False confessions
This section contains resources which address wrongful convictions resulting primarily from false or alleged confessions or admissions by defendants.
Popular mediaTitle: Opinion, Roll the TapeJournal articles
Citation: Syracuse Post-Standard, March 17, 2009.
Author: Amon, Michael
Title: Tankleff, Team Push for Videotaped Confessions
Citation: Newsday, January 3, 2008.
Author: Baker, Rebecca
Title: Hearing Seeks to Clear Man Convicted of 2 Eastchester Murders
Citation: The Journal News, June 8, 2009.
Author: Balassone, Merrill
Title: Hearing Hinges on Modesto Man's Confession
Citation: Modesto Bee, August 27, 2009.
Author: Begley, Sharon
Title: Angle of Questioning
Citation: Newsweek Periscope, March 19, 2007.
Author: Bennett, Brian
Title: Three Men Once Confessed to Murdering a Navy Wife. But Another Man's DNA is Linked to the Crime. Is This Another Case of Innocents in Prison?
Citation: Time Mag., December 12, 2005, at 45.
Author: Carey, Benedict
Title: Judging Honesty by Words, Not Fidgets
Citation: N.Y. Times, May 11, 2009.
Author: Cassidy, Carrie
Title: Judge Allows Lawsuit in Wrongful Conviction
Citation: The Patriot News, August 21, 2007.
Author: Castillo, Alfonso A.
Title: Tankleff Shares Thoughts on False Confessions
Citation: Newsday, July 25, 2008.
Author: Connery, Donald S.
Title: Opinion, Taping Interrogations Is A Tool for Justice
Citation: Hartford Courant, March 27, 2009.
Author: Cook, Steven
Title: Tapes Can't Lie About Suspects' Statements
Citation: Schenectady Daily Gazette, October 26, 2008.
Author: Dolan, Maura and Larrubia, Evelyn
Title: Telling Police What They Want to Hear, Even If It's False
Citation: L.A. Times, October 30, 2004.
Author: Dwyer, Jim
Title: A Switch is Flipped, and Justice Listens In
Citation: N.Y. Times, December 8, 2007.
Author: Dwyer, Jim
Title: Considering the Crime, Not the Suspect
Citation: N.Y. Times, June 16, 2007.
Author: Dwyer, Jim
Title: Inmate to be Freed as DNA Tests Upend Murder Confession
Citation: N.Y. Times, May 16, 2006.
Author: Dwyer, Jim
Title: Roots of False Confession: Spotlight Is Now On The F.B.I.
Citation: N.Y. Times, October 31, 2007, at B1.
Author: Dwyer, Jim
Title: Trying to Give Police the Right Answer, Even When It's Wrong
Citation: N.Y. Times, June 13, 2007.
Author: Dye, Lee
Title: How A False Confession Can Sway A Jury
Citation: ABC News, February 4, 2009.
Author: Fricker, Mary
Title: At Oakland P.D., Taping Not A Given
Citation: San Jose Mercury News, December 18, 2007.
Author: Gohara, Miriam S.
Title: A Lie for A Lie: False Confessions and the Case for Reconsidering the Legality of Deceptive Interrogation Techniques
Citation: 33 Fordham Urb. L. J. 791 (2006).
Author: Green, Rick
Title: Op-Ed, Lapointe Case: The Truth About False Confessions
Citation: Hartford Courant, August 18, 2009.
Author: Hammel, Paul
Title: Lethal Injection Backed in Survey
Citation: Omaha World-Herald, January 6, 2009.
Author: Hartocollis, Anemona
Title: Lawyer Says Confession in Linda Stein Homicide Was Coerced
Citation: N.Y. Times, December 13, 2007, at B3.
Author: Hodson, Sandy
Title: Record Tainted by False Confession
Citation: Augusta Chron., June 1, 2008.
