4 ms·

Unfortunately not a lab test, I saw this on Frontline recently and it was very disturbing to see that confessions could be so easily had: http://www.pbs.org/wgb

Unfortunately not a lab test, I saw this on Frontline recently and it was very disturbing to see that confessions could be so easily had: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/the-confessions/etc/introduction.html http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/the-confessions/etc/... Essentially, the story involves these sailors individually confessing to a crime (and allegedly tailoring their confessions to the investigator's words) when they were implicated by someone already being interrogated. With each additional person being interrogated, more people were implicated (who were previously unnamed), and previous confessions were amended accordingly. Quite saddening indeed.

akamaka 15y ago
I came here to post this, so thanks for finding the link to share with everyone. I'm not usually a fan of crime-related TV documentaries, but this is one of the best episodes of Frontline I've seen, and was absolutely eye-opening for me. I highly recommend watching it!
nikcub 15y ago
The Frontline story was very eerie. The other famous case is the West Memphis Three: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Memphis_Three http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Memphis_Three Who were jailed partly because of a police-coerced confession from one of the three. They are still in prison, but apparently close to getting a re-trial. The case was made famous by the excellent HBO documentary 'Paradise Lost' - which is a must see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradise_Lost:_The_Child_Murders_at_Robin_Hood_Hills http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradise_Lost:_The_Child_Murder... They are lucky because their case has a high-profile because of the film - but there must be many, many other innocent people in prisons because of false confessions. For example, many people believe that Cameron Todd Willingham, executed in Texas, was also innocent (he was also the subject of a Frontline story: http://video.pbs.org/video/1618590505/ http://video.pbs.org/video/1618590505/ and a feature in the New Yorker: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/09/07/090907fa_fact_grann http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/09/07/090907fa_fact_...
- wgren 15y ago
  An interesting read is "Remembering Satan", about a small community torn apart by accusations of sexual abuse and satanic rituals. Many people confessed, some were convicted, no evidence was ever produced. http://www.amazon.com/Remembering-Satan-Tragic-Recovered-Memory/dp/0679755829/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1313411669&sr=1-1 http://www.amazon.com/Remembering-Satan-Tragic-Recovered-Mem...
  - michaelschade 15y ago
    Wow, very creepy stories that both of you posted. Thanks for linking to them. > They are lucky because their case has a high-profile because of the film - but there must be many, many other innocent people in prisons because of false confessions. This is exactly what concerns me–so much effort and attention went into these few cases that achieved a high profile, but I'm certain that many just like it–with inconclusive or completely unmatched DNA and police hasty to close an investigation–exist, and it worries and saddens me to think how many other people are innocently sitting in prison or on death row as a result.

akamaka 15y ago

I came here to post this, so thanks for finding the link to share with everyone. I'm not usually a fan of crime-related TV documentaries, but this is one of the best episodes of Frontline I've seen, and was absolutely eye-opening for me. I highly recommend watching it!

nikcub 15y ago

The Frontline story was very eerie. The other famous case is the West Memphis Three: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Memphis_Three http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Memphis_Three Who were jailed partly because of a police-coerced confession from one of the three. They are still in prison, but apparently close to getting a re-trial. The case was made famous by the excellent HBO documentary 'Paradise Lost' - which is a must see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradise_Lost:_The_Child_Murders_at_Robin_Hood_Hills http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradise_Lost:_The_Child_Murder... They are lucky because their case has a high-profile because of the film - but there must be many, many other innocent people in prisons because of false confessions. For example, many people believe that Cameron Todd Willingham, executed in Texas, was also innocent (he was also the subject of a Frontline story: http://video.pbs.org/video/1618590505/ http://video.pbs.org/video/1618590505/ and a feature in the New Yorker: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/09/07/090907fa_fact_grann http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/09/07/090907fa_fact_...

wgren 15y ago
An interesting read is "Remembering Satan", about a small community torn apart by accusations of sexual abuse and satanic rituals. Many people confessed, some were convicted, no evidence was ever produced. http://www.amazon.com/Remembering-Satan-Tragic-Recovered-Memory/dp/0679755829/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1313411669&sr=1-1 http://www.amazon.com/Remembering-Satan-Tragic-Recovered-Mem...
- michaelschade 15y ago
  Wow, very creepy stories that both of you posted. Thanks for linking to them. > They are lucky because their case has a high-profile because of the film - but there must be many, many other innocent people in prisons because of false confessions. This is exactly what concerns me–so much effort and attention went into these few cases that achieved a high profile, but I'm certain that many just like it–with inconclusive or completely unmatched DNA and police hasty to close an investigation–exist, and it worries and saddens me to think how many other people are innocently sitting in prison or on death row as a result.