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24 Psych., Crime & L. 1 (2018)

handle is hein.journals/pcyceadl24 and id is 1 raw text is: PSYCHOLOGY, CRIME & LAW, 2018 R e VOL. 24, NO. 1, 1-13 https://doi.org/10.1080/1068316X.2017.1351968 Taylor & Francis Group Beliefs about secondary confession evidence: a survey of laypeople and defense attorneys Kylie N. Keya, Jeffrey S. Neuschatzb, Brian H. Bornsteinc, Stacy A. Wetmored, Katie M. Luechtb, Kimberly S. Dellapaolerac and Deah S. Quinlivane 'Department of Psychology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA; bDepartment of Psychology, The University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, AL, USA; cDepartment of Psychology, University of Nebraska - Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA; dDepartment of Psychology, Butler University, Indianapolis, IN, USA; 'Florida Southern College, Lakeland, FL, USA ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY We surveyed students, community members, and defense attorneys Received 19 February 2017 regarding beliefs about secondary confession evidence (i.e. when a Accepted 29 June 2017 third party tells authorities that a person has confessed to him or her) from jailhouse informants and other sources. Results KEYWORDS indicated that laypeople perceive secondary confessions as less Scondar confessts; ror credible than other types of evidence (e.g. forensics, DNA, perceptions; defense eyewitness testimony), and they are knowledgeable about factors attorneys; incentives that may influence the veracity of secondary confessions, such as incentives or previous testimony. However, they underestimated or were uncertain about how persuasive secondary confessions would be to themselves or other jurors. Compared to laypeople, defense attorneys were more sensitive about issues affecting the reliability of secondary confessions. Secondary confessions, or admissions of a person's guilt by a third party, are frequently utilized by the legal system for prosecutorial information and are considered common practice in many different kinds of cases (Mazur, 2002; Natapoff, 2011; Rappold, 2005). They are especially frequent when there is little other evidence available to the prosecu- tion (Cassidy, 2004; Elliot, 2003), which is ironic given that the veracity of secondary con- fessions is questionable at best. Prosecutors are allowed to offer incentives such as reduced sentences in exchange for information (Giglio v. United States, 1972; United States v. Singleton, 1998), despite the U.S. Supreme Court repeatedly indicating that provid- ing incentives is motivation for the informant to falsify secondary confessions. Because prosecutors benefit from informant information, they are unlikely to subsequently prose- cute the informant for perjury (lying under oath), which leaves informants with much to gain and little fear of repercussions (Bloom, 2002). The recidivism rate is higher for jail- house informants than regular prisoners (L.A. Grand Jury Report, 1990), which may suggest that informants have less concern for future incarceration because they have a proven escape plan. CONTACT Kylie N. Key kylie.key@gmail.com - Department of Psychology, University of Oklahoma, 455 W. Lindsey Street, Dale Hall Tower, Room 705, Norman, OK 73019-2007, USA 0 Supplemental data for this article can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1080/1068316X.201 7.1351968 © 2017 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group

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