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False Confessions Showcased on Frontline Tonight

By Jeralyn, Section Media
Posted on Tue Jul 12, 2011 at 07:07:04 PM EST
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Why do people confess to crimes they didn't commit? Frontline tonight is airing "The Confessions", the story of the Norfolk 4.

How could four men confess to a brutal crime that they didn't commit? Inside the incredible saga of the Norfolk Four -- a case that cracks open the justice system to reveal almost everything that goes wrong when innocent people get convicted.

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    False Confessions Showcased on Frontline Tonight | 5 comments (5 topical)

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    I have (5.00 / 1) (#1)
    by Ga6thDem on Tue Jul 12, 2011 at 07:44:51 PM EST
    DVR'ed the West Memphis Three which apparently is something similar to this story. I just haven't gotten the gumption up to watch it yet.

    false confessions, (5.00 / 2) (#2)
    by cpinva on Tue Jul 12, 2011 at 09:13:30 PM EST
    erroneous lineup ID's, poor crime scene procedures, inept/falsified forensic analysis, withholding potentially exculpatory evidence, etc., etc., etc. as well, pressure (in high-profile cases) to quickly identify/arrest/prosecute/incarcerate someone, anyone, for the crime increase, along with the above noted items, the possibility of innocent parties ending up in jail.

    they confess because the police put enormous pressure on them to do so, both physically and psychologically. usually (i'm betting) false confessions are extracted from the young, the not well educated, the poor, those with various physical/psychological conditions, all of which make them easy prey for the police. since the majority of police interrogations are not videotaped, they pretty much do whatever they want, to keep these people there for as long as it takes. with the current makeup of the USSC, police tactics will only get worse.

    I saw this Frontline program (none / 0) (#4)
    by gyrfalcon on Wed Jul 13, 2011 at 01:06:12 AM EST
    the first time around, and it's absolutely horrifying and stomach-turning.  If I remember right, there was no useful forensic evidence in this case.  It's simply stunning the way this whole sequence of guys ended up one by one confessing to something they had nothing to do with and implicating the next guy on top of it.

    I think this is an Ofra Bikel program.  She does incredibly good stuff on this general theme.  She had a multi-part thing on Frontline years ago when the "day care molestation" frenzy was at its height just eviscerating a couple of cases step by step.  She's a terrific filmmaker and devastating story-teller with a great heart.

    Parent

    There's a false confession series running (5.00 / 1) (#3)
    by Peter G on Tue Jul 12, 2011 at 10:01:00 PM EST
    this week in the Philadelphia Inquirer, also.  Fourth of four parts will appear tomorrow, Wednesday. Incredible that in Philly we still have two real newspapers.  They're not what they once were, but they're still better today than what's being published daily in LA, SF or DC.

    Hard Cases Make Bad Law (none / 0) (#5)
    by diogenes on Wed Jul 13, 2011 at 07:03:43 PM EST
    There are a certain number of people who commit crimes and are not convicted and often are not even arrested--the guilty who get away with it.  There are a certain number of people who are convicted for crimes which they did not commit.  I dare say that the ratio here is very high.  
    All this case shows is that witness questionings should be videotaped so that the jurors can form their own opinions about whether confessions are coerced and give the confessions proper value based on that.  

    False Confessions Showcased on Frontline Tonight | 5 comments (5 topical)

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