Author: Hunter, George and Guthrie, Doug
Title: Hit Man Confessed to Killing Four
Citation: Detroit News, March 11, 2009.
Author: Jennings, Diane
Title: Two Men's DNA Exonerations in '88 Austin Murder Reveal Triumph, Tragedy
Citation: Dallas Morning News, Feburary 24, 2008.
Author: Kassin, Saul M.
Title: On the Psychology of False Confessions: Does Innocence Put Innocents at Risk?
Citation: 60 Am. Psychol. 215 (2005).
Author: Kiefer, Michael
Title: Court: Confession in Buddhist Temple Murders Coerced
Citation: Arizona Republic, November 20, 2008.
Author: Leo, Richard A., Drizin, Steven A., Neufeld, Peter J., Hall, Bradley R., and Vatner, Amy
Title: Bringing Reliability Back In: False Confessions and Legal Safeguards in the Twenty-First Century
Citation: 2006 Wis. L. Rev. 479 (2006).
Author: Main, Frank
Title: 'The Jury Has Stole My Life'
Citation: Chi. Sun-Times, June 9, 2009.
Author: Main, Frank
Title: Cop Accused of Torture Wants Ryan to Testify: Burge Wants Ex-Gov to Explain Pardons of Men Who Are Suing
Citation: Chi. Sun-Times, January 11, 2006, at 20.
Author: McDonald, Melody
Title: Freedom In Sight, 23 Years After Unjust Conviction
Citation: Star-Telegram, August 11, 2007.
Author: Moring, Roseanne and Shar, Daniel
Title: False Confession Expert Testifies in Ryan Ferguson Hearing
Citation: Missourian, July 18, 2008.
Author: Mulvaney, Katie
Title: Innocence Project Filing Brief in Providence Murder Case
Citation: Providence Journal, July 7, 2009.
Author: Mulvaney, Katie
Title: Local, Federal Law Enforcement Official Resist Judge's Call That They Record Their Interrogations
Citation: Providence Journal, March 18, 2009.
Author: Newsome, Melba
Title: True Crimes, False Confessions
Citation: Oprah Magazine, April 2006, at 235.
Author: Norman, Bob
Title: UPDATED: Wrongfully Convicted Caravella Being Freed From Jail
Citation: Broward New Times, September 8, 2009.
Author: O'Donoghue, Brian
Title: Expert Says Vent Deserves a New Trial
Citation: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, July 10, 2008.
Author: O'Donoghue, Brian
Title: Lessons from DNA
Citation: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, July 9, 2008.
Author: Peters, Jeremy W.
Title: Wrongful Conviction Prompts Detroit Police to Videotape Certain Interrogations
Citation: N.Y. Times, April 11, 2006, at 14.
Author: Peterson, Eric S.
Title: For the Record: A Utah Defense Attorney Wants Nonrecorded Police Interrogations Ruled Inadmissible in Court
Citation: Salt Lake City Weekly, December 13, 2007.
Author: Powell, Chris
Title: Editorial, Cops Should Be Taping More Than Confessions
Citation: Journal Inquirer, April 2, 2009.
Author: Rowell, Valerie
Title: Columbia County Jury Frees Man Once Convicted of Killing Mother
Citation: Augusta Chronicle, July 17, 2009.
Author: Satterfield, Jamie
Title: Man's Confession Impossible
Citation: Knoxville News Sentinel, June 13, 2008.
Author: Sauer, Mark
Title: Bill Would Mandate Recording Suspects
Citation: Union-Tribune, September 30, 2007.
Author: Savage, David G.
Title: Supreme Court Casts Doubts on Confessions
Citation: L.A. Times, April 7, 2009.
Author: Selby, W. Gardner
Title: Senate-Approved Proposal Encourages Police to Record Interviews of Suspects
Citation: Austin Am.-Statesman, April 22, 2009.
Author: Smith, Jordan
Title: A Lesson in False Confessions
Citation: Austin Chronicle, January 23, 2009, at 18.
