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In recent years, many cases related to false and extorted confessions have come in spotlight.
Such confessions have been obtained through physical torture, psychological trickery and
mental humiliation under investigation of suspects by the police. This research provides how
1. False Confession
A false confession is an admission (“I did it”) plus a post-admission narrative (a detailed
description of how and why the crime occurred) of a crime that the confessor did not
In 1985 social psychologists Saul Kassin and Lawrence Wrightsman, drawing on case
studies and social psychological theories of attitude change, first identified three distinct
innocent”)
Ofshe and Leo extended and modified the initial typology of Kassin and Wrightsman to
Voluntary
Stress-compliant
Coerced compliant
Coerced-persuaded
Noncoerced-persuaded
This classification scheme most accurately captures the psychological logic and variation
in false confessions. For simplicity, researchers have dropped the various prefixes and
simply refer to voluntary, compliant, and persuaded false confessions. (Ofshe, Leo, 2005)
Kassin and Wrightsman initially defined a voluntary false confession as one that is
offered in the absence of police interrogation. Voluntary false confessions are thus
brought to bear on the confessor by someone other than the police. (Kassin,
Wrightsman, 1999)
High-profile crimes, such as the Lindbergh kidnapping in the 1930s, the Black Dahlia
murder in the 1940s, and the JonBenet Ramsey and Nicole Brown Simpson murders in
the 1990s, tend to attract a large number of voluntary false confessions. (New York
Times, 1990)
achieve some instrumental benefit—typically either to terminate and thus escape from
distinct aspect of compliant false confessions is that they are made knowingly: the
suspect admits guilt with the knowledge that he is innocent and that what he says is
false. Compliant false confessions are typically recanted shortly after the interrogation
is over.
In the pre-modern era of American interrogation, physical coercion was the primary
end physical assaults, torture sessions, and the like. In the modern era, psychological
As has been well documented, American police use interrogation techniques that are
designed, on the one hand, to convince a suspect that he is caught and that it is futile for
him to deny the crime and, on the other hand, techniques that are designed to motivate
him to perceive that it is in his interest to confess. The most potent psychological
inducement is the suggestion that the suspect will be treated more leniently if he
Persuaded false confessions occur when police interrogation tactics cause an innocent
suspect to doubt his memory and he becomes temporarily persuaded that it is more
likely than not that he committed the crime, despite having no memory of committing
To convince the suspect that it is plausible, and likely, that he committed the crime,
the interrogators supply him with a reason that satisfactorily explains how he could
The third and final step in the making of a persuaded false confession is the
the details of how and why he did it. The suspect does not know the facts; he is in
3. International Law
As already assessed, the false confessions are extorted in police investigations to save
themselves trouble of finding actual culprit. Police uses torture for this purpose and the
on Human Rights but the European Court of Human Rights has held that the right to
remain silent under police questioning and the privilege against self-incrimination are
generally recognized international standards which lie at the heart of the notion of a fair
4. India
In India, there is no room for extorted confessions which are essentially false.
property
Whoever voluntarily causes hurt for the purpose of extorting from the sufferer or any
person interested in the sufferer, any confession or any information which may lead to
the detection of an offence or misconduct, or for the purpose of constraining the sufferer
or any person interested in the sufferer to restore or to cause the restoration of any
which may lead to the restoration of any property or valuable security, shall be punished
with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years,
authority
5. USA
In 1966, the U.S. Supreme Court decided the historic case of Miranda v. Arizona,
declaring that whenever a person is taken into police custody, before being questioned
statements. As a result of Miranda, anyone in police custody must be told four things
Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.
(Mooney v. Holohan)
In post-Miranda cases, however, the Court has applied a “totality of the circumstances”
test and indicated that, so long as the police comply with Miranda, statements obtained
When police officers question a suspect in custody without first giving the Miranda
be used against the suspect in any criminal case. Any evidence discovered as a result of
that statement or confession will likely also be thrown out of the case.
The Central Park Five New York City experienced one of its most infamous crimes on
April 19, 1989 when a 28-year old woman named Trisha Meili was raped and severely
beaten while jogging through Central Park. The attack left her in a coma and she had no
memory of the incident after she recovered. Five Harlem youths – Anton McCray,
Kevin Richardson, Raymond Santana, Yusef Salaam, and Kharey Wise—had been in
the park the night of the attack and were brought in for an interrogation. With the
exception of Salaam, they would each make videotaped confessions to the crime. The
Central Park Five were all tried and found guilty and given sentences ranging from five
to thirteen years. However, all five youths would recant their confessions and claim
they had been coerced and intimidated by the police. Their statements were not
consistent with the physical evidence and the prosecution downplayed the fact that none
of the DNA from the crime scene matched them. In 2002, the DNA did wind up
matching a convicted serial rapist named Matias Reyes, who finally admitted to the
crime and confirmed that he did it alone. By that time, the Central Park Five had
already served their sentences and been forced to register as sex offenders after being
released. On the basis of Reyes’ confession, their convictions were officially vacated.
