Describe One Piece of Research Into False Confessions

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Describe one piece of research into false confessions [10m] One piece of research that looks into false confessions is Gudjohnsson (1990). The study is a case study about a 17 year old boy who confessed to crime and was subsequently imprisoned for one year. Later it was found out that his confession was false and he was not guilty of committing the crime. Gudjohnsson wondered how false confessions can arise. As a result of this Gudjohnsson suggests there are three types of false confessions: Voluntary confessions whereby the person freely confesses to a crime, Coerced Internalised confession which occurs when a suspect doesn’t remember where they were when the crime they are suspected of committing. From that point they can be lead to believe that they did in fact commit the crime, even when there is no evidence to suggest that they did commit the crime. The person internalises the idea that they did commit the crime, from that point they start to believe it and then they confess. Finally, Coerced compliant which occurs when a suspect is put under pressure, such that they confess, as the person conducting the interrogation wants them to. Following on from this, Gudjohnsson carried out a study involving a case study about a 17 year old boy who confessed to crime and was subsequently imprisoned for one year. Later it was found out that his confession was false and he was not guilty of committing the crime. Gudjohnsson wondered how false confessions can arise. The aim of the study was therefore to document the case of the false confession of a youth who was at the time of the confession distressed and susceptible to interrogative pressure. In 1987 two elderly women were found battered to death in their homes, their savings were stolen and there was evidence of sexual assault. A few days later FC was arrested because he showed a few inconsistencies in his account

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