Why False Confessions

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The Why, False Confessions Of course there are many things that can cause a false confession. Because so many false confessions happen so often it leads us to think of why they happen, many of them are caused by mental impairment, ignorance of the law, or an infliction of harm by interrogators or police officers. There are also many people who do not believe these things but rather say that they would never confess to a crime they did not commit. Many cases have come up when it comes to false confessions and yes, there are many solutions to these problems. People have to believe there is a problem first. Those mentally impaired with no knowledge of their illness who are being interrogated often don't know what the difference is from one …show more content…

Many people that have been interrogated and have confessed only do so because they believe that it will be more beneficial than continuing to maintain their innocence. John Vespasian, author of books on philosophy and psychology, told Medical Daily “People can confess to a crime they have not committed because they are suffering from a pre-existing psychological disturbance” (Interrogation). A lot of the time is it to just stop the interrogation because in many cases the suspects are sleep deprived or starved. The average interrogation, relating to false confessions, is about 16 hours according to a book by Richard A. Leo, a law professor at the University of San Francisco and has worked in many false confession cases. The simple act of being interrogated can affect the way people act or react to certain words or details that they are being told. There are many ways that cause false confessions to occur and perhaps we will never be able to fix them. The point is to keep trying to fix these problems. The mental impairment that police don't know how to handle, some type of barrier whether it be language or innocence of the law, or the fear of the infliction of harm are all causes of false confessions. Of course there are many more factors to false confessions, but there …show more content…

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