Chapter Two
Homework Questions
1. It is my opinion that the PACE Act was necessary in light of the abuses taking place, like in the case of the Guildford Four. Although it is not clear how big of an effect the Act has of the reduction of false confessions, it has at the very least reduced the use of abusive tactics within the interrogation room. The argument is however, that these tactics have just been moved outside the interrogation room.
I think it can also be argued that the Pace Act opened the door for videotaping of interrogations within this country.
2. 25%
3. Confessions save time by avoiding trials because confessions usually lead to guilty pleas. Also, if there is no trial the police have no need for more evidence, therefore …show more content…
Before 1930 police used beatings with fists, gun grips, rubber hoses, black jacks, cigarette burns, electric shock, twisting a man’s testicles, and dragging women by their hair. A government commission report titled, “The report on lawlessness in law enforcement,” exposed widespread abusive treatment of suspects in police custody. The report only led to police using more covert means of abuse by police that did not leave marks. They would frequently hold a suspects face down in a toilet to the point of drowning. There were also cases of police holding suspects upside down by their feet out of a window. Sleep deprivation, intimidation, and isolation were also used.
Since 1961 a series of legal decisions moved police away from covert physical abuse to more psychological forms of coercion (Culombe vs. Connecticut, Davis vs. North Carolina, Reck vs. Pate, and Townsend vs. Swain were just a few of those cases). Miranda vs. Arizona in which the court ruled that police must advise a suspect of their rights prior to being questioned or interrogated was a landmark case in this regard. Other cases over the past 30 years in the courts have allowed police to use a variety of lies and tricks to get …show more content…
Instrumental false confessions happen as a result of lone or intense interrogations. A person will come to believe that the only way out of an interrogation is to confess to a crime they did not commit. Instrumental voluntary false confessions occur when someone knowingly confesses to a crime to achieve some personal goal. For example, a member of a criminal gang could confess to protect someone higher up in the gang. Another case could be seen when a parent confesses to protect a child. Finally a person could confess seeking notoriety or attention. An authentic coerced false confession occurs when a suspect confesses after a long intense interrogation. The suspect has been temporarily convinced that he/she actually committed the crime. An authentic voluntary false confession is when a mentally disturbed person confesses with no pressure from interrogators. This usually happens in well publicized, high profile cases. These people are delusional and have convinced themselves that they committed the crime.
6. A positive inducement is providing something that helps bring about an action or a desired result; while a negative incentive aims to motivate others by threatening a
Homework Questions
1. It is my opinion that the PACE Act was necessary in light of the abuses taking place, like in the case of the Guildford Four. Although it is not clear how big of an effect the Act has of the reduction of false confessions, it has at the very least reduced the use of abusive tactics within the interrogation room. The argument is however, that these tactics have just been moved outside the interrogation room.
I think it can also be argued that the Pace Act opened the door for videotaping of interrogations within this country.
2. 25%
3. Confessions save time by avoiding trials because confessions usually lead to guilty pleas. Also, if there is no trial the police have no need for more evidence, therefore …show more content…
Before 1930 police used beatings with fists, gun grips, rubber hoses, black jacks, cigarette burns, electric shock, twisting a man’s testicles, and dragging women by their hair. A government commission report titled, “The report on lawlessness in law enforcement,” exposed widespread abusive treatment of suspects in police custody. The report only led to police using more covert means of abuse by police that did not leave marks. They would frequently hold a suspects face down in a toilet to the point of drowning. There were also cases of police holding suspects upside down by their feet out of a window. Sleep deprivation, intimidation, and isolation were also used.
Since 1961 a series of legal decisions moved police away from covert physical abuse to more psychological forms of coercion (Culombe vs. Connecticut, Davis vs. North Carolina, Reck vs. Pate, and Townsend vs. Swain were just a few of those cases). Miranda vs. Arizona in which the court ruled that police must advise a suspect of their rights prior to being questioned or interrogated was a landmark case in this regard. Other cases over the past 30 years in the courts have allowed police to use a variety of lies and tricks to get …show more content…
Instrumental false confessions happen as a result of lone or intense interrogations. A person will come to believe that the only way out of an interrogation is to confess to a crime they did not commit. Instrumental voluntary false confessions occur when someone knowingly confesses to a crime to achieve some personal goal. For example, a member of a criminal gang could confess to protect someone higher up in the gang. Another case could be seen when a parent confesses to protect a child. Finally a person could confess seeking notoriety or attention. An authentic coerced false confession occurs when a suspect confesses after a long intense interrogation. The suspect has been temporarily convinced that he/she actually committed the crime. An authentic voluntary false confession is when a mentally disturbed person confesses with no pressure from interrogators. This usually happens in well publicized, high profile cases. These people are delusional and have convinced themselves that they committed the crime.
6. A positive inducement is providing something that helps bring about an action or a desired result; while a negative incentive aims to motivate others by threatening a