False confessions from 53 persons with intellectual disabilities: the list keeps growing.

03Original abstract

Today, persons with intellectual and related disabilities are being seen as citizens in full standing in their own neighborhoods. We see them on the street, on buses, in restaurants—even attending classes in their own neighborhood schools and working at jobs they are able to do.It wasn't always that way. In earlier years they were seen as objects of rejection. Most were removed from their communities and sent to live in large, out-of-the-way, state-funded institutions. Now that they are back in the midst of our neighborhoods, we are learning to understand and support them as never before.Most—but not all—seek to be friendly with local police officers. They do it because they need to depend on authority figures around them to live in the community successfully. Police officers need to know that some tend to be overly vulnerable and pliable when placed under pressure in interrogation rooms. In such a situation they may say whatever these authority figures want to hear. They will even confess to crimes they did not commit.Today, 53 persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities have confessed to serious felonies—murder, rape, arson, and robbery—that they did not commit. These cases have been extracted from three sources: They come from my own 30-year collection of files and from sifting through a list of all false confessors produced earlier by two of the top experts on all false confessions (Drizin & Leo, 2004). More recently they have been sifted from a constant stream of false confession reports flowing out of the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University's School of Law. All of the 53 individuals have been legally exonerated.The number of persons on this list will increase in the years to come. For example, I can name 15 other false confessors with intellectual disabilities I believe to be innocent, but they will not be placed on this list until they have been exonerated by a formal legal action.Six factors gleaned from this list may be worth pondering:The confessors are listed alphabetically along with the state and year in which they confessed. The specific disability mentioned in each document has been placed between quotation marks.Baddeley, Age 19, “with fetal alcohol effect” was coerced into confessing to setting fire to the high school where he was a student. Two years after his conviction, a young woman in therapy voluntarily came forward with evidence showing that she was the true arsonist (Courtney, 2004).A 23-year-old woman “with IQ tests in the 70s,” was hired to baby sit a 3-year-old child on a hot summer night. The child died in her bedroom from hyperthermia. A state trooper coerced Baker into confessing that she willfully turned up the thermostat to kill the child. At trial, she could not describe or show how to adjust a thermostat. In addition, a technician described that there was a short in the home's heating system. Baker was convicted of second-degree murder, apparently for failing to react properly to the overheated environment. After she spent nearly 5 years behind bars, the conviction was thrown out (Chittum, 2000; Nogas, 2000a, 2000b).While in jail awaiting trial for an unrelated crime, Victoria Banks claimed to be pregnant. She did it to garner sympathy and get out of jail. The ploy worked. Later, when a sheriff asked her about the baby, she told him that the baby had died. She, her husband, Medell, and her sister, Dianne Tucker, “all with mental retardation,” underwent intensive questioning over 5 days until they confessed to murdering the infant. Later, it was discovered that Victoria had undergone a tubal ligation 4 years earlier and was unable to have children (Luo, 2002).Barco's girlfriend was found dead in her car. Bruising on the victim's neck and chest led investigators to believe she had been strangled. During interrogation, Barco, “with IQ 57,” confessed to beating her to death with a stick. He spent 8 months in jail awaiting his trial. His public defender finally called for a reexamination of the woman's body and found she had actually died from a lethal level of alcohol. The bruising was consistent with injuries typical of alcoholics. The murder charges were dropped (Associated Press, 1986).After his mother was murdered, Bell, “a man with mild retardation,” endured over 50 hours of questioning before he finally confessed. DNA evidence exonerated the man after he spent 17 months in jail (Scharnberg & Mills, 2002).A 7-year-old girl was raped and murdered. Bennett, “diagnosed as mentally retarded,” confessed to both crimes. DNA evidence finally excluded him. Bennett spent 2 years in jail before a jury acquitted him (Aheran, 1998).Brown, a man “with an IQ of 50” was arrested and questioned for the beating death of an 80-year-old woman. Two detectives wrote a “full confession” in perfect English grammar that Brown could not read. In no way did it match Brown's halting, sparsely worded repetitive speech. He was placed in custody in a state mental hospital because he was not competent to stand trial. In the meantime, both detectives were convicted for taking bribes from other jail inmates. No physical evidence connected Brown to the murder. The judge found the investigation “so shoddy,” he ordered that murder charges against Brown be dropped (Thompson, 2007).A woman was raped. Brown, a man “who is