Contaminated confessions Project 2022

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Contaminated confessions
Name of University

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Introduction
Jeffrey Deskovic, 16 years old, was charged with murder and rape of a 15-year-old girl in
New York in 1991. She was attacked and brutally raped and then strangled. Deskovic became a
suspect because he was a sophomore at the same school and was late to school the next day of
the crime. The police became suspicious as he was overly distressed at the victim’s death and
was eager to help with the investigations. Deskovic’s investigation went on for a year and
comprised of extensive questioning by detectives and polygraph sessions with no lawyer or
parent present. DNA testing showed that he was not connected in anyways to the victim’s rape
kit. Still, Deskovic was convicted by a jury of rape and murder in 1991. It was in 2006 that
Deskovic was released from prison on the grounds of actual innocence after the Innocence
Project.
Deskovic conviction and exoneration
Deskovic conviction is based entirely on a confession that he allegedly made in police
custody after spending hours with them. He had no access to attorneys and his parents as he was
questioned for hours repeatedly. He underwent a polygraph exam for at least six hours. He was
just a confused, scared teenager who had little idea of how criminal investigations were carried
out. The Innocence Project points to the injustice of Jeff Deskovic’s case and draws attention to
the loopholes in the criminal law system and the reforms needed regarding the confessions.
Deskovic’s supposedly voluntary confession was the only evidence that linked him to the
crime. Later in 2006, the FBI database of DNA profiles excluded Deskovic but matched Steven
Cunningham, who was already in prison on other charges. Cunningham came forward and
confessed and pleaded guilty (Garrett 2017). But by now, Deskovic had spent 16 years in prison.
Exoneration cases such as Deskovic’s draw attention to the accuracy of the criminal system of
the U.S. Supreme Court. There are many other cases that have brought to light the presence of

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false confessions and how they can get contaminated over the interrogations process. What went
wrong with Deskovic is a classic case of false and contaminate confessions.
There are plenty of cases of a contaminated false confession that have often been
puzzling as to what makes innocent people confess to a crime they did not commit. There is a
new awareness among the police, legislators, judges, and scholars that innocent people often
confess during police investigations because of the psychological pressures. When 20 cases of
DNA exoneration were examined, about 16% of them involved false confessions (Garrett 2017).
Wrongful convictions are having been there for several years and are not a new phenomenon.
And many of them have involved false or coerced confessions.
Miranda procedures
The U.S constitution regulates confession systems based on the prerequisite of
voluntariness and the Miranda warnings (Garrett 2017). Under the Miranda procedures, the
exonerees waived off their Miranda rights when they signed those waiver forms. Deskovic must
have been just a confused, scared teenager who had little idea of how criminal investigations
were carried out. It is evident when he was taken to the police headquarters for the first time; the
detective asked him if he wanted a layer and informed him that he had a right to stay silent.
When the detective asked him if he understood his rights, he simply nodded and signed the card
to show his willingness to answer the questions without any attorney (Garrett 2017). Recordings
were made as Deskovic waived off his rights.
Recording of the interrogations
Deskovic’s conversations with the police were recorded, and it is interesting to note that
the tape was on when his Miranda rights were read but not when he was confronted by the
detectives aggressively (Garrett 2017). It is essential to focus on the recording of those