Interrogations and Confessions 1
Chapter Application Paper: Interrogations and Confessions
Kristi Campbell
Liberty University
CJUS 640
July 6, 2025
Interrogations and Confessions
Improper interrogations that ensue false confessions have become common in the
criminal justice system. An investigator’s goal is to find out who committed the crime.
Unfortunately, some go about this the wrong way and completely ignore the correct way. An
investigator will use interrogation techniques and evidence to) determine who is innocent and
who is guilty of a crime. Costanzo and Krauss (2018) found that “through research, it was found
that around 70% of suspects self-report incriminating statements during an interrogation while
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40% make a complete confession.”
It is important that an investigator finds someone who confesses to a crime but also who
the investigator identifies as being guilty. There are several benefits to an individual confessing
to a crime. Confessions lead to less utilization of resources, less police time, and can sometimes
result in no trial and no psychological stress that can affect the victim. Finally, when an
investigator conducts a proper interrogation which leads to a confession it almost always results
in a courtroom conviction.
Critical Application
Interrogation techniques change over time and sometimes they are not always accurate.
Previously, interrogations mostly consisted of physical force. But now they have changed, and
they are not really based off physical force but instead they are more psychologically based.
According to Costanzo and Krauss (2018) “one traditional technique that will stand the hands of
time is the good-cop, bad-cop routine; this is when one cop acts nice and shows sympathy
towards the subject where the other cop is quite brutal and mean.” The good cop normally
starts off the interrogation telling you what you want to hear, such as they know you are
innocent of the crime. The bad cop will then treat you like you are guilty.
According to Costanzo and Krauss (2018) “another commonly used, and commonly
promoted technique is known as the Reid Technique, also known as, the nine steps of
interrogation.” Costanzo and Krauss stated that “the steps center around four powerful
strategies: 1.) loss of control, 2.) social isolation, 3.) certainty of guilt, and 4.) minimization of
culpability.” These four steps have been proven effective and there are main principles that are
evidence based which psychology has broken down. These main principles have been shown to
be helpful to investigators as well as influential over a subject. According to Costanzo and Krauss
(2018) “those principles include: scarcity as far as time or availability, authority over others,
social proof, using reciprocity to get compliance, commitment and consistency that is usually a
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verbal or written promise which motivates people to act in a way that is consistent to the
promise, and liking a person.”
Sometimes an individual may submit a false confession. This can result due to many
different reasons. This can include: a vulnerable individual who has a disability and may not
understand what they are being told, improper use of techniques during the interrogation
process, or an individual who is uninformed of their right to counsel. The Innocence Project has
reported on wrongful convictions for years. According to a 2018 report 30% of individuals were
exonerated by DNA evidence due to wrongful convictions (Innocence Project, 2018). These
individuals made incriminating statements or false confessions which were essentially
interpreted as an actual confession. “Officers estimate they receive self-incriminating
statements
68% of the time when interrogating subjects” (Costanzo and Krauss, 2018).
There are four types of confessions, let’s look at each of them. Instrumental-coerced
false confessions occur when an individual has an intense and long interrogation, and they
confess to a crime which they know they did not commit. According to Costanzo and Krauss
(2018) “this is the most commonly identified type of false confession found in criminal cases.”
Next is an instrumental-voluntary false confession. Costanzo and Krauss (2018) state that “this
type of confession occurs when a suspect knowingly implicates him or herself in a crime that he
did not commit in an effort to achieve a goal.” The internalized-coerced false confession is the
third type of false confession. According to Costanzo and Krauss (2018) “this type of confession
generally occurs after a long and intense interrogation where a subject is convinced for a short
time that they did indeed commit the crime.” The internalized-voluntary false confession is the
last type of false confession. With this type of confession, the individual struggles with delusions
and will confess to a crime without any pressure from the interrogator. Law enforcement within
the US is legally allowed to use false evidence or lies to get a suspect to confess to a crime.
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Patterns and Trends
The United States has patterns and trends of false confessions. According to Costanzo
and Krauss (2018) “after the events of 9/11/2001 the United States began touring terrorist
suspects as a means of extracting information. The main technique utilized was physical force
through waterboarding the suspects.”