mentally retarded,” confessed and was given 35 years in exchange for pleading guilty. After spending 6 years in custody, he was exonerated through DNA, which identified the true perpetrator (Associated Press, 1997).A sheriff's deputy was murdered in his patrol car. Brown, age 15, “with an IQ of 57,” was arrested, shackled to the floor, beaten, and threatened with the electric chair until he confessed. No physical evidence tied him to the crime. A confidential informant led investigators to focus on a sheriff's deputy, who later admitted that he had killed his fellow officer (de Vise & De Marzo, 2002; McMahon & Friedberg, 2002).Burrell, “an illiterate man with mild retardation” was actually one of two persons in totally different settings who were convicted of murdering the same elderly couple. Both ended up on death row. After officials recently reexamined the case, they agreed that it should never have been brought to a grand jury. Scattered bits of evidence only complicated the case. For example, Burrell's ex-wife told an officer that her ex-husband did the crime. She said it to gain full custody of their son. In addition, an obscure affidavit from an earlier prosecutor stated that he moved the cases along to avoid embarrassing the sheriff at that time (Barrouquere, 2003; Baughman & Guarisco, 2001).A man was stabbed to death. Police arrested 16-year old Chestnut after observing a fresh cut on his hand and blood on his clothes. After 15 grueling hours of questioning, the teenager confessed to the murder. After 6 months in jail, Chestnut was excluded as the killer by DNA (Richissin, 1998).A homeless man was beaten to death. Coleman, 17, later confessed to the murder. According to his lawyer, this teenager “with learning disabilities” would have “confessed to anything.” Five teenagers in all were charged and held in custody for 6 weeks before one of them, the true perpetrator, confessed and pled guilty (Sorkin, 1990).Cullipher was hanging out with friends when one of them was crippled by a gunshot wound to the head. After hours of intense questioning, the 16-year-old “learning disabled” teenager confessed and was convicted at trial. Later, the victim was caught on videotape saying he actually shot himself during a game of Russian roulette. A judge threw out the conviction and prosecutors refused to retry the case (Roberson & Lenz, 2001).The victim was shot with an antique ball-and-cap pistol. The killers pulled out the victim's teeth, sliced off his tattoos, lashed him to a steel beam, and threw him into the river. After his body was recovered, Delay, “a man with mental retardation,” was questioned and he confessed to the crime. A bystander who witnessed the crime finally overcame his fear and told police what really happened. Charges against Delay were dismissed (Fry, 1993).This man “with autism” was questioned about a bank robbery. He signed a confession, but no record was made of the actual interrogation. Interestingly, Fitzpatrick, a man with remarkable weaknesses and strengths, possessed an uncanny knack for recall. He wrote a detailed 6-page summary of what went on between him and the interrogating police chief. In his summary, Fitzpatrick said that the chief “told me that he would talk to me like a father to a son. So I said, ‘Okay, Dad.’” Five months later, the real bank robber confessed. He stated that he could not stand seeing a person with an intellectual disability go to prison for a crime he, a serial bank robber, committed (O'Brien, 1999).Gayles, 18, with “an IQ of 71,” underwent 36 hours of interrogation before finally confessing to the rape and murder of a 12-year-old girl. He signed a typed confession that he could not read. Two weeks after his arrest, DNA evidence exonerated Gayles and he was released (Kresnak, 2001).Goldwire, 28, “a man with a developmental disability with autistic features,” was battered by questions from three high-pressure detectives, and he worked and worked on his answers until each one was what the officers to hear. After hours in such a pressure was charged with his to death and was for a year and both the prosecutors and that the confessions were that a state judge released the man he was we had the of the perfect for false said the claimed that the detectives the for questioning with and are for an is the detectives who the confession man “with mental and an IQ of was for the rape and murder of an girl on night. no physical evidence connected the man to the murder, he confessed to and the young girl in her DNA found on the victim was through the DNA excluded and identified the real killer this man “with learning disabilities and mental retardation” that two other him in a woman's rape and murder. In his confessed to being their He spent 6 years in prison before the real perpetrator confessed to the crime (Richissin, up this “with mental retardation” for questioning on a After 2 of intense questioning, confessed that she was with who had a man and raped the and killed them she as All were years later, DNA that and the were The same evidence the real who confessed was shot for to over the to a a The perpetrator threw the after the crime and into an of a car. Two “with mild retardation,” and were for the crime. refused to on the other in after 6 hours of intensive pressure and and told the detectives that he only the went into the a death months later, the was for DNA, and Both have been man was questioned about a rape, and murder