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A false confession is exclusively defined as an admission of guilt for a crime an individual did not commit, made under direct police coercion.
Answer: False
Explanation: A false confession is an admission of guilt for a crime not committed, but it can be voluntary, not exclusively a result of direct police coercion. It can also be induced by coercive techniques.
Saul Kassin's categorization of false confessions includes voluntary, coerced compliant, and coerced internalized types.
Answer: True
Explanation: American psychologist Saul Kassin indeed categorizes false confessions into three types: voluntary, coerced compliant, and coerced internalized.
Voluntary false confessions are typically initiated by police prompting or direct coercion, leading individuals to incriminate themselves.
Answer: False
Explanation: Voluntary false confessions are self-initiated and given freely by an individual without any prompting or direct coercion from the police.
Seeking attention for a notorious crime is a common motivation for individuals to make voluntary false confessions.
Answer: True
Explanation: Seeking attention for a notorious crime is indeed listed as a common motivation for voluntary false confessions, alongside diverting attention from the actual perpetrator.
Coerced compliant confessions primarily occur when a suspect genuinely believes they committed the crime due to intense psychological manipulation.
Answer: False
Explanation: Coerced compliant confessions are made to end the interrogation process, not because the suspect genuinely believes they committed the crime. The latter describes coerced internalized confessions.
A coerced internalized confession develops when an interrogator exploits a suspect's lack of self-confidence in their memory, leading them to accept guilt.
Answer: True
Explanation: Coerced internalized confessions often develop when interrogators exploit a suspect's lack of self-confidence in their memory, leading them to genuinely believe they committed the crime.
According to the source, what is the primary definition of a false confession?
Answer: An admission of guilt for a crime that the individual did not commit.
Explanation: A false confession is defined as an admission of guilt for a crime that the individual did not commit, regardless of whether it was voluntary or coerced.
Who is the prominent American psychologist credited with categorizing false confessions into three general types?
Answer: Saul Kassin.
Explanation: Saul Kassin is the prominent American psychologist who categorized false confessions into voluntary, coerced compliant, and coerced internalized types.
What is a key characteristic of a voluntary false confession?
Answer: It is freely given by an individual without police prompting or direct coercion.
Explanation: Voluntary false confessions are characterized by being freely given by an individual without any prompting or direct coercion from law enforcement.
Which of the following is NOT listed as a common motivation for voluntary false confessions?
Answer: To end a physically abusive interrogation.
Explanation: Motivations for voluntary false confessions include diverting attention from the actual perpetrator or seeking attention for a notorious crime. Ending a physically abusive interrogation is a motivation for coerced compliant confessions, not voluntary ones.
Coerced compliant confessions are primarily driven by what factor?
Answer: The need to end the interrogation process.
Explanation: Coerced compliant confessions are primarily driven by the suspect's desire to end the stressful interrogation process, often due to mental exhaustion or inducements offered by police.
What type of confession occurs when an individual genuinely believes they committed a crime, even without memory, due to intense psychological manipulation during interrogation?
Answer: Coerced internalized confession.
Explanation: A coerced internalized confession is characterized by an individual genuinely believing they committed the crime, even without memory, as a result of intense psychological manipulation during interrogation.
Individuals with high intelligence and strong self-esteem are generally more susceptible to making false confessions under interrogation pressure.
Answer: False
Explanation: Individuals with low intelligence, mental health problems, or those who are highly suggestible or compliant are generally more susceptible to false confessions, not those with high intelligence and strong self-esteem.
Teenagers and young adults are particularly vulnerable to making coerced compliant confessions due to their susceptibility to pressure during interrogations.
Answer: True
Explanation: Teenagers and young adults are identified as particularly susceptible to coerced compliant confessions due to their heightened vulnerability to interrogation pressures.
Richard Leo states that highly compliant individuals are conflict-avoidant and eager to please authority figures, increasing their susceptibility to false confessions.
Answer: True
Explanation: Richard Leo identifies highly compliant individuals as conflict-avoidant and eager to please authority figures, making them more susceptible to false confessions.
Individuals with intellectual impairment are less likely to confess falsely because they struggle with understanding complex statements and implications.
Answer: False
Explanation: Individuals with intellectual impairment are more likely to confess falsely precisely because they struggle with understanding complex statements and implications, making them highly suggestible.
Mental illness can predispose individuals to false confessions due to symptoms like faulty reality monitoring and an inability to distinguish fact from fantasy.
