Expert Testimony

Running Head: EXPERT TESTIMONY 1
Expert testimony
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EXPERT TESTIMONY 2
1) Name and briefly explain the four types of false confessions as defined in the textbook. (4
Marks)
i. Instrumental-Coerced false confessions
This type of false confession occurs after the long and intense interrogations resulting to
the suspects confess to the accused crime that they never committed (Costanzo & Leo, 2006).
The suspect decides to end the interrogation by just accepting they committed the crime even if
not true.
ii. Instrumental-Voluntary false confession
This is the type of confession in which the suspects admit themselves to the accused
crime to achieve a certain goal. For example, one member of the terrorists group can admit to the
crime he did not commit only to protect another higher ranked member of the terrorists
organization from being interrogated and accused (Costanzo & Leo, 2006). In other incidents,
parents can admit having been committed the crime only to protect their child or children from
convicted of the crime issue.
iii. Authentic-Coerced false confession
This type of false confession occurs as a result of the intense and long interrogation that
suspects are convinced especially temporary that they might have committed the crime
(Costanzo & Leo, 2006). The suspect thinks he may have committed the crime without their
knowledge and admits temporary to the crime accused.
iv. Authentic-Voluntary false confession
This type of false confession occurs when the accused person may or may not have
committed the unserious type of crime. The person decides to admit to the crime because it has

EXPERT TESTIMONY 3
no pressure or it is not a serious crime from the interrogation (Costanzo & Leo, 2006). In most
cases, these types of crimes do not end up to jail or fines but they are just ignored or forgiven.
2) What is the Behavioral Analysis Interview (BAI), and how has it been connected to false
confessions? (4 Marks).
This is the type of questioning method developed to help the investigators differentiate
between the guilty and the innocent. It is connected to false confession in that it helps in
determining the people deceived to admit to crime in the interview (Pezdek, 2006). It involves
the tactics and strategies that reveal if the person interrogated is telling lies or truth. The outcome
of this method depends on the skills of the officer interrogating and intensiveness of the
interview.
3) Case study.....
How would you evaluate the personal risk factors, situational risk factors, and reliability of
this confession? How might you present your findings to a jury? (10 Marks).
As an expert, I would evaluate the personal risk factors by determining how the suspect
resisted the influence after he was confronted by the police officers. The suspect confessed to the
crime out of pressure he received from the police. The only option the suspect left with was just
admitting to the crime after pressing confrontation from the police. On the other hand, the
evaluation of the situational risks will be evaluated through I identification of the two different
structural aspects of the police interrogation. This will involve determining the guilty-
presumptive social interaction between the police and the suspect. This will bring a strong
foundation for the operation of the cognitive confirmation biases. The reliability of the
confession will be evaluated based on how the police interrogated the suspect. By analyzing the