@article {Leo332, author = {Richard A. Leo}, title = {False Confessions: Causes, Consequences, and Implications}, volume = {37}, number = {3}, pages = {332--343}, year = {2009}, publisher = {Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online}, abstract = {In the past two decades, hundreds of convicted prisoners have been exonerated by DNA and non-DNA evidence, revealing that police-induced false confessions are a leading cause of wrongful conviction of the innocent. In this article, empirical research on the causes and correlates of false confessions is reviewed. After a description of the three sequential processes that are responsible for the elicitation of false confessions{\textemdash}misclassification, coercion, and contamination{\textemdash}the three psychologically distinct types of false confession (voluntary, compliant, and persuaded) are discussed along with the consequences of introducing false-confession evidence in the criminal justice system. The article concludes with a brief discussion of the implications of empirical research for reducing the number of false confessions and improving the accuracy of confession evidence that is introduced against a defendant at trial.}, issn = {1093-6793}, URL = {https://jaapl.org/content/37/3/332}, eprint = {https://jaapl.org/content/37/3/332.full.pdf}, journal = {Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online} }