With advances in DNA technology, it has been revealed that about 30% of DNA exoneration cases involve innocent defendants who either incriminated themselves, delivered false confessions, or pled guilty, according to the Innocence Project.

You might say, "I would never confess to a crime that I did not commit!" However, you may be surprised to learn that this is not unheard of. Suspect interrogations can be lengthy, exhausting, and any one or more of the factors below can cause an innocent person to confess:

• Duress
• Being coerced to confess
• Impaired by alcohol or drugs
• Mental impairment
• Fear of being hurt by the police
• Actual infliction of bodily harm
• Being threatened with a harsh sentence
• Ignorance of one's legal rights

In some cases, a false confession is easily explained by the psychological state of the confessor. Children, and people with disabilities may confess so they can simply "go home."

Since many law enforcement officers don't have any special training for questioning suspects with mental disabilities, mentally disabled suspects may be eager to please the authority figure, and in effect will deliver a false confession.

If a person is under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or mentally ill, he or she may be quick to confess to a crime they did not commit, especially when they don't understand the ramifications.

Mentally stable adults also give false confessions, often because of lengthy interrogations, sleep deprivation, and the belief that they can go home and prove their innocence later on.

Sometimes police will use harsh interrogation tactics against a suspect, of whom they are convinced is guilty. Suspects have gone so far as to wrongfully confess, just so they are not injured by an overly-aggressive officer.

Unfortunately, the large number of DNA exonerations has made it abundantly clear that confessions can be motivated by external influences; another reason why it is so important for defendants to have excellent legal representation!