False Confessions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

False Confessions - Essay Example It is also a prosecutor’s most compelling weapon (Kassim & Sukel, 1997). A conviction is possible by confession evidence alone. In the process of police interrogation, obtaining a confession is one of the most important aims. A study by Zimbardo (1967) approximated that of the criminal cases solved by the police, over 80 percent are solved by confession. Confessions are a very dominant form of evidence. This is possibly due to observers misattributing the cause of the confession as being internal to the confessor while disregarding situational factors, for instance a possible coercion which may not be apparent to an observer (Gilbert & Malone, 1995). The big question, however, is whether all confessions are authentic. How are we sure that all suspected individuals give true confessions out of their own wish, without duress during the police interrogations? For instance, in Britain, false confessions rank secondly only to mistaken identities as a cause of wrongful conviction among the cases referred to the Court of Appeal. It is unclear how often false confessions result in wrongful convictions. Scholars, however, agree that enough cases have been documented to raise an eyebrow over such a risk. Leo (1998) states three possible reasons why it may be hard to approximate the prevalence of false confessions. They are: The interrogation procedure and interview tactics used the police have changed over the years. Usually, interrogation is not the first step in an investigation. It is not in question, though, that it can be the last substantial step in an investigation. In the process of an investigation, those involved collect scientific evidence as well as human evidence. For instance, witness statements, eyewitness statements, and collateral statements are collected. At this stage, â€Å"interviews† and â€Å"interrogation† are treated as different enterprises. Law enforcement and interrogation training manuals claim interviews are non-custodial (for