FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY

There is a necessity to be aware of the various possible causes of wrongful convictions – preferably before such occurrences transpire. 

There are two types of explanation of false confession (Sigurdsson and Gudjonsson, 1997):

 

• Inexperience of police methods and procedures makes some suspects especially susceptible to police manipulation and attempts at coercion.

 

• False confession is part of the criminal lifestyle of some offenders.

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The major predictive factors for false confessions were multiple experiences of victimization (e.g., bullying, death of a significant other) and substance abuse (i.e., having had substance abuse therapy or used LSD). Kavanaugh (2016) suggests that there are a number of different reasons why a person should voluntarily falsely confess other than interrogation techniques. These include:

• Not understanding the implications for doing so in the adversarial system and the possible outcomes for making such a confession. 

• A wish to achieve fame or notoriety. 

• To help someone who was actually the offender. 

• Diagnosed Mental illness. 

However, sometimes there may be a relationship between these and interrogation techniques.

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Situational factors could also be involved such as the closeness of the relationship with the perpetrator, the lack of seriousness of the offence, feeling some responsibility for the events which led to the crime and the difference between the consequences for the offender to those for the person taking the blame.

 

Leo (Davis and Leo, 2012) has proposed a very psychological description of the process by which Reid-style stressful police interrogations sometimes result in false confessions on the part of some suspects while others manage to resist such pressures. In short, these interrogations involve certain stressors which mean that confession evidence cannot be adequately described as voluntary. Among the stressors are fatigue, disturbing amounts of sleep deprivation, and emotional stress. The interrogations may also be excessive in length and involve aversive tactics. Furthermore, the suspect may already be  tired and fatigued before the interrogation begins. Various aversive procedures such as DNA testing, blood testing, and polygraph assessment, can add to the stress, as will the endless accusations, dismissal of any attempt by the suspect to have their account of events considered, multiple and sequential interviewers and so forth. Put together, these factors can reduce the resistance of individuals to interrogation tactics.