True Stories of False Confessions

ISBN 10: 0810126036 / ISBN 13: 9780810126039

Published by Northwestern University Press, 2009

Good - Bumped and creased book with tears to the extremities, but not affecting the text block, may have remainder mark or previous owner's name - GOOD PAPERBACK Standard-sized. Seller Inventory # M0810126036Z3

Synopsis:

Editors Rob Warden and Steven Drizin - leaders in the field of wrongful convictions - have gathered articles about some of the most critical accounts of false confessions in the U.S. justice system from more than forty authors, including Sydney H. Schanberg, Christine Ellen Young, Alex Kotlowitz, and John Grisham. Many of the pieces originally appeared in leading magazines and newspapers, including the ""New York Times"", ""The Nation"", the ""New Yorker"", and the ""Los Angeles Times"". By grouping the cases into categories - including brainwashing, fabrication, mental fragility, police force, and unrequited innocence - the editors demonstrate similarities between cases, thereby refuting the perception that false confessions represent individual tragedies rather than a systemic flaw in the justice system. These incidents are not isolated; they are, in fact, related, and more shocking for it. But the authors of the articles excerpted, adapted, and reprinted in this collection want more for their subjects than outrage; they want to fuel change in the practices and standards that illicit false confessions in the first place. To this end, Warden and Drizin include an illuminating introduction to each category and recommendations for policy changes that would reduce false confessions. They also include a postscript for each case, providing legal updates and additional information.

About the Author: Rob Warden is a legal affairs journalist and the executive director of the Center for Wrongful Convictions at the Northwestern University School of Law. Steven A. Drizin is a clinical professor of law and the legal director of the Center for Wrongful Convictions at the Northwestern University School of Law. He is a leading authority on police interrogations and coerced confessions.

Bibliographic Details

Title: True Stories of False Confessions
Publisher: Northwestern University Press
Publication Date: 2009
Binding: paperback
Condition: Good