failing detail, DNA and GSS

Why would a person make a false confession to a crime?
by Tracy V. Wilson

"...In August 2006, John Mark Karr confessed to the Dec. 26, 1996 murder of 6-year-old JonBenet Ramsey. Some people hoped that Karr's confession would bring an end to the high-profile case, but others wondered whether it was accurate. On Aug. 28, 2006, news sources reported that Karr's DNA did not match the DNA found at the crime scene and that he wouldn't be charged.

Why would a person confess to a crime he didn't commit?

False confessions are relatively common in high-profile criminal cases...For this reason, law enforcement officials typically keep some of the details of high-profile investigations secret. If a confessor can describe these secret details, investigators can be more confident that the confession is true...

Investigators can use the GSS to help evaluate whether confessions have been coerced or to determine how best to question a suspect. ­The Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale (GSS) measures how susceptible a person is to suggestion during an interrogation. It evaluates how likely a person is to:

Yield: submit to an interrogator's accusations or fall prey to leading questions
­Shift: change his statements under the interrogator's scrutiny ­

This article includes more information about the GSS..."