Police Interrogation And False Confessions

The article “Dude, Where’s My Frontal Cortex?” by Robert Sapolsky talks about the delayed maturation of the frontal cortex in teenagers and how the underdeveloped frontal cortex is the cause of erratic behavior of teenagers. Sapolsky explains to the reader how the frontal cortex does not fully develop until the age of twenty for a person and how that part of the brain is important for extensive reasoning, impulse control, and emotional regulation. He shows the reader how particularly emotional situations affect both a teenager and an adult differently due to either having or not having a matured frontal cortex. This example that he uses allows for the reader to see how a teenager responds to situations with extreme thoughts and behavior which

The article “Inside the Teen Brain’ by Marty Wolner, states that the human brain provides parents with shocking new evidence to possibly explain the sometimes irrational, illogical, and impulsive behavior of teenagers. Teenage years are radically more active and dynamic than they previously thought. So teenagers are left with most of the information reaching their brains being processed in the emotional part (limbic system). Information processed in the limbic system without benefit increases the processing in the prefrontal cortex. It may result in impulsive, egocentric, and maybe even risky behavior choices. The prefrontal cortex of the teenage brain does not excuse inappropriate or irresponsible behavior from the teen. The brain is not yet

Considering the behaviors of an adolescent in the same manner as that of an adult is unfair. Juvenile brains are still developing, which means that they perform differently than adult brains (AACAP). Adolescents are more likely to act on impulse, get involved in fights, and engage in risky or dangerous behavior. They are less likely to think before they act or consider the consequences of their actions (AACAP). Weighing this scientific fact, it is unfair to assume that a juvenile committed a delinquent act with the same forethought of an adult. The mental development of a juvenile makes it difficult to prove that they established the mens rea equal to that of an adult guilty of the same offense.

Police interrogate suspects on a daily basis, but how can they tell if the confession is real? We have all heard, at one time or another of someone confessing to a crime they didn’t commit. Then your next thought is “I would never confess to something I didn’t do”. The only way you can be a 100% sure of that is if you have been through an interrogation before. This paper is going to define “confession” and tell how an innocent person will confesses to a crime they didn’t commit. This paper will also show the history of interrogations.

“It was me. I did it. I’m guilty.” It’s what every interrogator is waiting for and hoping to hear. Any variation will do the job, as either is the heart of each and every confession. The main purpose of an interrogation is to elicit the truth from a suspect that they believe has lied or is guilty of the crime they’re investigating. They are looking for a confession. Confessions are the most damaging and influential piece of evidence of the suspect’s guilt that the state can use against a defendant (Leo, 2009). It makes sense. People instinctively trust confessions. After all, why would someone confess to a crime they did not commit? The mere idea that someone would admit to committing a crime they did not do boggles the mind simply because it just does not seem rational. However, the fact remains that false confessions do happen, and for a multitude of different reasons. This paper will begin with an examination of false confessions in general, then focus on the different types of false confessions, including what leads to their occurrence, and will conclude by discussing ways in which false confessions could be avoided.

In recent years, there have been multiple high-profile cases of people being exonerated, often by DNA testing, after giving a false confession to a crime they did not commit. People who often fall into this trap are juveniles or those with a diminished mental capacity (Redlich, 2009). DNA testing has helped many innocent people that gave false confessions be free again. This trend brings up the question of how were they able to give a false confession.

