The Craziest False Confessions In History
By Jeff Somers/Feb. 13, 2021 8:15 pm EDT/Updated: Feb. 22, 2021 9:47 pm EDT
Confession is a powerful act. It s the centerpiece of several religions, it s a key part of crime investigation and police work, and when something weighs on your conscience the relief it offers can be irresistible.
It s easy to assume that only guilty people confess to misdeeds or crimes. After all, why would you take on the consequences of something you didn t do? But as Science magazine reports, false confession is actually a lot more common than you might think. People confess to things they didn t actually do for many reasons, but it usually involves either mental illness or the extreme pressure that police and other people can bring to bear on someone suspected of a crime. Exhausted and confused after hours of interrogation that can often include outright falsehoods told by the police, people can and do come to believe things about themselves they know are