Broadly speaking though, it is because the criminal justice system in the US focuses on conviction as the metric of success, not whether the conviction is of th

Broadly speaking though, it is because the criminal justice system in the US focuses on conviction as the metric of success, not whether the conviction is of the correct person -- it is simply whether there is sufficient evidence to convince the jury, or sufficient fear to garner an quick plea bargain. Tens of thousands of people confess to crimes is because they are given the option: - 6 months for a plea bargain confession - 10-20yrs if they "fight the charges" but get convicted in court Many cannot afford expensive lawyers, so often times, the odds are stacked against them in court. In more select scenarios, people confess to crimes they had nothing to do with because of pressure applied. One of many examples would be that of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Burge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Burge In summary: [Innocent person] + [cowprod electrocution] = [guilty confession] Edit: flow