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The Confession

In: Social Issues

Submitted By lauramonea
Words 452
Pages 2
“Eight men charged. Five confessions. But only one DNA match. Why would four innocent men confess to a brutal crime they didn't commit?”1 According to the video and the interviews from the video you have to understand how police interrogation works. The police are trained to interrogate suspects using mental, emotional, and pressured methods that have to rely on persuasion and pressure alone. Prior to an interrogation, the police have made up their mind that the person who they are interrogating is guilty. You don't interrogate somebody unless you first believe they're guilty. The goal is to get the person to confess. Most people who have never been arrested for a crime have no experience with interrogation. Everyone has that point where they just break down. The Norfolk four didn’t know what it's like to be in that situation. In the video, Ford, the interrogator was accusing them, telling them that they’re lying, yelling at them; and telling them they have your DNA. The men thought they could depend on the system, but, they didn’t know that police can pretend to have evidence they don't have. This process can go on from two hours to 11 hours. In “The Confessions” The Norfolk Four were high pressured and were threatened about getting the death penalty, going to prison for life, and threats about what will happen if you don't cooperate with the interrogators.
This case is just a miniature version of almost everything that happens for the wrong reason when innocent people get wrongfully convicted. So to my understanding as to why this case caused so much emotional, physical, and mental damage to the four innocent men, who were unjustly prosecuted and convicted, is a charge to the police and the prosecutors. Some would say that the lawyers and the judge and jury could take some part of it to some extent.
I believe this whole case happened and blew out of

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