Answer: True
Explanation: Mental illness can indeed predispose individuals to false confessions due to symptoms such as faulty reality monitoring, distorted perceptions, and difficulty distinguishing fact from fantasy.
Which of the following demographic groups is identified as particularly vulnerable to making false confessions, especially when stressed, tired, or traumatized?
Answer: Young people.
Explanation: Young people are identified as particularly vulnerable to false confessions, especially when stressed, tired, or traumatized, exhibiting a significantly higher rate than adults.
According to Richard Leo, which characteristic makes individuals highly suggestible and thus more likely to confess falsely?
Answer: Poor memories.
Explanation: Richard Leo states that highly suggestible individuals, who are more prone to false confessions, often have poor memories, alongside high anxiety, low self-esteem, and low assertiveness.
How does intellectual impairment specifically increase an individual's vulnerability to false confessions?
Answer: It causes short attention spans and limited conceptual skills.
Explanation: Intellectual impairment increases vulnerability to false confessions due to factors like short attention spans, poor memory, and limited conceptual and communication skills, making individuals highly suggestible.
Which of the following symptoms is associated with mental illness, predisposing individuals to false confessions?
Answer: Faulty reality monitoring.
Explanation: Faulty reality monitoring is a symptom associated with mental illness that can predispose individuals to false confessions, along with distorted perceptions and difficulty distinguishing fact from fantasy.
The 'police mindset' often involves using persuasive manipulation techniques, such as lying about evidence, to secure confessions.
Answer: True
Explanation: The 'police mindset' is described as contributing to false confessions through persuasive manipulation techniques, including lying about evidence and feigning friendship.
A 2010 study by Fisher and Geiselman found that entry-level police officers typically receive extensive formal training in interviewing cooperative witnesses.
Answer: False
Explanation: The 2010 study by Fisher and Geiselman found that entry-level police officers often receive minimal or no formal training in interviewing cooperative witnesses.
The Reid technique was originally introduced in the United States as a replacement for physical beatings used by police to obtain information.
Answer: True
Explanation: The Reid technique was indeed introduced in the U.S. in the 1940s and 1950s as an alternative to the physical beatings previously used by police to extract information.
The first step of the Reid technique involves the police presenting a hypothesis about why the suspect committed the crime to minimize moral implications.
Answer: False
Explanation: The first step of the Reid technique is to directly confront the suspect with the statement that it is known they committed the crime. Presenting a hypothesis about why the crime was committed is the second step.
Justice researchers have criticized the Reid technique for primarily relying on deception and aggressive confrontation, leading to more false confessions.
Answer: True
Explanation: Justice researchers have indeed criticized the Reid technique for its reliance on deception, coercion, and aggressive confrontation, which has been linked to an increase in false confessions.
In 2017, Wicklander-Zulawski & Associates announced they would continue to use the Reid technique due to its proven effectiveness.
Answer: False
Explanation: In 2017, Wicklander-Zulawski & Associates announced they would cease using the Reid technique due to its coercive methods, not continue its use.
How does the 'police mindset' contribute to false confessions?
Answer: Through persuasive manipulation techniques like lying about evidence.
Explanation: The 'police mindset' contributes to false confessions by employing persuasive manipulation techniques during interrogations, such as lying about evidence or feigning friendship.
What deficiency did Fisher and Geiselman's 2010 study identify in entry-level police officer training regarding interviews?
Answer: Minimal or no formal training in interviewing cooperative witnesses.
Explanation: Fisher and Geiselman's 2010 study found that entry-level police officers often receive minimal or no formal training in interviewing cooperative witnesses, leading to a focus on eliciting confessions.
What was the original purpose of the Reid technique when it was introduced in the United States?
Answer: To replace physical beatings used by police to obtain information.
Explanation: The Reid technique was originally introduced in the U.S. in the 1940s and 1950s as a method to obtain information from suspects, replacing the physical beatings previously employed by police.
Which of the following is a criticism leveled against the Reid technique by justice researchers?
Answer: It primarily relies on deception, coercion, and aggressive confrontation.
Explanation: Justice researchers criticize the Reid technique for its primary reliance on deception, coercion, and aggressive confrontation, which can lead to false confessions.
The significant role of false confessions in wrongful convictions became widely recognized only after the introduction of DNA evidence in the late 1980s.
