A review of the literature unequivocally reveals false confessions are oftentimes deliberately sought after by overzealous criminal justice interrogators who are much more preoccupied with ascertaining a confession -- and an ensuing conviction -- than they are with ascertaining the truth about a particular crime.
Organization

This paper is organized by explaining the concept that false conceptions are deliberately extracted by far too many interrogators for the purposes of a conviction -- regardless if doing so is truthful or not. The author of this document explores this tenet from a variety of differing viewpoints which support it. However, there is a counterpoint to this thesis which is then elucidated. This counterpoint reveals that there are certain circumstances in which law enforcement have taken active measures to determine the truth without the presupposition of guilt or the outcome of a jury trial. Finally, the paper deconstructs those specific circumstances prior to concluding they…...

False confessions are an unfortunate part of the criminal justice system. False confessions are often extracted in order to gain a quick conviction without careful consideration for the facts of the case. This can lead to major problems for the defendant and the court system as defendants try to convince juries of unethically extracted confessions. While many in the criminal justice system believe, a false confession is a rare occurrence, research suggests it is a far more pervasive problem than imagined.
If one were to look at false confessions via the lens of cognitive dissonance, one can see that certain perceptions may lead one to attempt to maintain a belief regardless of potential evidence going against such a perspective. That can often lead to actions committed to 'catch the culprit' without considering the entire picture from evidence and testimony. The recommendation then consists of raising awareness of false confessions by demonstrating…...

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…...

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References

Pearse, J., Gudjonsson, G.H., Clare, I.C., and Rutter, S. (1998). Police interviewing and psychological vulnerabilities: Predicting the likelihood of a confession. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology, 8(1), 1-21.

Sigurdsson, J.F. And Gudjonsson, G.H. (2001). False confessions: The relative importance of psychological, criminological, and substance abuse variables. Psychology, Crime, & Law, 7, 275-289.

Woffinden, B. (2002, December 16). Confessions of a forensic psychologist. The Guardian. [Website]. Retreived  http://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/dec/17/law.ukcrime

Chojnacki, D.E., Ciccini, M.D. & White, L.T. (2008). An empirical basis for the admission of expert testimony on false confessions. 40 Ariz. St. L.J. 1 (2008).
When a false confession has been extracted, the defendant on trial has few recourses. One of their recourses is to convince the jury that the confession was unethically extracted, by calling in expert witnesses in the field of psychology. These expert witnesses can show juries how and why false confessions occur, to show that they are relatively common as well as problematic. However, the authors claim that many judges disallow the expert testimony under the assumption that the jurors are familiar with the topic of false confessions. This article is tremendously helpful in my research because it shows not only that false confessions occur due to bad law enforcement procedures, but also that there is a widespread misperception of how pervasive the problem has become.

Garrett,…...

False Identification and Lineup Instructions Biased/Unbiased
There are many instances where people have been wrongly accused only because they were falsely identified or either because there was not enough evidence present that would prove them guilty. George Allen Jr. was convicted in 1983 on the charges of capital murder, rape, sodomy and first degree burglary. It has been noted that the reason for his false conviction was false confession, invalid or improper forensic evidence and government misconduct (Innocenceproject.org, 2013). Another case is of Barry Gibbs who was charged with second degree murder in the year 1988. He was wrongly charged due to eyewitness misidentification and government misconduct. It was noted that Barry Gibbs served 17.5 years of jail time before he was exonerated in the year 2005. (Innocenceproject.org, 2013)

These cases therefore give an idea that eyewitness misidentification is a very important cause of wrongful convictions all over the country and the…...

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References

Brandon, R. & Davies, C. (1973). Wrongful imprisonment. [Hamden, Conn.]: Archon Books.

Buckhout, R. & Others (1974). Determinants of eyewitness performance on a lineup.. Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society, 4 (3), 191-192.

Christianson, S. (1992). Emotional stress and eyewitness memory: a critical review. Psychological bulletin, 112 (2), 284.

Grether, W.F., & Baker, C.A. (1972). Visual presentation of information. In H.P. Van Cott & R.G. Kinkade (Eds.), Human engineering guide to equipment design (pp. 41-121). Washington, D.C.: American Institutes for Research

It was not simply that his body did not obey his will and that he possessed a stronger spiritual and a physical will after his conversion, but that before his conversion his will was not fully sincere internally. He had not yet accepted God's grace, and submitted to God. Before he was converted he said: "the power of willing is the power of doing; and as yet I could not do it. Thus my body more readily obeyed the slightest wish of the soul in moving its limbs at the order of my mind than my soul obeyed itself to accomplish in the will alone its great resolve" (10.VI.20). hen his spiritual will truly accepted Christ, his body followed and God freed him from unwanted desire. He accepted his lack of ability to master his body, and accepted that he needed grace to be good.
Thus although he speaks of…...

