Recent Cases Highlight the Risk of False Confessions
Two remarkably similar cases recently prompted the Chicago Tribune to ask, “What causes people to give false confessions?” In 2005 police elicited a confession from Jerry Hobbs to the murder of his young daughter and her friend in Lake County, Illinois. Recently, however, DNA results contradicted Hobbs’ confession and identified another man, currently incarcerated for sexual assault in Virginia. Several years earlier, Kevin Fox was exonerated by DNA after police persuaded him to confess to the killing of his 3-year-old daughter in Will County, IL. The cases raise grave questions about the risks of widely used interrogation techniques and highlight the need for more safeguards to help prevent false confessions, and, when they occur, to identify them before they subvert justice.
A growing number of states have recognized that electronic recording of interrogations yields many benefits, including the prevention of wrongful convictions caused by false confessions. By creating a reviewable record, prosecutors are better able to identify problems early, and judges and juries have the full picture when they need to assess the voluntariness and reliability of suspect statements.Read more about the advantages of recording here.
