Dr. Frances E. Chapman, Assistant Professor at St. Jerome’s University at the University of Waterloo, examines false confessions, specifically by individuals who believe in their own guilt, deemed "coerced-internalized" false confessions, and the reasons behind this seemingly inexplicable phenomenon. Specifically, Dr. Chapman looks at police interrogations tactics which can elicit a false confession through coercive interview tactics.
With a focus primarily on the Billy Wayne Cope case in South Carolina, Dr. Chapman reviews the causes and impact of this unique type of false confessions, while also outlining several ways in which the police can safeguard against false confessions to prevent future miscarriages of justice. One of these methods, video recording of all interrogations, is often suggested by Innocence Canada as a method of reducing coerced false confessions.