In addition to this example, there was also the Netflix tv show “Making of a Murderer”
case which represents patterns and current trends. This tv show examined the man who was
convicted of the 1985 murder of Teresa Halbach. The convicted man, Steven Avery, was
exonerated after DNA evidence and the Innocence Project after it was proven he was not the
suspect. According to Lloyd (2018) “Avery was charged with the murder of Halbach and claimed
that the local police department was framing him due to the lawsuit he filed from his wrongful
incarceration.” This is quite an interesting story and confession. Llyod (2018) found that “the
prosecutor’s argument against Avery came from a confession of his nephew who has an IQ
ranging from 69-73 which put him at a range considered intellectually disabled.” The officers
used various tactics to get a confession from Avery. According to Lloyd (2018) “the police
officers told the suspect he would not be in trouble, they used fake evidence, no attorney or
mother of suspect was present, and the officers were prompting and leading the questions and
statements.”
Psychology and Legal System
Psychology is all throughout the legal system. You can see it with forensics, lawyers, and
an expert witness. According to Costanzo and Krauss (2018) “many believe psychology has
influenced the legal system, but others feel it has not.” This can be attributed to some judges
who dismiss findings from social scientific research because they know so little about it and
unfortunately rely heavily on research findings. Costanzo and Krauss (2018) stated that “many
feel like they do not need the assistance of psychology or the scientific world because most
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resistance from judges is intellectual, but some have personal reasons such as political views or
self-confidence.” Psychology in the legal system is real and requires more extensive research in
my opinion.
The has been a lot of research conducted and collected regarding confessions,
interrogations and psychology. Costanzo and Krauss (2018) found that “through research of
actual recorded interrogations where the Miranda warning was read, the police officers spoke
significantly faster and did not check for understanding.” This can result in coerced confessions
and false confessions. Psychologists are also expert witnesses, evaluators (insanity pleas), and
advisors within the criminal justice system. According to Costanzo and Krauss (2018) “other uses
include trial consultants to help with jury selection or witness preparation.” If you look you will
see the footprints of psychology all over the criminal justice system.
Biblical View
The Bible advises us on how and when to confess our sins. You should not confess to something
you did not do. You should also find peace in confessing to a sin you committed. “Therefore,
confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer
of a righteous person has great power as it is working” (ESV Bible Study, 2008, James 5:16). Life
is precious and can be cut short for multitude of reasons. When dealing with the law it is always
important to be honest because if you are improperly interrogated it can lead to a false or
coerced confession and that can quite possibly end your life. “Death and life are in the power of
the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits” (ESV Bible Study, 2008, Proverbs 18:21).
Conclusion
It seems like we will always have false confessions and coerced confessions within the
criminal justice system. Besides that, there are legitimate questions pertaining to whether an
interrogator should be allowed to lie to a suspect to get a confession. The use of lies and false
evidence has been argued as being improper because it can result in false confessions. Less use
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of it would result in less false confessions is the belief. There are some solutions that would
assist in monitoring interrogations. This includes setting a time limit for interrogations, record
the interrogations, and have an adult present when a minor who is being interrogated
regardless of if they waive their right. By combining both psychology and the criminal justice
system there can potentially an improvement in false and coerced confessions.
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References
Costanzo, M., & Krauss, D. (2021). Forensic and legal psychology: Psychological science
applied to law (4th ed.). Worth Publishers.
ESV Study Bible. (2008). Crossway Books.
Innocence Project. (2018). False Confessions & Recording of Custodial Interrogations. Retrieved
from Innocence Project: https://www.innocenceproject.org/causes/false
confessionsadmissions/
Lloyd, B. (2018). Making an involuntary confession: An analysis of improper interrogation
tactics used on intellectually impaired individuals and their role in obtaining involuntary
confessions. Law and Psychology Review, 42, 117–129. Retrieved from
file:///C:/Users/dau55722/Desktop/School/CJUS 640/Confessions of Intellectually
Disabled.pdf
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