Gudjohnnson - A Case of False Confession

The aim of the study was to document a case of false confession.

The participant of this study was a 17 year old, of average intelligence, no mental health issues, accused of the murder, sexual assault and robbery of two elderly women found battered to death in their home and all their savings missing.

The method of this study was a case study compiled of information summarised from several police interviews with the suspect.

The first interview with the police, the suspect was interviewed for 14 hours with some breaks. It included leading questions accusing him of lying and guilt, and suggestions/taunts about sexual impotence.

The second interview with the police was conducted the next day in the prescence of a lawyer. Under pressure and after further accusations about his failure with women, he confessed to the crime, though he was in fact innocent.

Results

This was a coerced compliant type of confession, the suspect confessed to the crime to escape the intolerable pressures of his interrogation. He scored abnormally high on Gudjohnnson's suggestability scale (10.)