Coerced Confession Law – Avoiding Wrongful Conviction

A coerced confession is an involuntary confession that comes from overbearing police conduct rather than a suspect’s free will. It is considered involuntary because the confession is not a product of the accused’s free choice.

Police-induced coerced confessions have been found to lead to suspects confessing to crimes they did not commit.

State and federal courts generally exclude from evidence confessions that are found to be involuntary. Inadmissibility stems from the federal constitution’s Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and state laws.

The following constitutional guarantees are also implicated by coerced confessions: the Fifth Amendment constitutional right against self-incrimination and the Sixth Amendment constitutional right to counsel. If unchallenged, however, coerced confessions can lead to misdemeanor or felony charges.

Criminal law acknowledges three main types of false confessions. These are:

1. voluntary false confessions,
2. compliant false confessions, and
3. persuaded false confessions.

There are two main types of police interrogation techniques that are considered coercive. These are when police officers use the following:

1. physical abuse, and
2. psychological abuse.

Suspects may confess to a crime that they did not commit because:

• they do so as part of a guilty plea,
• they act in response to police lies, and
• they simply wear down and wish to end a brutal interrogation.

Note that criminal defense attorneys can help in cases involving coerced confessions. In particular, a criminal defense lawyer can:

• help prevent a false confession, and
• work to stop a coerced confession from being admitted into evidence.

Our California criminal defense attorneys will highlight the following in this article:

• 1. What are the three types of coerced confessions?
  • 1.1. Voluntary false confessions
  • 1.2. Compliant false confessions
  • 1.3. Persuaded false confessions
• 2. What police interrogation tactics are considered coercive?
  • 2.1. Physical abuse
  • 2.2. Psychological abuse
  • 2.3. What tactics are allowed?
• 3. What happens when police coerce a confession?
• 4. Why do people confess to crimes they do not commit?
  • 4.1. Plea bargain
  • 4.2. Response to lies
  • 4.3. Stop an interrogation
• 5. How common are false confessions?
• 6. How can a defense lawyer help?

1. What are the three types of coerced confessions?

There are three main types of coerced or false confessions in the criminal justice system. These are:

1. voluntary false confessions,
2. compliant false confessions, and
3. persuaded false confessions.

1.1. Voluntary false confessions

These are most often prompted by a psychiatric disorder that warp’s a suspect’s sense of reality. For example, a suspect may confess because a disorder creates:

1. a belief that making an incriminating statement will bring the suspect fame, or
2. a desire to feel or experience anguish.

Note that a person may also make a confession voluntarily to protect someone else.

1.2. Compliant false confessions

These occur when a suspect confesses because he/she just wants to end:

• a stressful police questioning, or
• a painful interrogation.

People also make compliant false confessions because:

• they believe they will be released from custody if a confession is given, and/or
• they believe a confession will result in a milder form of punishment.

These are “compliant” because law enforcement tries to get suspects to agree with them that the accused “did it.”

1.3. Persuaded false confessions

A persuaded false confession takes place when an accused begins to doubt his/her own memory. The person then becomes temporarily persuaded by the police that:

1. it is more likely than not that he/she committed a crime, and
2. this is true even though the suspect has no memory of committing the offense.

2. What law enforcement interrogation tactics are considered coercive?

There are two main types of police interrogation tactics that are considered coercive and impermissible. These include the use of:

1. physical abuse, and
2. psychological abuse.

Note that, while questionable, the following are permissible tactics:

1. the use of deception and persuasion, and
2. befriending a suspect.

2.1. Physical abuse

Sometimes the police, wrongfully and unlawfully, try to coerce a confession with physical abuse.

Example: The police suspect John of possessing an unregistered firearm in the State of Illinois. John denies any allegations of having the gun. Officers throw the man down to the ground and repeatedly kick him in the stomach and groin. The police also threaten to kill John if he does not confess to having the gun. John lies and says that he had the firearm.