Answer: True
Explanation: The widespread recognition of false confessions' role in wrongful convictions emerged in the late 1980s, largely due to the publicity of specific cases and the advent of DNA evidence, which facilitated exonerations.
The Innocence Project reports that false confessions account for 29% of DNA exonerations in the United States since 1989.
Answer: True
Explanation: The Innocence Project reports that 29% of DNA exonerations in the United States since 1989 involved false confessions.
Among female exonerees in the US, nearly 73% were wrongly convicted of crimes that actually occurred but were attributed to the wrong person.
Answer: False
Explanation: Among female exonerees in the US, nearly 73% were wrongly convicted of crimes that *never occurred*, such as events determined to be accidents or fabricated crimes, not crimes attributed to the wrong person.
False confessions typically lead to a more lenient judicial process, as officials are more likely to question the validity of the confession.
Answer: False
Explanation: False confessions create a strong presumption of guilt, often leading to harsher treatment at every stage of the judicial process, rather than a more lenient one.
Justice Brennan's dissent in *Colorado v. Connelly* argued that confessions have such a decisive impact that they render other aspects of a trial superfluous.
Answer: True
Explanation: Justice Brennan's dissent in *Colorado v. Connelly* indeed argued that confessions exert such a decisive impact that they effectively make other trial aspects superfluous, shifting the 'real trial' to the point of confession.
Once a confession is obtained, police typically continue to pursue exculpatory evidence to ensure the confession's accuracy.
Answer: False
Explanation: Once a confession is obtained, police typically close the investigation and often make no effort to pursue exculpatory evidence, even if the confession's accuracy is questionable.
When did the recognition of wrongful convictions due to false confessions begin to significantly emerge?
Answer: Late 1980s.
Explanation: The significant recognition of wrongful convictions stemming from false confessions began to emerge in the late 1980s, coinciding with increased public awareness and the introduction of DNA evidence.
According to the Innocence Project, what percentage of DNA exonerations in the United States since 1989 involved false confessions?
Answer: 29%
Explanation: The Innocence Project reports that 29% of DNA exonerations in the United States since 1989 involved false confessions.
What unique pattern is observed among female exonerees in the US regarding their wrongful convictions?
Answer: Nearly 73 percent were convicted of crimes that never occurred.
Explanation: Among female exonerees in the U.S., a unique pattern is observed where nearly 73% were convicted of crimes that never actually occurred, such as accidents or fabricated events.
How do false confessions typically impact the judicial process?
Answer: They create a presumption of guilt, often overriding contradictory evidence.
Explanation: False confessions profoundly impact the judicial process by creating a strong presumption of guilt among justice officials, often overriding contradictory evidence and leading to harsher treatment.
What was Justice Brennan's key point in his dissent in *Colorado v. Connelly* regarding confessions?
Answer: The real trial, for all practical purposes, occurs when the confession is obtained.
Explanation: Justice Brennan's dissent in *Colorado v. Connelly* emphasized that confessions are so decisive that 'the real trial, for all practical purposes, occurs when the confession is obtained,' rendering other trial aspects superfluous.
What is a typical police response once a confession is obtained, even if it might be false?
Answer: They close their investigation and clear the case as solved.
Explanation: Once a confession is obtained, police typically close the investigation and consider the case solved, often ceasing to pursue further evidence, even if the confession's veracity is questionable.
The PEACE method of interrogation was developed in the United States in the late 1990s as a more confrontational approach.
Answer: False
Explanation: The PEACE method was developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1990s as a more conversational, ethical, and less confrontational approach, not in the United States.
Under the PEACE method, investigators are permitted to deceive suspects about possessing incriminating evidence if it helps secure a confession.
Answer: False
Explanation: A core principle of the PEACE method is that interviewers are *not* permitted to deceive suspects or pretend to possess incriminating evidence they do not actually have.
Videotaping interrogations is considered a complete solution to the problem of false confessions and guarantees their detection.
Answer: False
Explanation: While videotaping interrogations is a significant remedial strategy, studies indicate it alone will not completely solve the problem of false confessions or guarantee their detection; more fundamental reforms are needed.
Alaska was the first U.S. state to mandate electronic recording of interrogations in 1985.
Answer: True
Explanation: Alaska was indeed the first U.S. state to mandate electronic recording of interrogations in 1985, by order of its Supreme Court.
Camera perspective bias suggests that a suspect-focus camera angle makes observers perceive a confession as less voluntary.
