Confession (law) - Scientific Reliability

Scientific Reliability

Confession evidence can be considered, arguably, the best piece of evidence of guilt in the criminal justice system. However, false confessions do occur, therefore there must be some flaws in the interrogation process. In a scientific article “Confession Evidence: Commonsense Myths and Misconceptions” by author Saul M. Kassin, 5 myths in the confession evidence system were identified. These myths are 1) Trained interviewers can detect truth and deception, 2) Miranda protects the accused from interrogation, 3) People do not confess to crimes they don't commit, 4) Police, prosecutors, judges, and juries can distinguish true and false confessions and 5) It is possible to determine whether a false confession error was harmless. In the case of trained interviewers, many interrogation teams are practiced in the “Reid technique”, which identifies behavioral cues common for a guilty suspect including slouching, fidgeting, and avoiding eye contact. These cues have not been empirically validated to demonstrate deception in scientific studies. In terms of the Miranda, it has been found that innocent suspects are more likely to waive their rights than those who are guilty, so therefore Miranda rights in most cases do not protect accused innocents from interrogation (article 1). Through the use of minimization, when an investigator justifies the crime with possible excuses to make it easier to confess to, and the use of the false evidence ploy, mentioning evidence that proves the suspect guilty (which actually does not exist), many innocent people end up confessing to crimes they have not committed. Most people can't recognize a false confession, because confessions are trusted and a jury or judge would see confessing to a crime in which the suspect did not commit as something against self-interest, which in most people's minds does not make sense. In terms of how harmless a false confession is, it has been shown that confessions can affect other pieces of evidence and the way they are presented, which can affect a judge or jury's perception of guilt. Through debunking these myths it can be demonstrated that confessions can not be the be all end all in a criminal investigation, and the criminal justice system should implement more tactics and procedures that prevent false confessions from occurring.