Here, the police used the coercive tactic of physical abuse to obtain a false confession.

Note that the above facts are from a real court case where the confession was thrown out of evidence.¹

Authorities are prohibited from using physical abuse to secure a confession.²

2.2. Psychological abuse

Psychological abuse is when the authorities try to get a confession by using:

• mental tricks, and/or
• emotional ploys.

Specific examples may include:

• threats of a harsher penalty if a person does not confess, and
• promises of leniency if one confesses.³

Police also engage in psychological abuse when they try to wear an accused down via:

• deprivation of sleep, water, and food⁴, and
• unrelenting interrogation.⁵

Note that the following suspects are particularly susceptible to psychological tricks:

1. juvenile offenders, and
2. those with cognitive or developmental disabilities.

Example: Police suspect that Ben, age 18, murdered a man by strangling him. Ben is young, is a high-school dropout, and has an abusive background. The police question him about the killing. Ben was found nowhere near the crime scene after the murder took place.

During the questioning, Ben exercises his Miranda rights and asks for a lawyer nine times. The police deny every request. They challenge Ben’s educational level and background. They also keep telling him that he will get a reduced sentence if he cooperates. The police also deny him food and water. Ben eventually confesses.

Here, Ben’s attorney has a good chance of getting the confession thrown out of court. The police denied him his Miranda warnings, denied him food and drink, and took advantage of his troubled background.

2.3. What tactics are allowed?

There are certain interrogation techniques police use that at times seem borderline coercive. These include:

1. the use of deception and persuasion, and
2. “befriending an accused.”

These, though, are not coercive techniques.

Deception and persuasion are allowed so as the tactics do not proximately cause a confession.⁶

Further, it is permissible for police officers to try and befriend an accused. Suspects, though, should never believe that law enforcement wants to become a friend during an interrogation. An interrogator does not ask questions to start up a friendly chat.

3. What happens when police coerce a confession?

The U.S. Constitution, state constitutions, and court opinions all say that coerced confessions are inadmissible at trial.

In particular, involuntary confessions are prohibited by the federal constitution’s Due Process Clause and similar state statutes.

According to the Supreme Court of one state:

“It is axiomatic that the use in a criminal prosecution of an involuntary confession constitutes a denial of due process of law under both the federal and state Constitutions.”⁷

Note that the U.S. Supreme Court has even ruled that a:

• coerced confession is inadmissible in the criminal justice system, and
• this stands even if it is true.⁸

In order for a confession to be held admissible at trial:

1. a prosecutor must prove that it was voluntarily given, and
2. do so by a preponderance of the evidence.⁹

To determine whether a confession was voluntary, a court considers all of the facts surrounding the confession.¹⁰ This test is known as the “totality of the circumstances” test.

Example: Lisa is in New York. Police suspect her of conspiring to sell and transport drugs with the help of other family members in North Carolina. One of the family members in North Carolina fails a polygraph test regarding a certain sale of drugs involving Lisa.

Law enforcement in New York City arrest Lisa and conduct a police interrogation about the sale of drugs and Lisa’s involvement in the conspiracy. The police questioning lasts for over four hours. After an hour, Lisa tries to invoke her Miranda rights and asks for counsel. But the authorities deny the request. They also use certain interrogation techniques in which the police officers play emotional games with her. They deny her requests for food and water and any breaks. They try to use the polygraph results to say she will receive a lesser sentence if she confesses to the conspiracy.

Lisa ultimately breaks down. In a last-minute attempt to stop the madness, she lies and confesses to the conspiracy. The district attorney uses it at her trial in to obtain a wrongful conviction of conspiracy to sell and transport drugs.

Here, Lisa’s defense attorney should have challenged the district attorney’s use of her confession. Based on the totality of the circumstances, there is a strong argument that her confession was not voluntary. This is supported by the following facts:

• Lisa was denied the opportunity to speak to a lawyer after she invoked her Miranda rights,
• the police officers used interrogation techniques that may have amounted to psychological abuse,
• law enforcement denied Lisa’s requests for food and water,
• the police may have improperly used the polygraph test of the family member, and
• the police questioning was conducted over a grueling four-hour time period.

4. Why do people confess to crimes they do not commit?

There are three main reasons a suspect might confess to a crime he/she did not commit. These are:

1. to enter a plea bargain,
2. out of a response to police lies, and
3. to stop police questioning.

4.1. Plea bargain

A plea bargain is when:

1. a defendant pleads guilty to a lesser offense, and in return
2. the defendant receives a reduction of charges and a more lenient sentence.

A defendant may confess to enter a plea and gain the benefits of a more relaxed sentence.

Example: Jenny is charged with assault with a deadly weapon. The district attorney is seeking to charge her with a felony and put her in state prison for four years. Jenny has denied the charge ever since she was first suspected of the crime.

Prior to the criminal trial in her criminal case, the district attorney approaches Jenny’s defense attorney and states he will reduce her charge to simple assault if she pleads guilty to the offense. Assault is punishable as a misdemeanor and carries a maximum sentence of six months in county jail.

Here, Jenny may accept the deal and plead guilty to the simple assault charge. This is because she will reduce the risk of going to trial and being found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of a more serious charge that carries a more severe sentence.

4.2. Response to lies

As stated above, law enforcement officers often use deception in trying to obtain a confession. This includes lying, especially about physical evidence and forensic evidence.

For example, officers may say they have:

• DNA evidence that implicates a defendant in a crime, but
• they truly do not have this incriminating evidence.

Further, during police questioning, officers may lie and say that a confession will result in a more relaxed sentence.

Sometimes suspects confess to a crime they did not commit because:

1. they believe these lies, and
2. they feel a confession may actually benefit them.

4.3. Stop an interrogation

Defendants often give false confessions for the purpose of ending an interrogation.

The reality is that police questioning can sometimes be brutal. Police may utilize sophisticated or tricky interrogation processes that wear down people suspected of a crime.

Questioning can take place over several hours. Sometimes an interrogation can even spread across the course of several days.

Innocent people may grow tired and weak in response to this extended pressure and stress. This means they may confess to a crime simply to end the intense duress.

5. How common are false confessions?

False confessions are unfortunately common across all states in the U.S.

According to the Innocence Project, approximately 25% of convicted criminals that resulted in exonerations, were convicted via a coerced confession.¹¹

Considering the vast array of possible charges in the criminal justice system, coerced confessions are most apparent in homicide cases.¹²

Statistics also show that young offenders (in comparison to adults) are more prone to confessing to crimes that they did not commit.¹³

The following facts and figures are of further interest:

• 92% of false confessors are men,
• based upon the responses from hundreds of police jurisdictions, a majority of officers believe a false confession does not happen often, and
• only 22 states require police to record an interrogation.¹⁴

6. How can a defense lawyer help?

There are two main ways that a criminal defense law firm can help in cases involving coerced confessions.

First, they can help prevent them. If a suspect is subject to police questioning, it is critical that he/she exercises his/her Miranda rights. This means that the suspect must refuse to answer any questions until he/she has the opportunity to speak to a criminal defense attorney.

Every suspect has the right to speak with a lawyer prior to answering any questions asked by police. The exercise of this right can:

• help stop questioning, and thereby,
• reduce the risk of a party giving a false confession.

Second, if an involuntary confession was given, a defense attorney can file a suppression motion seeking to exclude it from evidence. As stated above, a confession can only be admitted into evidence if it was given voluntarily. Further, this is determined by examining the “totality of the evidence.”

A skilled criminal defense lawyer can seek to:

• exclude a confession from evidence, and
• do so by showing that the facts indicate that a confession was given involuntarily.

For additional guidance or to discuss your confession case with a criminal defense attorney, we invite you to contact us at Shouse Law Group.

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