Influence of Sentencing Practices on False Confessions

¶ … substances, alcohol and marijuana, which one do you believe can most likely impact the reliability of a statement given by a subject under its influence? Why?

Considering the impact of the two substances, alcohol and marijuana, it seems that the reliability of a statement given by a subject under the influence would be most impacted by consumption of alcohol. Alcohol and marijuana are both know to reduce inhibition and judgment. Naturally, the impact that marijuana or alcohol has on social perception is related to the degree of exposure to or consumption of the drug.

However, a person under the influence of alcohol is less likely to be able to accurately assess how others perceive what they say than a person under the influence of marijuana, and thereby have less concern about exaggeration or misrepresentation when making a statement.

Which personality disorder would most likely provide the least reliable information during an interview?

If intelligence is controlled for when considering vulnerability to succumb to police interrogation and make a false confession, than individuals who exhibit excessively compliant personalities or suffer from anxiety disorders are particularly prone to providing less reliable information during an interview. Dr. Gisli Gudjonsson, professor of forensic psychology at the Institute of Psychiatry in London, developed the suggestibility scale that is used to evaluate self-incriminating statements, and is fundamentally the gold standard around the globe for this type of assessment. While disordered thinking -- such as that commonly found in people with mental illness or cognitive processes damaged by chronic substance abuse -- can certainly lead to the occurrence of false confessions, Gudjonsson adds an important caveat to the challenge. While personality disorders have been found to be associated with false confession, Gudjonsson cautions: "A drug addict may not be particularly suggestible but may have a strong desire to get back out on the street" (Woffinden, 2002, p. 1). Moreover, Gudjonsson is also concerned that "false confessions today are less of a problem than false allegations…There is accumulating research evidence that it is much easier for people to make up false allegations, even serious allegations, than the courts realize" (Woffinden, 2002, p. 1).

Why do you believe that making a false confession or statement is said to be part of the criminal's lifestyle?

The study conducted by Sigurdsson and Gudjonsson (2001) provides several conceivable and clear explanations for the phenomenon of false confession or statements as part of the criminal lifestyle. According to Sigurdsson and Gudjonsson (2001), an important aspect of this issue is country or region of origin, in as much as this reflects the local or domestic sentencing practices. For instance, sentencing in Iceland is not cumulative, which may foster an attitude in prisoners that there really is nothing else to loose by making a false confession or statement. Giving a false confession or statement was not perceived by Icelandic prisoners to measurably alter "a sentence imposed by the court" (Sigurdsson & Gudjonsson, 2001). Indeed, there is something to be gained -- "an easy way out of a stressful situation, such as escaping from police pressure [of an interrogation] and expediting their release from custody" (Sigurdsson & Gudjonsson, 2001, p. 285-6). To underscore the importance of sentencing practices, as Sigurdsson and Gudjonsson (2001), contrast the Icelandic experience to that which occurs in the U.K. As cited in Sigurdsson and Gudjonsson (2001), Pearse, Gudjonsson, Clare and Rutter (1998) found that the two strongest predictors of denial of wrongdoing during a police interview were "having a solicitor present during the police interview and having previously served a prison sentence" (p. 286). From this one could surmise that the common occurrence of offending and being sentenced and serving a sentence diminishes the level of concern that Icelandic prisoners may have regarding false statements or confession. But one would do well not to loose sight of the difference between the responses of British and Icelandic prisoners. Certainly, future research that examines these national differences could prove quite illuminating.