What do you think?
Rate this book
True Stories of False Confessions
Editors Rob Warden and Steven Drizin—leaders in the field of wrongful convictions—have gathered articles about some of the most critical accounts of false confessions in the U.S. justice system from more than forty authors, including Sydney H. Schanberg, Christine Ellen Young, Alex Kotlowitz, and John Grisham. Many of the pieces originally appeared in leading magazines and newspapers, including the New York Times, The Nation, the New Yorker, and the Los Angeles Times. By grouping the cases into categories—including brainwashing, fabrication, mental fragility, police force, and unrequited innocence—the editors demonstrate similarities between cases, thereby refuting the perception that false confessions represent individual tragedies rather than a systemic flaw in the justice system. These incidents are not isolated; they are, in fact, related, and more shocking for it. But the authors of the articles excerpted, adapted, and reprinted in this collection want more for their subjects than outrage; they want to fuel change in the practices and standards that illicit false confessions in the first place. To this end, Warden and Drizin include an illuminating introduction to each category and recommendations for policy changes that would reduce false confessions. They also include a postscript for each case, providing legal updates and additional information.
- GenresTrue CrimeNonfiction
528 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
7 people are currently reading
354 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 6, 2019
This was. This was a lot. It took me a while to read because I don't know if I could've just read it straight through; this is the book you read when you want to be this massive mix-up of pissed off and depressed. I cried more than once. I had to just stop and stare up at the ceiling more than once. It was. It was a lot. Did think it was kinda fun how sarcastic some of the reporters were, though. Really showed how ridiculous the prosecution/police would be sometimes.
February 27, 2015
Americans today are more familiar than they used to be with wrongful convictions. Thanks to DNA testing of old evidence and Innocence Projects, including the one at Northwestern University that editor Rob Warden works for, hundreds of innocent inmates have been exonerated and released in the last two decades. This fact has informed many Americans that our criminal justice system is less accurate than we had assumed. Every time someone else is exonerated after decades in prison, it also reveals the urgent need to adopt more reliable and accurate procedures to prevent miscarriages of justice.
The false confession is one of the most common types of error leading to wrongful conviction, involved in more than 60 percent of wrongful murder convictions in Illinois. False confessions often lead to wrongful convictions -- even in the absence of physical evidence -- because jurors find confessions uniquely persuasive. They can't imagine any innocent person confessing unless tortured. That misapprehension will disappear for anyone who reads this book.
Rob Warden and Steve Drizin have collected articles on several dozen cases of wrongful conviction based on false confessions. Some of the cases are notorious, such as the Central Park Five, while others were fairly obscure. But all share the common error of a confession that isn’t true. The editors help readers understand the counterintuitive phenomenon of the false confession.
A notorious Chicago case involved an 11-yr old girl, Ryan Harris, who was molested and murdered in 1998. Detectives charged two boys -- ages seven and eight – with the crime based on their confessions, which occurred when their parents weren't present. Police claimed the children told of details that could “only be known” by the perpetrators, and that physical evidence corroborated the statements.
A month later, when the crime lab found semen on the panties, the
Cook County SAO dropped all charges against the boys. DNA came back to an adult who was convicted of the murder. The boys sued the city, which settled for a total of $8.2 million.
Progress has been slow in reforming the criminal justice system to make it more accurate. To put it mildly, prosecutors and police have been much less likely to admit errors and correct them in light of compelling new evidence than to stubbornly defend their initial decisions, sometimes for decades. But there are some promising signs of improvement. We’d make quicker progress if this book were required reading for all detectives, prosecutors and judges.
The false confession is one of the most common types of error leading to wrongful conviction, involved in more than 60 percent of wrongful murder convictions in Illinois. False confessions often lead to wrongful convictions -- even in the absence of physical evidence -- because jurors find confessions uniquely persuasive. They can't imagine any innocent person confessing unless tortured. That misapprehension will disappear for anyone who reads this book.
Rob Warden and Steve Drizin have collected articles on several dozen cases of wrongful conviction based on false confessions. Some of the cases are notorious, such as the Central Park Five, while others were fairly obscure. But all share the common error of a confession that isn’t true. The editors help readers understand the counterintuitive phenomenon of the false confession.
