The Innocence Project is an organization dedicated to exonerating people of crimes in which there is evidence the individual is not guilty of the crime he or she was convicted for. Stunningly, one-quarter of all wrongful convictions of which they have assisted in exoneration through DNA evidence, have resulted due to false confessions or an incriminating statement. False confessions refer to when a criminal suspect admits to committing a crime that he or she did not commit.
So why would a person confess to a crime he did not commit? This happens for a variety of reasons, including diaries, police coercion, ignorance of the law, the threat of physical violence, intoxication, and mental impairment, among others. It is noted that juveniles’ statements tend to be more unreliable, as do the statements of mentally impaired and intoxicated people. Part of the problem is that officers are not frequently trained to interview mentally impaired people.
One way police officers can avoid false confessions is by avoiding repeating the facts of the case to the suspect in question. In many cases, suspects have confessed to crimes in grave detail, only for it to be discovered later that the person is innocent. How could the person have such intimate knowledge of the crime? The officers told the suspect the information, who then repeated it back to the officers. Recording these interrogations are an effective way to prevent biased and coercive interviewing techniques as well.
Reading of the Miranda warnings does not increase the likelihood of obtaining false confessions. In fact, the one of the main reasons, Miranda is in place is to protect citizens from self-incrimination. Officers are more likely to guard the liberty of people by reading the Miranda warnings, which offers another exemplary way for officers to help avoid false confessions.
Works Cited
Leo, Richard A. "The Impact of Miranda Revisited." 86 J. Crim. L. & Criminology (1996): 621, 653. 16 April 2016. <http://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=6874&context=jclc>.
The Innocence Project. False Confessions or Admissions. n.d. 16 April 2016. <http://www.innocenceproject.org/causes-wrongful-conviction/false-confessions-or-admissions>.