of a girl. IQ had been at in the 70s,” under pressure by finally I did was her After years on death was when DNA identified the real After the confession was one of the top in to go out on his own and He found evidence showing that was when the crime was After his his ordered him to In addition, one of the top refused to the conviction and was for both and two of and crime & was brought to the police and questioned a who was raped and beaten into a that she could not the signed a confession that was out by was “a who could not or the confession was DNA his and he was released was on the of a and a of citizens out for the and of the days later, the police “a and a person of of the In a officers identified a an and a signed The the it and that he would for his at the At the he that he was the case. He for of evidence against the in the this was by his own in the of the him as his years later, a to the who had been threatened to death he out about finally He the real killer a was brought to the police and of beating to death his son. The baby was the of a police officer in the same After his confession was a public defender it by and finally the judge to do the The officers about what to They led him to believe he could go he said he the child by the the officers to as to who said The judge found that what the officers told him to The judge called the investigation a He the confession and that it was not the officers had or no the case was After years in jail for trial, was a the judge made one that the police is taking to He said, to this I was not that it be police to videotape the of a After to investigators on the he his a man with from to and unable to was up and questioned about three and a He confessed to all of them and was convicted in he was to the blood and in the case. Later, the and DNA connected the crimes to back at the interrogation it that by the A by the police to the case stated that the have he was had they to do the man was in the real perpetrator in and murdering other & claimed that told them about a rape and murder of a woman that only the killer could They claimed that led them to the murder DNA excluded him and identified the real was released after years in prison a girl was a man with an of was up and questioned for He signed a confession he could not read. in jail, he for his and After spent months in jail, the real killer confessed. After a year and a was released “with an IQ of was convicted of and murdering an elderly woman. He confessed after a state trooper him that his were found at the murder After years in was excluded by DNA evidence the sheriff in a that confessed to the of a in their He a as an The confession came after hours of interrogation and of the death According to a public defender and was and that the interrogation would and he would be to that was “learning all of his had intellectual and was him to to the sheriff's that two teenagers on a crime from turned out to be the real DNA connected them to the crime. The public defender and a for the wrote a of all that in the case, which has been in the of the of & days after a man was beaten to death in a police officers up a man with who confessed to the crime. After spent days in jail, the confession and the real killer was a of from such and go on to other not He was He went before the and the police of the case. According to the lawyer, had no police record or of had had only with the him to them, which led to the did not He said that he would like to see “an with the mentally officers in questioning such The from the to back All this led to a match in the with to Later, the chief of police to an investigation of officers in case “with an IQ between and was one of teenagers who confessed to and murdering a student. said that he signed the confession he could go He After 15 years in was by DNA and was & Mills, 28, was when he was from an fire that killed two elderly man “with and mild retardation” was for weeks for and he was in a police him and him to a on a of the fire with and No other evidence tied him to the He was charged with two of murder, two of second-degree murder, and Two years later, a threw out the confession was murdered. Police up 16-year-old on the of a The “who is mentally retarded,” was questioned by the police for hours before confessing to the crime. at school one that was with them at the time of the crime. this he spent 2 full years in jail before the charges were dropped & Tucker, 1997).A woman was raped and murdered. Police the neighborhood and found in with an IQ of was in for pressure in the interrogation the man asked he could go he to the was as a He spent months in jail before DNA that the blood on the was his A after the real killer was identified and convicted a was to death with a in her found her with She was to the hospital but died 5 hours The case until a it in he and only on “a man with mental retardation,” who in the The a interrogation for there was no in no judge or jury actually and what really went on in that interrogation the confession that was by the and signed by was According to the confession, into the victim's with his and and found the woman He up to her pulled her and to of her she He and her to death with his and had to be a beating because blood was on the and the no physical evidence tied him to the crime, his signed confession a jury to him guilty. was to In a judge the In the the was out on to live at with an to him at all In