Answer: False
Explanation: Camera perspective bias indicates that a suspect-focus camera angle tends to make observers perceive a confession as *more* voluntary, not less.
Racial salience bias indicates that the race of a suspect in a videotaped interrogation can influence judgments of voluntariness and likelihood of guilt.
Answer: True
Explanation: Racial salience bias describes how a suspect's race in a videotaped interrogation can influence observers' judgments regarding the voluntariness of their statements and their likelihood of guilt.
Policy recommendations suggest using a suspect-focus camera perspective for videotaped interrogations to ensure unbiased assessments.
Answer: False
Explanation: Policy recommendations suggest using an equal-focus or detective-focus camera perspective to ensure unbiased assessments, as a suspect-focus angle can bias perceptions of voluntariness.
Which remedial strategy is proposed to prevent false confessions by shifting police practices away from coercive methods?
Answer: Providing better police training to identify vulnerable suspects and circumstances.
Explanation: A key remedial strategy involves providing better police training to help officers identify circumstances contributing to false confessions and recognize susceptible suspects, thereby shifting away from coercive methods.
The PEACE method of interrogation originated in which country?
Answer: United Kingdom.
Explanation: The PEACE method of interrogation was developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1990s by British psychologists and law enforcement.
What is a core principle of the PEACE method regarding suspect interviews?
Answer: Investigators are required not to interrupt suspects while they tell their story.
Explanation: A core principle of the PEACE method is that investigators must not interrupt suspects while they recount their story, and challenges to inconsistencies should only occur after the full account is given.
What is a significant limitation of merely videotaping interrogations in preventing false confessions?
Answer: It alone will not solve the problem or guarantee detection of false confessions.
Explanation: A significant limitation of merely videotaping interrogations is that, while helpful, it alone is not considered a complete solution to the problem of false confessions and does not guarantee their detection.
Which US state was the first to mandate electronic recording of interrogations?
Answer: Alaska.
Explanation: Alaska was the first U.S. state to mandate electronic recording of interrogations in 1985.
What is 'camera perspective bias' in the context of videotaped confessions?
Answer: How the positioning of the camera influences observers' evaluations of the confession.
Explanation: Camera perspective bias refers to how the camera's positioning during a videotaped interrogation can influence observers' perceptions of the confession's voluntariness, coercion, and guilt.
To avoid camera perspective bias, what camera perspective is recommended for videotaped interrogations?
Answer: Equal-focus.
Explanation: To avoid camera perspective bias and ensure unbiased assessments, policy recommendations suggest using an equal-focus or detective-focus camera perspective for videotaped interrogations.
The case of Simon Marshall, who was mentally disabled, exemplifies how intellectual impairment can lead to false confessions and wrongful imprisonment.
Answer: True
Explanation: The case of Canadian Simon Marshall, a mentally disabled individual, serves as a clear example of how intellectual impairment can lead to false confessions and subsequent wrongful imprisonment.
The Central Park Jogger case demonstrated the vulnerability of adults, not youth, to making false confessions under intense police pressure.
Answer: False
Explanation: The Central Park Jogger case specifically illustrated the vulnerability of youth (teenagers aged 14 to 16) to making false confessions under intense police pressure.
Iwao Hakamata spent 57 years on death row in Japan based on a forced confession before being acquitted by DNA evidence.
Answer: True
Explanation: Iwao Hakamata, convicted based on a forced confession, spent 57 years on death row in Japan before DNA evidence led to his acquittal.
Sture Bergwall (Thomas Quick) was convicted of multiple murders in Sweden based on DNA evidence that later proved to be false.
Answer: False
Explanation: Sture Bergwall (Thomas Quick) was convicted based on false confessions, not DNA evidence, and his convictions were later overturned.
Robert Hubert was executed for starting the Great Fire of London despite evidence proving he was not in the country at the time.
Answer: True
Explanation: Robert Hubert was executed for starting the Great Fire of London based on a false confession, despite evidence that he was not in the country at the time.
Timothy Evans was posthumously pardoned after his neighbor, John Reginald Christie, confessed to the murders for which Evans was executed.
Answer: True
Explanation: Timothy Evans was indeed posthumously pardoned after his neighbor, serial killer John Reginald Christie, confessed to the murders for which Evans had been wrongly executed.
Stephen Downing's conviction was quashed primarily because new DNA evidence identified the actual perpetrator of the crime.
