condition for the elicitation of false confessions, but rather that much lesser situational factors have just as much influence on the interrogated. We lay out a set of guidelines to assist expert testifiers in evaluating better an interrogation-induced confession.
The vast majority of false confessions occur in the context of interrogation, and in response to the sources of distress and persuasive tactics of the interrogation. However, there are widely held mistaken assumptions that a false confessor must suffer some personal defect such as a mental disorder. In this article, we explain that many normal people may give false confessions under certain social situations. We examine such situations and their effects on false confessions. We urge courts to recognize that suspect-enhanced vulnerabilities are not a necessary condition for the elicitation of false confessions, but rather that much lesser situational factors have just as much influence on the interrogated. We lay out a set of guidelines to assist expert testifiers in evaluating better an interrogation-induced confession.
Frontiers in Psychiatry, 2019
Several self-report studies together with analyses of exoneration cases suggest that suspects with mental disorder are especially prone to making false confessions. The present study asked 153 forensic patients in Germany about their behavior during suspect interviewing by the police. Self-reported ground truth of guilt and innocence was asked for, thereby taking into account that the risk of false confession is present only if a person has ever been interviewed when innocent. Indeed, surveying samples that include suspects who have never been interviewed when innocent may lead to underestimating the risk of false confessions. In the present study, all patients reported having been interviewed previously when guilty; and almost two-thirds (62%, n = 95), that they had also been interviewed at least once when innocent. These participants stated that they remained silent while being interviewed significantly more often when guilty (44%) compared to when innocent (15%). This corroborates laboratory research findings indicating that the right to remain silent is waived more often by innocent than by guilty suspects. Out of all 95 participants who were ever interviewed when innocent, 25% reported having made a false confession on at least one occasion. This result is in line with previous international research showing a high percentage of false confessions among suspects with mental disorder.
Why might innocents make false confessions?
Since the overturning of the Guildford Four and Birmingham Six convictions, in 1989 and 1991 respectively, much research has been conducted into interview techniques and the causes of false confessions. In 2008 evidence emerged of a link between the experience of life adversity and interrogative suggestibility. This work opened the door to the notion that psychological vulnerabilities during police questioning may sometimes stem from characteristics reinforced through mere exposure to negative environmental influences. This article presents this new evidence and offers insight into why some suspects, who do not appear to be vulnerable, end up with an increased risk of making false confessions during police interview
Journal of Forensic Psychology Research and Practice, 2020
In the present study, we have taken a novel approach in confession research to investigate and compare situational as well as individual risk factors among false confessors and true deniers among imprisoned offenders who all had been falsely accused by the police. Furthermore, we report first data on selfreported false confession rates among German prison inmates. A semi-structured interview was conducted in four northern German prisons focusing on the interrogation situations in which the participants were falsely accused of a crime they had not committed. Of all respondents, 32% reported to have made a false confession, which is consistent with prior findings in the field. In line with the literature, prison inmates indicated fear of negative consequences and beliefs that the truth will come out as frequent reasons for false confessions. Notably, also strategic/instrumental purposes of their false confessions aimed at minimizing legal or personal repercussions due to the false accusations were revealedalthough to a lesser degree. Implications from this preliminary alternative explanation based on strategic considerations for false confessions will be discussed in light of the common theoretical framework that focuses on psychological distress and deficits of false confessors.
The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology (1973-), 1998
Because a confession is universally treated as damning and compelling evidence of guilt, 1 , it is likely to dominate all other case evidence and lead a trier of fact to convict the defendant. 2 A false confession is therefore an exceptionally dangerous piece of evidence to put before anyone adjudicating a case. In a criminal justice system whose formal rules are designed to minimize the frequency of unwarranted arrest, unjustified prosecution, and wrongful conviction, police-induced false confessions rank amongst the most fateful of all official errors.. We thank Robert Perske and Michael L. Radelet for providing case materials, and we thank David T.Johnson, Gary Marx and Welsh White for helpful comments. .