6. UK
This statement is very similar to the Miranda Rights read to those under arrest in the
United States.
FALSE CONFESSION IN VARIOUS JURISDICTIONS OF THE WORLD 8
"You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not mention
when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be
given in evidence."
The main difference between US and UK Miranda rights is that Fifth Amendment of the
US Constitution states that no one must incriminate himself or herself. Those under
arrest in the United States have the "right to remain silent" which "cannot be held against
(them) in a court of law." It seems like, in Great Britain, a person under arrest has to come
Birmingham pubs, killing 21 and injuring almost 200 others. The attack was attributed to
the provisional IRA, but the six innocent Irish Catholic immigrants who were handed life
sentences were released 16 years later after they were deemed to have been wrongfully
convicted. The men were severely abused in police custody, and personality tests later
showed that the four who confessed were more suggestible and compliant than the two
7. Pakistan
In Pakistan, forced confessions which are essentially false are penalized under Pakistan
property. Whoever wrongfully confines any person for the purpose of extorting from
the person confined or any, person interested in the person confined any confession or
any information which may lead to the detection of an offence or misconduct, or for the
FALSE CONFESSION IN VARIOUS JURISDICTIONS OF THE WORLD 9
purpose of constraining the person confined or any person interested in the person
satisfy any claim or demand, or to give information which may lead to the restoration of
description for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine.
7.2. Procedure
provisions of S. 164 and 364 of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 after observing
As soon as person is produced before a magistrate for getting his confession recorded
He should be informed that he was before a magistrate and that whether he made
any statement or not, he will not be handed back to the police but will be sent to the
judicial lockup.
He should be warned that he was not bound to make any statement and if he did so
some independent and reliable evidence to reply upon same for his conviction (2008
P.Cr.L.J. 507)
FALSE CONFESSION IN VARIOUS JURISDICTIONS OF THE WORLD 10
Confession of one accused would not be sufficient to prove innocence and non-
confessing accusing made confession to save lives of other co-accused who happens
Confessional statement cannot be used against an accused if the same is not put to
him while recording his statement u/s 342 Cr.P.C. (2007 P.Cr.L.J. 276)
All questions put to the accused and his answers thereto must be recorded in
conviction if it is found true, voluntary and having not been obtained by coercion,
If confession is made by the accused before police officer then it becomes his duty
8. Islamic Law
Confession has been recognized as a source of conclusive proof of a right and a crime by
the Holy Quran and the sunnah of the prophet (PHUH) and he implemented Hadd merely
However, a confession must be true, clear and devoid of ambiguity. It must be subject to
one and same interpretations at all times and where an admission is clear; it is binding on
There are numerous verses on the subject, but suffice it to mention the following, Quran
“Let him who incurs the liability dictate (to admit) but let him fear his Lord and not
In this verse, there is an order from Allah that if one incurs liability the person must admit
“Nor it is lawful for them to hide what Allah had created in their wombs if they have faith
This is also an order that a woman must admit her pregnancy if at all she is pregnant.
“O you who believe! Be staunch in justice witness for God even though it is against
yourself‟.
The Sunnah is another legal basis for confession in Islam. The prophet (PBUH) is
reported to have said: “Speak the truth even though is against yourself”.
The prophet executed “Maiz‟, the Ghamedia and Guhaina women on the basis of their
admission or confession of committing zina. It has also been related on the authority of
Jabir bin Abdullah who said that a man from the tribe of Banu Aslam came to the Holy
Prophet (PBUH) and confessed to have committed zina and gave testimony against
himself four times. The Holy prophet then ordered him to be stoned to death.
FALSE CONFESSION IN VARIOUS JURISDICTIONS OF THE WORLD 12
Finally, another legal basis of confession in Islam is from the Sahabahs. All companions
of the prophet and their followers have followed the prophetic way and accepted
9. Conclusion
It is an irrational belief that someone may make a confession against himself which is
false. This is logically only possible if such person is subject to torture or that confession
is involuntary. Only then can a confession be false. To protect against coerced and
extorted confessions, various countries have devised proper laws to record confession to
References
Forensic Evidence, and the Law. 1st ed. Academic Press, 2014. p116
Susan Saulny, Convictions and Charges Voided in ’89 Central Park Jogger Attack, N.Y.
Miranda v. Arizona
Cheney v. U.S. Dist. Court for the Dist. of Columbia, 542 U.S. 367, 384 (2004
2008 P.Cr.L.J