Answer: False
Explanation: Stephen Downing's conviction was quashed due to the unreliability of his signed confession, not primarily because new DNA evidence identified the actual perpetrator. The murder case officially remains closed.
Stefan Kiszko was exonerated after it was discovered that police had withheld forensic tests proving his sterility, which contradicted semen evidence at the crime scene.
Answer: True
Explanation: Stefan Kiszko was exonerated after it was revealed that police had withheld forensic tests proving his sterility, which directly contradicted semen evidence found at the crime scene.
Peter Reilly was freed on appeal after new evidence, including fingerprints and an alibi, which had been withheld by the prosecution, emerged.
Answer: True
Explanation: Peter Reilly was freed on appeal when new evidence, including fingerprints and an alibi, which the prosecution had withheld, came to light.
The case of Canadian Simon Marshall is cited as an example of false confession due to what specific vulnerability?
Answer: Intellectual impairment.
Explanation: The case of Canadian Simon Marshall is cited as an example of a false confession resulting from intellectual impairment, which was overlooked during his prosecution.
The Central Park Jogger case is presented as a specific example illustrating the vulnerability of which group to false confessions?
Answer: Youths under stress and trauma.
Explanation: The Central Park Jogger case specifically illustrates the vulnerability of youths, particularly teenagers under stress and trauma, to making false confessions.
In the Iwao Hakamata case, what was the primary reason for his eventual acquittal after 57 years on death row?
Answer: DNA evidence conclusively proved his innocence.
Explanation: Iwao Hakamata was acquitted after 57 years on death row when DNA evidence conclusively proved his innocence, overturning a conviction based on a forced confession.
What was the primary reason for the overturning of Sture Bergwall's (Thomas Quick) convictions for multiple murders in Sweden?
Answer: It was determined he made false confessions and was incompetent to stand trial.
Explanation: Sture Bergwall's (Thomas Quick) convictions were overturned because it was determined he made false confessions and was incompetent to stand trial, not due to new forensic evidence.
Robert Hubert's false confession led to his execution for which historical event?
Answer: The Great Fire of London.
Explanation: Robert Hubert's false confession led to his execution for allegedly starting the Great Fire of London in 1666.
Timothy Evans was wrongly executed for murders later confessed to by whom?
Answer: John Reginald Christie.
Explanation: Timothy Evans was wrongly executed for murders that his neighbor, serial killer John Reginald Christie, later confessed to committing.
What was a significant factor in Stephen Downing's wrongful conviction and 27-year imprisonment?
Answer: His signed confession obtained after an 8-hour interrogation, despite poor literacy.
Explanation: Stephen Downing's wrongful conviction was largely based on a signed confession obtained after an 8-hour interrogation, which he did not fully understand due to his poor literacy skills.
Stefan Kiszko, a man with an intellectual disability, was exonerated after it was discovered that forensic tests known to police before his trial proved what?
Answer: He was sterile, contradicting semen evidence at the crime scene.
Explanation: Stefan Kiszko was exonerated when it was discovered that police had withheld forensic tests proving his sterility, which contradicted semen evidence found at the crime scene.
In the Peter Reilly case, what crucial evidence emerged on appeal that had been withheld by the prosecution, leading to his freedom?
Answer: Fingerprints and an alibi.
Explanation: In the Peter Reilly case, his freedom was secured on appeal when new evidence, including fingerprints and an alibi, which had been withheld by the prosecution, came to light.
Chris Ochoa and Richard Danziger were exonerated in the Pizza Hut murder case after what development?
Answer: A serial rapist confessed to the crime and DNA testing confirmed his involvement.
Explanation: Chris Ochoa and Richard Danziger were exonerated in the Pizza Hut murder case after a serial rapist confessed to the crime, and DNA testing confirmed his involvement while excluding them.
Jeffrey Mark Deskovic was incarcerated for 16 years before DNA testing in 2006 implicated whom, leading to Deskovic's release?
Answer: Steven Cunningham.
Explanation: Jeffrey Mark Deskovic was released after 16 years when DNA testing in 2006 implicated Steven Cunningham, who subsequently confessed to the crime.
In the Thomas Perez Jr. case, what false claims did police make during his 17-hour interrogation to obtain a confession?
Answer: They had found his father's body and would euthanize his dog.
Explanation: During Thomas Perez Jr.'s 17-hour interrogation, police made false claims, including that they had found his father's body and would euthanize his dog, to coerce a confession.