Graduation Year
2026
Date of Submission
12-2025
Document Type
Open Access Senior Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Government
Reader 1
Michael Fortner
Reader 2
Marcie Gardner
Terms of Use & License Information
Rights Information
© 2025 Rohit R Iyer
Abstract
This research focuses on false confessions by juveniles in the United States justice system. False confessions are statements made by suspects during investigations in which individuals provide statements to investigators admitting to a crime in which they had no part. In these cases, individuals often spend years, if not the entirety, of their lives behind bars for crimes they did not commit. False confessions are the result of a number of systemic factors that will be discussed in this paper. While relatively rare, they are one of the largest blemishes in the U.S. justice system. Juveniles – individuals below the age of 18 – are a group that require special protections under the law due to their age and relative cognitive immaturity compared to the general population. This paper sets out to provide explanations for the phenomena of juvenile false confessions before ultimately providing a clear legislative proposal to prevent such miscarriages of justice from occurring in the future.
Recommended Citation
Iyer, Rohit R., "Policy Recommendations to Reduce False Confessions by Juveniles in Wrongful Conviction Cases" (2026). CMC Senior Theses. 4305.
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/4305
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Courts Commons, Criminal Law Commons, Criminal Procedure Commons, Development Studies Commons, Evidence Commons, Human Rights Law Commons, Juvenile Law Commons, Law and Politics Commons, Law and Psychology Commons, Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility Commons