Author: Terzano, John F.
Title: False Confessions: What Would It Take to Make You Confess?
Citation: Huffington Post, July 14, 2009.
Author: Toobin, Jeffrey
Title: The Wrong Guys
Citation: The New Yorker, August 24, 2009.
Author: Trainum, Jim
Title: I Took A False Confession - So Don't Tell Me It Doesn't Happen!
Citation: California Majority Report, September 20, 2007.
Author: Trainum, Jim
Title: Opinion, The Case for Videotaping Interrogations
Citation: L.A. Times, October 24, 2008.
Author: Vedantam, Shankar
Title: Confessions Not Always Clad In Iron
Citation: Wash. Post, October 1, 2007, at A03.
Author: Weinstein, Henry
Title: Freed Man Gives Lesson on False Confession, Ex-Inmate Tells a State Panel How Texas Police Coerced Him Into Admitting Murder
Citation: L.A. Times, June 21, 2006, at 1.
Author: Wilson, Charles
Title: Ind. Court Might Require Interrogation Recording
Citation: Chi. Trib., March 3, 2009.
Author: Wisconsin Criminal Justice Study Commission
Title: Study Suggests Causes of and Ways to Prevent False Confessions
Citation: 80 Wis. Lawyer 6 (May 2007).
Author: Wittenauer, Cheryl
Title: Wrongful Conviction Claim to Be Reviewed
Citation: News-Leader.com, July 1, 2009.
Author: Bortek, DianaBooks
Title: Note, Pleas for DNA Testing: Why Lawmakers Should Amend State Post-Conviction DNA Statutes to Apply to Prisoners Who Pled Guilty
Citation: 25 Cardozo L. Rev. 1429 (2004).
Author: Cassell, Paul G.
Title: Protecting the Innocent from False Confessions and Lost Confessions - and Miranda
Citation: 88 J. Crim. L. and Criminology 497 (1998).
Author: Cassell, Paul G.
Title: The Guilty and the "Innocent": An Examination of Alleged Cases of Wrongful Conviction from False Confessions
Citation: 22 Harv. J.L. and Pub. Pol'y 523 (1999).
Author: Chojnacki, Danielle E., Cicchini, Michael D., and White, Lawrence T.
Title: An Empirical Basis for the Admission of Expert Testimony on False Confessions
Citation: 40 Ariz. St. L.J. 1 (2008).
Author: Conti, Richard P.
Title: The Psychology of False Confessions
Citation: 2 J. of Credibility Assessment and Witness Psychol. 14 (1999).
Author: Drizin, Steven A. and Colgan, Beth A.
Title: Let the Cameras Roll: Mandatory Videotaping of Interrogations Is the Solution to Illinois' Problem of False Confessions
Citation: 32 Loy. U. Chi. L.J. 391 (2000).
Author: Drizin, Steven A. and Leo, Richard A.
Title: The Problem of False Confesions in the Post-DNA World
Citation: 82 N.C. L. Rev. 891 (2004).
Author: Drizin, Steven A. and Reich, Marissa J.
Title: Heeding the Lessons of History: The Need for Mandatory Recording of Police Interrogations to Accurately Assess the Reliability and Voluntariness of Confessions
Citation: 52 Drake L. Rev. 619 (2004).
Author: Gee, Juliet
Title: Juvenile Justice: Anatomy of a False Confession
Citation: 24 ABA Crim. Justice 52 (2009).
Author: Godsey, Mark A.
Title: Reliability Lost, False Confessions Discovered
Citation: 10 Chapman L. Rev. 623 (2007).
Author: Leo, Richard A. and Ofshe, Richard J.
Title: The Consequences of False Confessions: Deprivations of Liberty and Miscarriage of Justice in the Age of Psychological Interrogation
Citation: 88 J. Crim. L. and Criminology 429 (1998).
Author: Milhizer, Eugene R.
