Risk factors associated with the suspect:
(1) child or adolescent
(2) mental illness
(3) intoxication
(4) ignorance of rights and the law
(5) naive belief in rights and the law
(6) confused or otherwise vulnerable
(7) compliant, seeking approval or eager to please anyone in authority
Risk factors associated with the police investigators:
(1) lying to or intentionally misleading the suspect
(2) able to convince the suspect that it is in his or her best interest to confess
(3) desperate to make an arrest for a crime
(4) use of physical force and torture
(5) use of mental or psychological coercion or duress
(6) strong belief that the suspect is guilty
The presence of an independent person during all interrogations and/or videotaping the interrogation process can significantly reduce the number of false confessions.
Consequences of a false confession (Redlich, page 21):
(1) an innocent person is treated unjustly
(2) a guilty person is free to continue to commit serious crimes
(3) loss of credibility in the police and judicial systems
(4) economic cost of awarded damages to the victim
Even when there is good reason to believe that a confession was false or the suspect was framed it may take a long time for justice to be served if a prosecutor or other official have benefited politically from the conviction.