A notorious Chicago case involved an 11-yr old girl, Ryan Harris, who was molested and murdered in 1998. Detectives charged two boys -- ages seven and eight – with the crime based on their confessions, which occurred when their parents weren't present. Police claimed the children told of details that could “only be known” by the perpetrators, and that physical evidence corroborated the statements.
A month later, when the crime lab found semen on the panties, the
Cook County SAO dropped all charges against the boys. DNA came back to an adult who was convicted of the murder. The boys sued the city, which settled for a total of $8.2 million.
Progress has been slow in reforming the criminal justice system to make it more accurate. To put it mildly, prosecutors and police have been much less likely to admit errors and correct them in light of compelling new evidence than to stubbornly defend their initial decisions, sometimes for decades. But there are some promising signs of improvement. We’d make quicker progress if this book were required reading for all detectives, prosecutors and judges.
September 14, 2019
Essential reading as a citizen, more so a student of law. This is close to my heart and I’m thankful this publication is out there to edify those same citizens, voters or other smart minded empathetic souls.
April 19, 2023
would give 4.5 if this site had a more refined rating system - the book is aged, refers to african americans as ‘negro’
November 26, 2011
I read this book on the heels of a conversation that started with “Why would anyone ever confess to a crime they did not commit?” It turns out the answer to that question is not an easy one. It comes in many various forms: from the obvious (police interrogators putting words into people’s mouths) to the ridiculous (being so frightened of the consequences it seems better to confess than face having to prove being innocent) to the horrific (persons of compromised mental faculty being questioned without understanding). To their credit Mr. Ward and Mr. Drizin do not shy away and include in this account the incomprehensible, especially in this day and age, subject of coerced confessions.
The most frightening thing about reading these accounts is the fact that often the authorities made up their mind about a suspect, coerced or cajoled a confession and then simply stopped looking for the real perpetrator despite overwhelming evidence that they had the wrong person. Although extracting false confessions is in no way a new phenomenon, this book includes examples from several centuries, one would think in this age of DNA testing and CSI expertise the science and forensics would be integral. Sadly, the authors also point out the often, in the interest of closure to a case, the science and forensics are overlooked, ignored or conveniently “lost”.
The one thing I take away from this book and “Justice Miscarried” is: even if only coming forth as a witness to or victim of a crime … lawyer up!
The most frightening thing about reading these accounts is the fact that often the authorities made up their mind about a suspect, coerced or cajoled a confession and then simply stopped looking for the real perpetrator despite overwhelming evidence that they had the wrong person. Although extracting false confessions is in no way a new phenomenon, this book includes examples from several centuries, one would think in this age of DNA testing and CSI expertise the science and forensics would be integral. Sadly, the authors also point out the often, in the interest of closure to a case, the science and forensics are overlooked, ignored or conveniently “lost”.
The one thing I take away from this book and “Justice Miscarried” is: even if only coming forth as a witness to or victim of a crime … lawyer up!
March 28, 2013
An intelligent and haunting examination of some of the greatest miscarriages of justice in American history, all as a result of false confessions. Those who think that 'innocent people don't confess' should read this book to understand the mental and physical conditions interrogators impose on suspects in order to initiate a confession, and how the weak or vulnerable will confess to end the questioning and accusations in the naive hope that they can retract their statement later on without consequences. All those who are due to sit on juries for murder trials should be required to read this, as should district attorneys who dogmatically plough ahead with the unsafest of prosecutions rather than admit their errors. The refusal to acknowledge errors, and let innocent men sit in jail for many years despite DNA evidence clearly pointing to their innocence, is a damning indictment of the police and prosecutors in the American justice system (see the book: 'Mistakes were made, but not by me' for chapter on prosecutorial miscounduct') A quick wikipedia search helps to update those cases which were unresolved at the time of publication. You can also look at 'miscarriages of justice' for the U.K. on wiki to see similar examples in this country. The one thing I took from this book is simply this: never trust the police, and always have a lawyer present if you are ever questioned.
September 10, 2009
My old friend and mentor Rob Warden writes another gem. Mandatory read for the defense bar.
June 25, 2015
I couldn't read the whole book, it was to intense, but very insightful & interesting.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews