False+Confessions

Home

__ False Confessions __
 *  Today’s detectives can get suspects to admit almost anything.
 * They have developed techniques that get the suspect to talk.
 *  False confessions are a definite growing issue for courts who are deciding the fates of the suspects.
 * The fact that the confession could be false must be taken into consideration.

 The biggest single cause of false confession is police making threats of harm that they are not permitted to make.


 *  False confessions were identified as the second most prevalent cause of wrongful convictions.
 *  False confessions are extracted from vulnerable suspects like mentally retarded suspects, and other disability patients.
 * Police interrogators have developed precise skills that can persuade almost any suspect to confess to almost any crime.
 *  Some false confessions are result of suspects just wanting the police off their back so they confess just to get it over with.

Other things that can cause mentally stable adults to make false confessions.
 * Length of interrogation or exhaustion
 * A belief that they can go home after confessing and later prove their innocence.
 * They could be interrogated or threatened to the point that they confess
 * Sometimes they even confess to escape physical harm.

A Possible False Confession Made by a Mentally Retarded Man

 Robert Gonzales

On November 3, 2005,Albuquerque police officers arrest Robert Gonzales, a 20 year old mentally retarded man with an I.Q. of 62, at a local high school which Gonzales had visited to talk with a former counselor. Although the police did not have probable cause to arrest Gonzales, they believed he might have had a prior relationship with Sandoval as they had developed information that he had met the girl at a local swimming pool. After taking him back to a police station and interrogating him for nearly three hours, police emerged with a confession from Gonzales. Gonzales told police that he met Sandoval at the pool during the summer and began dating her. He claimed that Sandoval told him she was 15. He killed her – his “girlfriend” -- during sex when she revealed to him that she was only 11 years old.

 Gonzales’ competency to stand trial was a hotly debated issue during pre-trial hearings. A defense expert testified that Gonzales has tremendous difficulty processing information and that he did not understand many of the fundamental issues necessary to stand trial. Prosecutors countered with an expert who testified that Gonzales is competent, particularly with “coaching” and that his ability to make “novel adjustments” to situations demonstrates his competence. With conflicting opinions, Bernalillo County District Judge Carl Butkus, concerned that Gonzales may not be competent, took the unusual step of submitting the case to a jury.


 * They are saying that he may not have the IQ to be able to say he didn’t do it. He just admitted to committing the crime. This could be a false confession because maybe he just said he did it because he is not smart enough to say he didn’t.


 * They arrested him without probable cause. No evidence from the case pointed to Gonzales. No blood, fingerprints, or anything. The case seems to lead toward Gonzales’s innocence. It is a good example of how some confessions may need to be further analyzed in order to prove the innocence of a client. The case also illustrates how confession evidence can corrupt the judgment of law enforcement officers, including police and prosecutors.

Arnim Darryl Evans

__ Case Description __

Darryl Evans is charged with Murder of Rose Ann Youngblood and Pam Blue, and related charges. He claims that he didn't do it. Darryl was into heavy drinking and cocaine. He claims that he had sex with Rose Ann and then went to the bathroom when the doorbell rang and heard talking. When he got back Rose Ann was gone. He went over to Pam's house and had sex with Pam. Pam's three kids woke up and asked for breakfast. Darryl made cereal for the kids and Pam left for work. Kieth (Pam's Husband) came home to find Darryl with the kids and Pam dead in the basement and Rose Ann dead in the kitchen. He has a bunch of questions that he uses to try to prove himself innocent. The main one is that if he did kill the mother and her sister then why would he stay with the kids all day long? False confessions may have been tied into this from the kids. When the police questioned the kids they may have given false confessions which could have lead to the sentence that was given to Darryl Evans. 

__Paul’s Opinion__

 I feel as though after reading this case thoroughly and analyzing his questions, he has a good chance of being innocent. This is only based on the possibility that DNA evidence could prove him innocent, and the DNA under the victim’s fingernails didn’t match up with Darryl's.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">__Jesse’s Opinion__

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I think that there is a possibility of him being innocent but I”m not sure if I’m completely convinced. The fact that the DNA under the victim’s fingernails is a very important part to proving his innocence. Also the fact that the victims were strangled to death, Arnim could not have done that with his messed up right hand. And i think that if he was to strangle the women with one hand, he would have to be really strong for them to not be able to fight back at all. Also the police forced him into making a statement when he wasn’t sure about what had happened. I am also wondering what kind of motive he would have had, i could not find that anyone had stated a motive.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">__Cody’s Opinion__

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I agree with Darryl because he says that it is not his DNA under his wife’s fingernails. But who’s DNA could be under her fingernails besides her husbands? They also say that he beat his kid with a belt but why would he do that if him and his wife where just having a little argument. So that makes me think that he could do it but they do not have any evidence of him killing his wife. The other reason why I think he could have done it is because he abuses cocaine and alcohol so that could have made him kill his wife.