the murder was A on false confessions the on the the it by and it to The jury for hours and At and after spending years in he was a man a child was and murdered. came a that a man with mental retardation,” could be the The police did to get out of two and months later, was brought in for a interrogation that finally up like a with his against his and said, say want me The the chief called a and that the case was was years later, a serial killer confessed to an that he killed the child. was but the police chief by the a the chief the to the who had his own The was from to a man with disabilities who at the confessed to being during the murder of a girl and to of the He confessed even he and his to days before the murder and 8 days after her body was the refused to the charges for 15 The legal of a for out on about the a of on elderly in a public for police arrested this with and During the interrogation, he signed confessions for three and was charged with Police told him he could go he signed was to The to have DNA tests but he was for of before the tests could be years later, DNA tests was of all the crimes and he was The the conviction by a in a on was shot in the back of the head. the police up on the police a full the police the confession to the it was that had “an of weeks later, the real and two were charged with the murder. was not released until judge that 50 and “a man with an IQ of should be The judge claimed that a high-pressure into confessing that he his to death in he could not signed a confession and was he and said he to for and to her into it by his around her He said he did not to kill He was convicted for and to years to of the in mentioned his the that mental should have been to all who were in the case. No physical evidence connected him to the murder. stated later that the said are they to the man with the or the man on mentally retarded,” and an from this woman in prison for 4 years for confessing to the murder of her The confession was after hours of interrogation. claimed that the police to her go she confessed. Later, it was that there were in the confession that did not with the way the murder really happened. came DNA evidence showing that two were the confessed that the murder in the the blood of all three was found in other rooms. of this prosecutors dropped the case called him “a he was questioned about the of a man “with an IQ of confessed to all of A judge ordered his after DNA evidence excluded him from all the His claimed that he confessed to detectives he to & “a man with mental retardation,” he was at a They asked him to come to with a the detectives described to the murder of a woman who had been raped and with a They him and told him they had evidence to show that he was the to believe that would he and for his intense During the he went into a His pleading and as he described how he killed the woman. Later, the police connected the crime to the real perpetrator with the of DNA a on 5 years to the after the detectives him at and their like their father did for They did it even they were and mentally died in his the police was to a state trooper and to confess to him by his hand over the and of his The the of a lawyer, up and the of a trial During the trial, the the The jury to Age confessed to murdering a His that the was with and was the of a man with an IQ of to gain DNA were by the state In the stated had not the legal to and that that tests could show has committed the were the on the case and produced a DNA that excluded identified the real who was in prison for conviction 23-year-old man “with mental retardation” the for crime mentioned by police three two an rape, two actual two and murder. He was for murder and was to death. In was only days from when a fellow death the that was about to a For the 17 a of and for At a of DNA tests by the that was was and died. “a man who is mentally retarded,” was up and to the police he was and beaten with a by investigators and told that he would never see his and child he did not After 15 months in jail, a judge threw out confession, that he signed a confession he could not read. Later, a confessed to the crime & woman was in her on a the police a with and mental A of the interrogation how detectives the they to They that he said them, could all go Later, a judge into pleading guilty by him that he went to trial he could be to death. pled guilty. Later, the real time for a murder in confessed to the murder of the woman in later, the In his he said, is that the only this mentally man about this crime were the given to him by investigators who pressure to the case out a fire in an they found the body of a woman. She died from a wound and was strangled. Later, a 16-year-old was up and questioned until he confessed. He said that a man and had been with him. They were coerced into confessing as it was discovered that the year old was in police custody at the time of the crime, the other two to for the murder of the woman. a man “with IQ who or other his spent years in prison before DNA tests excluded him. After being said his years behind had been from him and with him. The he said, made him want to in his and his & me do the I the by off the she along with a of the in of Interestingly, we had to and she could from her and over what to these 53 persons with intellectual and developmental but such to the to these of

Intellectual and developmental disabilities, 2008 · doi:10.1352/2008.46:468-479