Chojnacki, D.E., Ciccini, M.D. & White, L.T. (2008). An empirical basis for the admission of expert testimony on false confessions. 40 Ariz. St. L.J. 1 (2008).When a false confession has been extracted, the defendant on trial has few recourses. One of their recourses is to convince the jury that the confession was unethically extracted, by calling in expert witnesses in the field of psychology. These expert witnesses can show juries how and why false confessions occur, to show that they are relatively common as well as problematic. However, the authors claim that many judges disallow the expert testimony under the assumption that the jurors are familiar with the topic of false confessions. This article is tremendously helpful in my research because it shows not only that false confessions occur due to bad law enforcement procedures, but also that there is a widespread misperception of how pervasive the problem has become.
Garrett, B.L. (2010). The substance of false confessions. Stanford Law Review 62(4): 1051-1118.
This article examines the content of interrogations, including what was said by the interviewer and by the suspect. Garrett (2010) also shows how the text of the confession is used during key moments in the criminal justice procedure, leading to what the author calls...
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