NCJ Number
178783
Journal
Behavioral Sciences and the Law Volume: 16 Issue: 4 Dated: Autumn 1998 Pages: 423-440
Date Published
1998
Length
18 pages
Annotation
Police may engage in deceptive and coercive interrogations to obtain confessions; when a confession is later retracted, judges and juries must assess the totality of the circumstances surrounding the confession, including the interrogation techniques used and the effects of these techniques on a particular defendant.
Abstract
Psychological coercion appears to be common in the interrogation of suspects. Further, the structure and nature of law enforcement may result in police misbehavior, and non-voluntary confessions may be attributed to the coercive nature of police interrogation during which deceptive practices may be used. Because a suspect who is vulnerable and confused or who is given false evidence by a coercive interrogator may produce a false confession, the expert testimony of a psychologist may be necessary to help jurors understand the circumstances that lead to non-voluntary confessions. In order for expert testimony to be admitted, the psychologist must be prepared to deal with efforts to preclude such testimony. The gate-keeping function of judges must be understood and responded to with careful, valid, and reliable presentation of the relevant scientific research. Several examples of coerced confessions are provided. 66 references