False Confessions: Reasons People Confess to Crimes They Do Not Commit

In criminal trials, a person’s admission of guilt usually results in a sure conviction and sentence. End of story. The perpetrator takes responsibility and we move on. Sometimes though, that is not the end of the story. Often, and more times than one would think, a person will confess to a crime they did not commit. People intuitively feel that they would never confess to something they did not do. But, for one reason or another, it happens. When we hear of something like this, it is simply hard to comprehend. We ask, why would a person do such a thing? In high-profile cases, such as the John Mark Karr confession in the JonBenet Ramsey murder, forever etched in our memory as a result of 24/7 media coverage, we can somewhat understand the motivation, publicity. The reasons become bizarre and somewhat surreal when fame is not the issue. Saul Kassin, a professor of psychology at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and Gisli Gudjonsson, a professor of forensic psychology at the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College in London, have found that while some people make voluntary false confessions for secondary motives, such as Karr, the majority are brought on by some type of coercion in the interrogation process. False confessions are often given after intense questioning, many times using deceit and trickery on an already isolated and sleep-deprived suspect. Under the pressure, people cave and confess even though they know they are innocent. Thinking everything will get sorted out later, little do they know, a confession usually trumps evidence in most cases.In criminal trials, a person’s admission of guilt usually results in a sure conviction and sentence. End of story. The perpetrator takes responsibility and we move on. Sometimes though, that is not the end of the story. Often, and more times than one would think, a person will confess to a crime they did not commit. People intuitively feel that they would never confess to something they did not do. But, for one reason or another, it happens. When we hear of something like this, it is simply hard to comprehend. We ask, why would a person do such a thing? In high-profile cases, such as the John Mark Karr confession in the JonBenet Ramsey murder, forever etched in our memory as a result of 24/7 media coverage, we can somewhat understand the motivation, publicity. The reasons become bizarre and somewhat surreal when fame is not the issue. Saul Kassin, a professor of psychology at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and Gisli Gudjonsson, a professor of forensic psychology at the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College in London, have found that while some people make voluntary false confessions for secondary motives, such as Karr, the majority are brought on by some type of coercion in the interrogation process. False confessions are often given after intense questioning, many times using deceit and trickery on an already isolated and sleep-deprived suspect. Under the pressure, people cave and confess even though they know they are innocent. Thinking everything will get sorted out later, little do they know, a confession usually trumps evidence in most cases