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Works Cited

Augustine. "Confessions." Christian Classics Ethereal Library. 11 Nov 2008.  http://www.ccel.org/ccel/augustine/confessions.xi.html

DNA Exonerations: John Kogut
The Path To Exoneration: John Kogut

The Path to Conviction

When 16-year-old Teresa Fusco left work at 9:45 PM on November 10, 1984 she became one among several young girls reported missing over the past several years [Centurion Ministries, 2013; Innocence Project, n.d.(a)]. In contrast to her predecessors, however, her body was discovered a month later in a wooded area several blocks from the roller rink where she worked. According to the autopsy, Teresa had been raped and murdered. Semen and sperm were collected from her body and the marks on her neck revealed that she had been strangled with a rope or cord. Also found at the scene were her jewelry and the murder weapon. The coroner's office, however, failed to conduct a blood type analysis on the semen.

The Nassau County police were under tremendous pressure to solve these disappearances, especially Teresa's rape and murder [Innocence Project, n.d.(a)].…...

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References

Centurion Ministries (2013). Dennis Halstead, John Kogut, & John Restivo, Long Island, NY. CenturionMinistries.org. Retrieved 6 Oct. 2013 from http://www.centurionministries.org/cases/dennis-halstead-john-kogut-and-john-restivo/.

Drumm, David. (2013, May 11). Why the FBI doesn't record interrogations. JonathanTurley.org [blog]. Retrieved 7 Oct. 2013 from  http://jonathanturley.org/2013/05/11/why-the-fbi-doesnt-record-interrogations/ .

Editors. (2013, Jan. 1). America's retreat from the death penalty. New York Times, A18. Retrieved 7 Oct. 2013 from  http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/03/15/maryland-death-penalty/1989977/ .

Gootman, Elissa. (2003, Jun. 12). DNA evidence frees 3 men in 1984 murder of L.I. girl. New York Times, B1, B5. Retrieved 7 Oct. 2013 from  http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/12/nyregion/dna-evidence-frees-3-men-in-1984-murder-of-li-girl.html .

Psychology -- Central Park ogger
Matthew ohnson's The Central Park ogger Case - Police coercion and secrecy in interrogation (ohnson, 2003), posits the reasonable theory that police interrogation is "ripe for abusive treatment" and the equally reasonable position that custodial questioning should be entirely recorded and preserved. While ohnson was wise to focus on the Central Park ogger case and place it in historical/cultural context, he focused so intently on race considerations that he made some logically weak assertions about the race factor and omitted or glossed over equally effective supporting points about legal principles and the impact of adolescence on false confessions. The results of ohnson's approach are a reasonable theory and a tenable position that could be supported by far stronger arguments.

Introduction

The problem of false confessions remains a significant problem in the American criminal justice system, particularly when the Defendant is a nonwhite adolescent. As the Central Park ogger…...

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Johnson illustrates his points by placing the CPJ case in historical and cultural context.

Historically, European colonialism of America involved enslavement and genocide. Even after passage of the Emancipation Proclamation, slave states continued to enslave by criminalizing various activities of African-Americans and forcing them to labor on plantations, for other private businesses and for the state; the CPJ case occurred during a time of increased youthful lawlessness (Johnson, 2003). Culturally, Johnson points to the "unique racialized fears of Manhattan, and its pristine Central Park, being overrun by lawless, inner-city, black and Latino youths" (Johnson, 2003), but even more broadly: the U.S. is the world leader in incarceration; it is used race-related slavery in its recent past; it gives police broad powers in investigation, apprehension and interrogation; the U.S. is "captivated by crime"; our society essentially leaves police unsupervised; there is a prevailing attitude that as long as you do not look "criminal" you do not have to worry about the police, with the result that suspects are regarded as criminals. In Johnson's estimation, this results in a combination of police coercive powers and secrecy that often contaminate the interrogation process and thus criminal justice proceedings.

