#falseconfessions

- Cabel Willard (False confessions)

Sebastian and Atif were nineteen years old when the RCMP Mr. Big sting elicited confessions from them.  Their young age left them especially vulnerable to confessing falsely.  The Innocence Project gives a description of why youth are especially vulnerable to false confession.  There seems to be a slow and reluctant change underway in the American legal system in response to an increasing number of studies showing brain development is not complete until one reaches one's mid-twenties.  As our understanding evolves in light of current neuroscience research, our court systems will hopefully adjust their approach to dealing with young people, as seen in the 2012 Miller v. Alabama US Supreme Court decision.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) have long practiced an undercover technique known as Mr. Big, in which suspects are recruited to take part in fictitious criminal activities.  Through these activities, undercover RCMP officers build trust with the suspects, offering them tantalizing gifts of money and desirable experiences.  Eventually, the undercover officers add fear and intimidation to the mix, until confessions to unsolved crimes are elicited from the suspects.  Both the ethics of Mr. Big tactics and the veracity of resulting evidence have been under scrutiny.  In July 2014, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that there are limitations on admissibility of evidence obtained through Mr. Big operations.  As a result, several convictions from the past several decades may now be eligible for appeal, including the Rafay-Burns case.  In October 2014, a new appeal was filed for this case.