CRI1103 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: False Confession, Intellectual Disability, Base Rate
CRI1105
Week 6
This week
DNA evidence overturns 30-year convictions • Confessions and false confessions •
Getting it right: Confessions
False confessions • Interviewing and interrogation • How to prevent false confessions
Interrogation of rapists and Crime 101: The crime
DNA evidence overturns 30-year convictions
2014 • Two US men spent three decades in prison for rape and murder • Released after
DNA evidence proved their innocence
1984 • Intellectually disabled half brothers Henry McCollum (50) and Leon Brown (46) •
Convicted of raping and killing an 11-year-old girl in North Carolina
DNA evidence from the crime scene implicated another man, who is in prison for a
similar crime • A county judge ordered the immediate release of the brothers
DNA evidence overturns 30-year convictions
No physical evidence • The near-naked body of 11-year-old girl was found in 1983 • She had
been raped before being killed • Mr McCollum and Mr Brown were picked up by police a few
weeks later
Mr McCollum confessed after five hours of intense questioning, without a lawyer or
family member present • His younger brother also signed a confession written by the
police
In 2010 the North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission took up their case and
uncovered evidence the men's legal team had not been able to obtain
DNA evidence overturns 30-year convictions
Life lost • The evidence found no link between the brothers and the victim, but did implicate
Roscoe Artis (74) who lived close to where the victim's body was found • Mr Artis was not a
suspect in the original case • Mr Artis was found guilty for the rape and murder of another girl in
similar circumstances less than a month after the killing
Ken Rose • “It’s terrifying that our justice system allowed two intellectually disabled children to
go to prison for a crime they had nothing to do with, and then to suffer there for 30 years.” •
“It’s impossible to put into words what these men have been through and how much they have
lost.”
Confessions and false confessions
Confession • Occurs when a person admits guilt for an offence • It is one of the strongest forms
of evidence that can be presented in a trial • Drastically increases the probability that a person
will be charged and convicted • Between 49 and 61 percent of persons of interest confess in
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
England and Wales • Between 50 and 65 percent of persons of interest confess in the Unites
States
False confession • Occurs when an innocent person admits guilt for an offence that he or she did
not commit • Base rate unknown
Scott
Confessions and false confessions
Confession evidence is extremely persuasive
The Innocence Project • 337 DNA exonerations • 14 Average number of years served • 140 Real
perpetrators found
False confessions played a role in more than 25% of overturned convictions
Why do innocent people confess? • Underlying reasons are varied • But… common
belief that falsely confessing is more beneficial than maintaining innocence
False confessions
Three psychologically distinct types of false confession
Voluntary false confessions • Provided by a person in the absence of any external pressure by
the police • Morbid desire for notoriety • Pathological need to become infamous • Protect the
real perpetrator • Conceal other non-criminal acts
E.g. • Man falsely confessed to murder to impress his girlfriend • Man falsely confessed to over
600 murders and gained popularity/celebrity status • Woman falsely confessed to murder to
hide that she was with her secret lover
Memon et al.; Scott
False confessions
Coerced-compliant false confessions • Provided by a person to avoid aversive conditions or gain
a favourable outcome • Compliance. Public change in behaviour for instrumental purposes •
Guaranteed short-term benefits outweigh uncertain long-term consequences
E.g. • Man falsely confessed to arson • Fire brigade and insurance company believed it was
accidental • Confessed because the police officers told him that he would be in more trouble if
he continued to deny setting the fire
Memon et al.; Scott
False confessions
Coerced-internalised false confessions • Provided by a person when they come to believe they
likely committed the offence despite having no memory of it • Internalisation. Private
acceptance of the beliefs presented by others
E.g. • Man falsely confessed to murder • Police officers asked him to create scenarios for the
murder and then accused him of the murder • Strongly denied committing the offence •
Polygraph administered and the test ‘proved’ he was lying • Confidence started to erode;
refused to accept committed the offence • Other evidence examined and hair samples
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Dna evidence overturns 30-year convictions confessions and false confessions . False confessions interviewing and interrogation how to prevent false confessions. Interrogation of rapists and crime 101: the crime. 2014 two us men spent three decades in prison for rape and murder released after. 1984 intellectually disabled half brothers henry mccollum (50) and leon brown (46) . Convicted of raping and killing an 11-year-old girl in north carolina. Dna evidence from the crime scene implicated another man, who is in prison for a similar crime a county judge ordered the immediate release of the brothers. No physical evidence the near-naked body of 11-year-old girl was found in 1983 she had been raped before being killed mr mccollum and mr brown were picked up by police a few weeks later. Mr mccollum confessed after five hours of intense questioning, without a lawyer or family member present his younger brother also signed a confession written by the police.
