PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Richard A. Leo
TI  - False Confessions: Causes, Consequences, and Implications
DP  - 2009 Sep 01
TA  - Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online
PG  - 332--343
VI  - 37
IP  - 3
4099  - http://jaapl.org/content/37/3/332.short
4100  - http://jaapl.org/content/37/3/332.full
SO  - J Am Acad Psychiatry Law2009 Sep 01; 37
AB  - 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—misclassification, coercion, and contamination—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.