Can you imagine that somewhere an accident occurs or a murder is committed and you know that you weren’t present, but you were arrested for it, subsequently interrogated and finally, on camera/tape, you’d confess that you were the perpetrator? My feeling is that you will answer this with a convincing no. Why would you say to have committed a crime when this is not the case? After seeing The Confession Tapes you will start to doubt whether you would react differently.
During its seven episodes six different cases are shown. Various murder cases, a car accident and a girl who perishes during a fire. And in all those cases, the convicts claim that they eventually confessed under pressure, because they wanted to leave the police after hours of interrogation. In not all cases you’ll be convinced they are really innocent and because of that you sometimes understand the choice of the jury. There are a number though, where you believe the convicts. There is even a case where the convicted person could finally be released thanks to DNA evidence, but who no longer had any confidence in the legal system and eventually pleaded guilty in order to get his freedom back.
With such impactful stories this is not a series that you’ll want to “binge watch”, but it is a well made documentary series that makes you think. Can the human mind ultimately be influenced in such a way that you “forget” that a confession can mean the end of your life as you know it? In the various episodes the cases are discussed extensively, often together with the suspect, family, jury and lawyers and attorneys. It shows that the legal system ultimately revolves around procedures and decisions made by people and that (unfortunately) mistakes are made at the expense of the freedom of innocent people.
The Confession Tapes is available through Netflix