Johnson also briefly mentions 3 types of false confessions: voluntary, coerced-compliant, and coerced-internalized (Johnson, 2003). A "voluntary" false confession is

As Neuschatz, Jones, McClung and Wetmore (n.d.) note, secondary confessions are viewed as “extremely persuasive evidence” (p. 2) even though they are the “leading cause of wrongful convictions in capital cases” (p. 3). What this shows, nonetheless, is that information acquisition is the most effective of the three recommendations. Knowing where information was acquired and how can be extremely important in the application of research on informant testimony. Secondary confessions are the perfect example of how this is so. They show that just because information sounds legitimate and valid and is quickly and easily embraced by juries, the information itself has to be considered in terms of how it was acquired and what the source of the information is. In any trial whenever there is witness testimony, the credibility of the witness is examined in order to assess the validity of the claims. This is part of the process of…...

The Central Park Five case demonstrates some of the problems with police interrogation techniques, and also the policies and procedures applied to juveniles. In every case, law enforcement uses criminal interrogation as a primary means of data collection. However, the purpose of criminal interrogation is not necessarily as straightforward as it may seem. The use of criminal interrogations to elicit confessions often leads to the implementation of methods that are ineffective at gaining the truth, even while they may be highly effective at gaining wrongful convictions.Intimidation, deception, and psychological abuse are some of the methods that may be used during police interrogations due in part to political and work-related pressures to gain confessions from a suspect at all costs (Kossowska & Grochowska, n.d.). In the 2012 Ken Burns documentary about the Central Park Five case, viewers have access to footage that directly captures the interrogation techniques the police used with…...

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ReferencesBurns, K., McMahon, D. & Burns, S. (2012). The Central Park Five. [Documentary].   N.J. (2004). The Central Park Five, the Scottsboro Boys, and the myth of the bestial black man.25 Cardozo L. Rev. 1315 (2003-2004) Kassin, S.M. (2005). On the psychology of confessions. American Psychologist 60(3): 215-228.Kassin, S. M., Meissner, C. A., & Norwick, R. J. (2005). \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"I\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'d Know a False Confession if I Saw One\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\": A Comparative Study of College Students and Police Investigators. Law and Human Behavior, 29(2), 211-227.Kossowska, M. & Grochowska, K. (n.d.). Fact sheet: police interrogations. https://www.eaplstudent.com/component/content/article/196-fact-sheet-police interrogations. Criminology and Public Policy 6(4): 791-798.Leo, R.A. & Richman, K.D. (2007). Mandate the electronic recording of police interrogations. Williamson, T. (2013). Investigative Interviewing. Routledge. http://www.pbs.org/kenburns/centralparkfive/ Duru,

Research Question: When do police interrogation techniques lead to false confessions/false witness testimony, and how can false confessions be prevented?
Annotation1
Reference: Forrest, K.D., Wadkins, T.A. & Larson, B.A. (2006). Suspect personality, police interrogations, and false confessions: Maybe it is not just the situation. Personality and Individual Differences 40(3): 621-628.

Annotation: The authors empirically test the hypothesis that there are personality traits that might be associated with false confessions. The authors recognize that prior research has often focused on environmental factors in the police interrogation setting, but that personality and individual difference might also have a bearing on a person’s susceptibility to falsely confessing. For example, the authros claim that prior studies have focused on interrogation length, presentation of false evidence and other manipulative ploys, and the leaking of case details to stimulate a false confession. Prior research on personality traits includes variables like suggestibility and locus of control. This study also focuses…...

Amicus Brief that I examined for this particular assignment is entitled "Floyd v. Cain." It largely functions as a means of providing evidence that people may falsely confess to crimes for a multitude of reasons. Therefore, it implies that not all convictions are actually true, particularly those in which false confessions may have been involved.
This particular brief was written due to a legal matter involving John Floyd, who has spent approximately the past 30 years in prison largely due to his confession to a charge of murder. There are several mitigating factors pertaining to this particular case, most noticeably the fact that Floyd "has a full scale IQ of 59 and, at age 60, reads at the level of a second grader" (APA, 2013). At the time that the American Psychological Association (APA) prepared this brief, there was new evidence in Floyd's case that he may have falsely confessed.…...

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References

American Psychological Association. (2013). "Floyd v. Cain." www.apa.org. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/about/offices/ogc/amicus/floyd.aspx

Haedicke, S.J. (2010). "Brief of Amicus Curae the American Psychological Association in support of petitioner John Floyd." American Psychological Association. Retrieved from  http://www.apa.org/about/offices/ogc/amicus/floyd-v-cain-brief.pdf

Police
Deception is an integral part of the police arsenal during interrogation. The tactics and techniques of deception have been finely honed, and continue to improve to allow for effective interrogation and information retrieval. Within the framework of judicious police interrogation, the techniques and tactics can be employed effectively, efficiently, and ethically. A few, like the eid Technique, have been criticized for their misuses and for their tendency to create false confessions (McKee, 2014). Other tactics and techniques do deserve to remain part of the overall law enforcement strategy, especially when the tactics and techniques preserve the integrity of the investigation. One of the most commonly used deceptive interrogation tactics is minimization. Minimization is used to engender trust and establish a bond of communication with the suspect. The law enforcement officer basically bluffs throughout the interview, downplaying the severity of the crime itself, feigning sympathy with the suspect's point-of-view, and reinforcing…...