Title: Confessions After Connelly: An Evidentiary Solution for Excluding Unreliable Confessions
Citation: 81 Temp. L. Rev. 1 (2008).
Author: Milhizer, Eugene R.
Title: Rethinking Police Interrogation: Encouraging Reliable Confessions While Respecting Suspects' Dignity
Citation: 41 Val. U. L. Rev. 1 (2006).
Author: Newton, Jeremy W.
Title: False Confession: Considerations for Modern Interrogation Techniques at Home and War
Citation: 9 J.L. and Soc. Challenges 63 (2008).
Author: Sackman, Edward J.
Title: False Confessions: Rethinking A Contemporary Problem
Citation: 16 Kan. J.L. and Pub. Pol'y 208 (2006, 2007).
Author: Sangero, Dr. Boaz
Title: Miranda Is Not Enough: A New Justification for Demanding "Strong Corroboration" to a Confession
Citation: 28 Cardozo L. Rev. 2791 (2007).
Author: Scott-Hayward, Christine S.
Title: Explaining Juvenile False Confessions: Adolescent Development and Police Interrogation
Citation: 31 Law and Psychol. Rev. 53 (2007).
Author: Sherrer, Hans
Title: False Confessions Are Alive and Well in the U.S.
Citation: 27 Justice: Denied magazine 16 (2005).
Author: Sullivan, Thomas P.
Title: Recording Federal Custodial Interviews
Citation: 45 Am. Crim. L. Rev. 1297 (2008).
Author: Wright, Tracy Lamar
Title: Comment, Let's Take Another Look at That: False Confession, Interrogation, and the Case for Electronic Recording
Citation: 44 Idaho L. Rev. 251 (2007).
Author: Gudjonsson, Gisli H.Reports
Title: The Psychology of Interrogations and Confessions: A Handbook
Citation: John Wiley and Sons, 2003.
Author: Inbau, Fred E., Reid, John E., Buckley, Joseph P., and Jayne, Brian C.
Title: Criminal Interrogation and Confessions, 4th ed.
Citation: Jones and Bartlett, 2004.
Author: Warden, Rob and Drizin, Steven A.
Title: True Stories of False Confessions
Citation: Northwestern University Press, 2009.
Author: White, Welsh
Title: Miranda's Waning Protections: Police Interrogation Practices After Dickerson
Citation: University of Michigan Press, 2001.
Author: California Commission on the Fair Administration of JusticeLegislation
Title: Report and Recommendations Regarding False Confessions
Citation: July 25, 2006.
URL: http://www.ccfaj.org/documents/reports/false/official/falconfrep.pdf
Author: Warden, Rob
Title: False Confessions and Other Contributing Factors in Wrongful Murder Convictions in Illinois Since the William Heirens Case
Citation: Center on Wrongful Convictions, Northwestern University School of Law, February, 2002.
Author: Warden, Rob
Title: The Role of False Confessions in Illinois Murder Convictions Since 1970
Citation: Center on Wrongful Convictions, Northwestern University School of Law, Revised May 12, 2003.
URL: http://www.law.northwestern.edu/wrongfulconvictions/issues/causesandremedies/falseconfessions/FalseConfessionsStudy.html
Author: Nancy DePriest Homicide Review TeamOther
Title: Review of DePriest Homicide Investigation
Citation: January 29, 2001.
Summary: Title links to full pdf of report.
Title: Perfect Evidence
Citation: Public Radio International (2002).
Summary: Compact disc release of an episode from This American Life program aired on WBEZ Chicago, April 19, 2002.
Author: Strutin, Ken
Title: Criminal Resources: False Confessions
Citation: LLRX.com, November 24, 2007.
URL: http://www.llrx.com/features/falseconfessions.htm
Summary: "This article surveys selected web-based resources and publications that shed light on the psychology and interrogation practices behind false confessions, as well as highlighting notable educational and bibliographic materials."