Once introduced as evidence, a confession causes a negative chain reaction in the justice system and law enforcers and justice officials often include their biases in their judgment, which leads to justice miscarriage. The process of false confession starts with the law enforcement officials (Leo & Davis, 2011). According to Kassin, Meissner, and ReNorwick (2005), investigators have a high confidence in knowing a true confession but their accuracy is the same as that of the public. The investigators do not see deception but rather they infer

Among the reasons adolescents are incapable of the same reasoning and maturity as an adult is the fact that their brains have not yet fully developed. According to the “Young Adult Development Project” at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT), the human brain does not reach full maturity until at least the mid-20s. As a result, minors do not possess the mental capacity to understand the consequences of their actions. They cannot fully comprehend the seriousness of the situation until it is already too late. Teenagers are especially susceptible to this, which can lead to regret, guilt and many obvious mistakes. Researchers at MIT point out the limitations of the teen brain in their Young Adult Development Project, “At the same time young adults are experiencing new levels of sophistication in thinking and emotional regulation, their brains are undergoing changes in precisely the areas associated with these functions.” Additionally, The University of Rochester Medical Center writes in their article “Understanding the Teen brain” that “Good judgement is not something [minors] can excel in... yet.” In 2016 a 10-year old boy shot and killed his brother while they were playing cops and robbers with a rifle he did not know was loaded.

“The wall street Journal noted in Sept. 8, 2013 report, National Registry of Exonerations statistics suggest that young people in particular are more prone to admitting guilt for crimes they did not commit. Thirty-eight percent of exonerations for crimes allegedly committed by youth under 18 in the quarter century involved false confessions.” (John Wihbey and Margaret Weigel,2015,Para.3) False confession is the admission of being guilty for a crime that they did not commit. In the interrogation, Police officers may question witness or victims who may have information on a specific crime. The officers may lead a group of questions about the event or evidence of the crime scene. The suspects or victims may know information about it, however,

According to Wu, Lake, and Cao (2015) juvenile were found to have more non-criminal enforcement interaction with the police due to increased police presence in the school system. In addition, juveniles are at “higher risk of both offending and victimization compared to adults” and “efforts to control youth and gang violence.…promoted aggressive police actions against youth” (p. 446). Juvenile perception of police is an important area of study because mistrust of the police may create a strain of juveniles’ future cooperation with the police in criminal investigations and police legitimacy. Also, research has shown that long-lasting impressions and attitudes are formed during adolescence and if juveniles form negative perceptions of the police, these perceptions tend to be permanently embedded or very difficult to change (Wu et. al,

As mentioned above, there is very minimal research on judges, police, and jurors on their opinions and beliefs in the area of false confessions and police interrogations. These key characters in the legal system are important factors to produce more information in the area of false confessions as they are working in the legal system and being the first to witness wrongful convictions. However, one recent study has shown that judges have the same biases as the mock jurors (Lassiter, Diamond, Schmidt, & Elek, 2007, p. 225). Thus, this information can lead to many controversial questions regarding whether or not judges are aware of the biases that occur in their own courtroom? Are judges being unaware of the tactics used in interrogation rooms?

Young offenders are more prone to giving false confessions because they are more used to giving into the pressure of adult supervision. While trying children as adults should be for the purpose of rehabilitation, it is often done for

When an investigator is to being interrogation of a juvenile suspect that is believed to be involved in criminal gang activity, the investigator must follow a defined set of policies to ensure the protection of the juvenile and the criminal case that could follow. While these juveniles are suspected of committing a crime, they are still juveniles based on their age. Juvenile suspects are permitted to speak with their parents prior to the interrogation beginning; however the parents will not be allowed in the interrogation room. Interrogation should not begin until an attorney is present that can advise the juvenile being questioned or object to the line of questioning that they are being subjected to. When the individual is being Mirandize,

Through the knowledge done by this research, we can confirm the fact that indeed officers seem to not become suspicion of an individual due to age. The next logical step is to try and understand why juveniles are treated differently and how this affects what the ultimate outcome of what is supposed to

There is a direct correlation between false confessions and age, where juveniles were would be more keen to taking responsibility for an act he or she did not commit (Farmer, 2011). To prove this hypothesis, a laboratory experiment was conducted to show that suggestibility was an important factor in regards to false confession (Farmer, 2011). This experiment was created to convince participants in three different age groups, 12 and 13 year olds, 15 and 16 year olds, and young adults that they