When Damon Thibodeaux confessed to the rape and murder of his 14-year old cousin Crystal Champagne in Louisiana in 1996, he had been subjected to an all-night interrogation and had been up the previous night searching for his cousin. DNA evidence later confirmed that Thibodeaux was innocent, but his false confession proved costly. Thibodeaux spent 15 years in solitary confinement on death row until his release.
False confessions occur with surprising frequency. The campaign group the Innocence Project estimates that up to a quarter of wrongful convictions in the US are a result of false confessions. In many situations like Thibodeaux’s, the suspect suffered from severe sleep deprivation during their police interviews.
A recent milestone study has provided evidence that shows a link between sleep deprivation and false confession. Eighty-eight study participants were asked to complete various computer tasks as part of a fake experiment. The participants later returned to complete more tasks, and then either slept or stayed awake all night. In the morning, the researchers falsely accused the participants of losing the data of the fake study by pushing the escape key. None of the participants had actually pressed the escape key or lost any data, but half of the sleep deprived participants agreed to sign a confession of guilt to losing the data, while only 18 per cent of the well-rested participants were willing to sign a confession. Legal experts predict that this study may be cited in future legal battles where false confession is believed to have occurred, as this is the first study to show a link between false confession and sleep deprivation.
Sleep deprivation has long been used as a tactic in police interrogations, but the practice has been outlawed in the UK after a rash of miscarriages of justice during the 1970s. But the US and many other countries do not have laws that prohibit sleep deprivation tactics.
To many, it might seem unbelievable that false confessions could occur with such frequency, but experts say that suspects often confess because they believe that the evidence will eventually prove their innocence. After being allowed to rest, these suspects often retract their confessions. But by then it is often too late as the police investigation changes course and the defense loses ground.
The study is not the perfect legal defense for false confessions in cases of sleep deprivation, but it is an important first step toward changing false confession trends and implementation of laws requiring interrogation suspects to be given a chance to sleep.
The Incompetence of the Colorado Springs Police
This week, Evan Spahlinger filed a lawsuit in Miami-Dade County. This lawsuit targets the companies that manufactured the electronic cigarette as well as the company that sold him the e-cigarette. Spahlinger claims that he was misled, since electronic cigarettes are constantly referred to as a safe alternative to traditional cigarettes.
The lawsuit alleges that Chipotle took steps to cover up a 
He came under the care of St. Joseph’s Hospital on the 18th of December last year. The reason for Blechinger seeking treatment is undisclosed. Court documents associated with the legal action state that Blechinger was under the care of one Dr. Alejandro J. Alvarado in March of 2015, and that on the very next day he was admitted to the emergency room at St. Joseph’s Hospital. It was at this time that a Dr. Corprew administered the injections to Blechinger’s neck. The plaintiff’s claim states that the injection was performed under non-sterile conditions and that an infection which damaged the nervous tissues of his spinal cord developed.
Along with other data, the defeat software detects steering and throttle input and changes fuel pressure, timing of ignition and circulation of exhaust fumes. The software permits the trick engines to emit drastically lower emissions when it senses the engine being emissions tested. Once they’ve completed testing and are back out on the road, the vehicles emit up to 40 times more contamination than permitted by law. The CEO of Volkswagen Group of America admitted to the installation of the software and being “dishonest.” About 500,000 Volkswagens made between 2009 and 2015 driven in the United States with 2.0-liter turbo-diesel engines have the software. Volkswagen says all of the affected vehicles are technically safe.
Unfortunately, Sharp’s lawsuit held no facts regarding gender-based discrimination from the NCAA, which was in addition to being nowhere near a plausible lawsuit against Kean University (according to Judge William Martini’s opinion).
Kentucky officials sued Purdue 