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References

Bell, R. (n.d.). Coerced false confessions during police investigations. Crime Library. Retrieved online: http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/not_guilty/coerced_confessions/2.html

McKee, E. (2014). The line between deception and fabrication. Temple Law Review. 14 Nov, 2012. Retrieved online:  http://sites.temple.edu/lawreview/2012/11/14/the-use-of-deception-and-other-ethical-implications-in-interrogation-methods/ 

Redlich, A.D. & Meissner, C. (n.d.). Techniques and controversies in the interrogation of suspects. In Skeem, J.L., K. Douglas & S. Lilienfeld (Eds.) Psychological Science in the Courtroom. Retrieved online:  http://digitalcommons.utep.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1036&context=christian_meissner 

Rutledge, D. (2007). The lawful use of deception. Police. Jan 1, 2007. Retrieved online:  http://www.policemag.com/channel/patrol/articles/2007/01/point-of-law.aspx

Hayes was pressurized into making a statement which placed him and Matthews at the scene of the crime. Hayes and Matthews were no where near the scene of the crime when it happened. Hayes had to make a forced statement where he claimed he drove Matthews to the store and only heard gunshots after Matthew entered the store. He did not bother to ask Matthews about the activity inside Hayes was also forced into making a false confession. The prosecutors relied on this false confession and the witnesses' confession to try Matthews.
The prosecutors used witness testimony to convict Matthews. They did not have any forensic or scientific evidence which could link Matthews to the murder. One of the witnesses alleged that he managed to catch a glimpse of Matthews in the rearview mirror at the scene of the crime. The district attorney believed that it was enough evidence to…...

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Bibliography

Why is Ryan Matthews still in jail?, Alan Maass June 11, 2004

Justice at last, Eric Ruder, June 25, 2004 case that cries out for justice, Billy Southern, the New Abolitionist, 2004

Ryan Matthews exonerated in murder, Gwen Filosa, Time Picayune, 2004

Arthur Miller, notable playwright, wrote the 1953 play, The Crucible that focused on the partially fictionalized and dramatized story of the Salem witch trials that occurred between 1692 and 1693 in the Province of Massachusetts Bay. The play was written as an allegory of McCarthyism due to the American government blacklisting of accused communists. Even Miller was questioned by the House of Representatives' Committee on what can be labeled as "Un-American Activities" during the late 1950's and was convicted in 1956 of contempt of Congress for the refusal of identification of others that were present during the meetings Miller had attended. Miller's drama was then translated into his play through themes of intolerance, hysteria, and reputation.
The first theme that The Crucible describes in the beginning of the play is intolerance. ith the play's setting in a theocratic society, where the church and state serve as one, the government uses religion…...

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Works Cited

Bloom, Harold. Arthur Miller's The Crucible. New York: Bloom's Literary Criticism, 2010. Print.

Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. New York, N.Y.: Penguin Books, 2003. Print.

Complexities of Capital Punishment

1. Ethical and Moral Implications: Explore the ethical and moral dilemmas associated with the death penalty, considering arguments for and against its use based on concepts such as retribution, deterrence, and the sanctity of life.

2. Racial and Economic Disparities: Analyze the racial and economic disparities in the application of the death penalty, examining the role of systemic racism and socioeconomic factors in sentencing outcomes.

3. Psychological and Neurological Aspects: Discuss the psychological and neurological implications of the death penalty, including the mental anguish it inflicts on individuals sentenced to death and the potential for irreversible mistakes in sentencing.

Debating....

Recent Supreme Court Decisions and Their Impact on the Criminal Justice System

The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) plays a pivotal role in shaping the criminal justice system through its decisions on constitutional rights, prosecutorial practices, and sentencing guidelines. Recent years have witnessed several significant SCOTUS rulings that have had a profound impact on the system, shaping the way criminal cases are investigated, tried, and adjudicated.

Miranda Rights and Police Interrogations

Miranda v. Arizona (1966): Established the "Miranda rule," requiring law enforcement officers to inform suspects of their rights to remain silent, have an attorney present, and stop being questioned....