False+Confessions

=False Confessions.=

Victims of False Confessions [|Eugene Henton] Jurisdiction: TX Charge: Sexual Assault Conviction: Sexual Assault Sentence: 4 Years || Year of Conviction: 1984 Exoneration Date: 2/15/06 Sentence Served: 1.5 Years Real perpetrator found? Not Yet Contributing Causes: False Confessions / Admissions Compensation? Not Yet ||
 * Incident Date: 2/18/84

[|Alejandro Hernandez] Incident Date: 2/23/83 Charge: Murder, Rape, Kidnapping, Home Invasion, etc. Conviction: Murder, Rape, Agg. Kidnapping, Dev. Sex. Assualt, Agg. Indec. Liberties w/ Child, Burglary, Crim. Sex. Abuse, Agg. Crim. Sex. Abuse Sentence: Death Year of Conviction: 1985 Exoneration Date: 12/8/95 Sentence Served: 10.5 Years Real perpetrator found? Yes Contributing Causes: False Confessions / Admissions Compensation? Yes

-People confess to crimes they did not commit because of reasons like mental illness and law enforcement tactics that may inflict pain upon the victim.

-Some convicted criminals falsely confess if they know they are going to be convicted and try to reduce their sentence.

-25% of wrongful convictions overturned because of DNA had victims who made false confessions.

-Electronic recordings of interrogation may pose a solution to stem the flow of false confessions.

Benefits of Electronic Interrogations: -improve credibility and and reliability, and at the same time protect rights of innocent suspects -police can not assume evidence of guilt (some threats are made off camera) -prevent disputes of how victim was treated -creates clear records of suspect's statements -increases public confidence in the system deter officers from using illegal tactics to get a confession out of a suspect

Innocents