After being interrogated relentlessly for many hours, four U.S. Navy sailors separately confessed to committing a violent rape and murder despite the lack of any evidence linking them to the crime. Based on their confessions, and despite there being no DNA match at the crime scene, each of the men was sent to prison for the crimes. In video Chapter 3 from The Confessions, students will consider why someone would give a false confession and examine the different types of evidence that can be used to identify perpetrators of a crime.
For this discussion:
First, go to http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/the-confessions/
Then in the player for the video, go to the marker for Chapter 3, “And Still No DNA Match…” (length:13:20)
Watch the video and consider the issues regarding false confessions that are raised.
Finally, for your initial response, answer the following question: “Why would someone confess to something they did not do? How can the criminal justice system protect against false confessions?”
