Why Would Anyone Make a False Confession?
Experts say that even the best of us may agree to police accounts of events that aren’t true, just to make the questioning stop. Often suspects are told that they can go home as soon as they admit guilt, or that they will be convicted with or without a confession but that their sentence will be more lenient if they confess. Interrogations can go on for hours, with lack of sleep, hunger, and intimidation contributing to an overall feeling of powerlessness on the part of the suspect. The best way to make the questioning stop is simple: tell the police that you will not be speaking, and demand an attorney. Even after hearing the familiar Miranda warnings (that you have the right to remain silent and the right to an attorney), suspects report that they confessed just to end the questioning and assumed that the truth would come out later. Unfortunately, that often isn’t the case. Increasingly, states are requiring that law enforcement use audio or video recording to make their interrogation
