Interrogations, Confessions, and Entrapment

Abstract

(from the cover) The purpose of this text is to help expose subtle but nonetheless coercive influences in the criminal justice system that undermine the integrity of American jurisprudence. The chapters are authored by psychologists, criminologists, and legal scholars who have contributed to our understanding of the pressures that insidiously operate when the goal of law enforcement is to elicit self-incriminating behavior from suspected criminals. What are the various forms of psychological coercion? When and to whom is it applied? What effect does it have on the truly innocent suspect? To what extent is this nonassaultive form of coercion detected by trial fact finders? What are some ways in which such coercion can be minimized during interrogations or in other contexts in which law enforcement is seeking to obtain self-incriminating evidence from suspected criminals? These are some of the important questions posed by the authors, and at least in some instances, partial or preliminary answers are provided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).