Richard J. Ofshe

The Consequences of False Confessions: Deprivations of Liberty and Miscarriages of Justice in the Age of Psychological Interrogation

This article studies the precise impact that false confessions have on criminal defendants. Using evidence from sixty cases of police-induced false confessions in which the defendants confession is not supported by any physical or reliable inculpatory evidence, the authors explore the impact of unreliable confession evidence on criminal justice officials, the jurors and the criminal justice system. The article demonstrates that a trier of fact may be so biased by a false confession that it will likely favor prosecution and conviction despite strong evidence of innocence, often leading to a defendants incarceration and even death. Additionally, the article finds that, despite Miranda, contemporary law enforcement personnel continue to employ coercive and manipulative methods.To prevent miscarriages of justice caused by false confessions, prosecutors, judges, and juries should carefully scrutinize and evaluate a suspects post-admission narrative against the known facts of the crime. The article also asserts that mandatory video- or audio-recording of police interrogations would greatly decrease the risk of harm caused by false confessions by reducing the use of psychologically coercive interrogation methods.

The effectiveness of pacifist strategies: a theoretical approach

The question of the power of pacifist behavior to produce cooperative responses in conflict situations has recently been raised by several researchers (Lave, 1965; Shure, Meeker, and Hansford, 1965; Deutsch et al., 1967; Meeker and Shure, 1969; and Vincent and Tindell, 1969) and has been the subject of a number of comments (Rapoport, Shubik, and Thrall, 1965; and Rapoport, 1969). The researches that have been reported to date are best described as exploratory in nature. The majority of the investigations have been directed toward the development of a standardized experimental situation and the empirical exploration of a number of possible relationships.2 Although the experiments demonstrate that it is possible to investigate

Using the Innocent to Scapegoat Miranda: Another Reply to Paul Cassell

This article responds to Paul Cassells article, Protecting the Innocent from False Confessions and Lost Confessions - And From Miranda. In this article, Cassell suggests an alternative methodology for estimating the annual frequency of wrongful convictions arising from false confessions. The authors argue that Cassells proposed methodology rests on empirically untenable assumptions and ignores barriers to estimating the harm of improper interrogation methods. Cassell also claims that Miranda requirements present serious risks for innocent suspects. The authors assert that this claim has no empirical foundation.

Social Structure and Social Control in Synanon

a series of small-group meetings on Wednesday nights. From this inauspicious beginning, with only a few members and financed by Dederich’s

Inadvertent hypnosis during interrogation: False confession due to dissociative state: Mis-identified multiple personality and the satanic cult hypothesis.

33 unemployment check, Synanon grew through the early 1960’s into a community of several hundred people (with assets of several million dollars) engaged in mutual rehabilitation, primarily in the area of drug addiction. During these years, Synanon claimed to have the only successful drug rehabilitation program in existence. After