Dear trindigo-ga;
Thank you for allowing me an opportunity to answer your interesting question.
Having spent more than 20 years in law enforcement I can tell you that
a large number of the people who are convicted of crimes do indeed
deny their guilt even after their trial and some well beyond their
sentences even until their deaths. I think you will be surprised
though at who does it more often.
The reasons for denial are many and vary widely depending on the
circumstances. Let me provide you with some examples that I am very
familiar with:
INNOCENCE:
No. The judicial system is not foolproof. Let us not forget that
innocent people ?do? get convicted of crimes that they did not commit.
Some people who deny guilt are doing it because they are actually
innocent ? period.
REPUTATION:
Some people convicted of crimes (who are actually guilty) simply don?t
want other people to know what they?ve done because they don?t want to
harm their reputations. Of these there are usually two categories:
Liars, who want to deceive others into believing that they aren?t as
rotten as they really are (occasionally so they can gain people?s
trust and continue to take advantage of them), and the truly repentant
who?d rather not disclose the truth about their misdeeds out of bona
fide shame.
SELF-PRESERVATION
Some convicts deny their guilt because of the derogatory public
opinion of the accusations. In many prisons, for example, offenders
who victimize children are routinely segregated from the general
population and kept in protective custody for fear that other inmates
might kill them. We?ve all seen interviews on TV where a particularly
notorious killer brags about his horrific misdeeds, but let me assure
you that he doesn?t walk the exercise yard and openly espouse those
claims to his fellow inmates while they have physical access to him.
If he did, he wouldn?t live very long. Even some of the most hardened
criminals have limits to what they will tolerate in terms of those who
harm innocent people who cannot defend themselves.
NECESSITY/FEAR
Many times people deny criminal accusations well after the fact
because they know that they must someday return to their community.
They fear reprisal against themselves, their families and their
property. Because we have become such a litigious society, certainly
some denials are motivated by criminals? attempts to protect their
assets. Denial of the crime is tantamount to denial of civil liability
and as such, admission of guilt is a welcome mat for a civil lawsuit.
LACK OF REMORSE
You know what? Some folks are just plain bad. There is an element of
society out there that has no morals, no conscience, and no remorse.
Some of these people would deny committing a crime even if they were
caught doing it on live television with their name tattooed on their
foreheads. Many of these people are not sorry for their actions, they
don?t care what you think of them, and they place the burden of proof
on society to legally convict and sentence them. The bottom line is,
if they never admit guilt, there?s always a remote chance of
vindication on appeal or release on a technicality.
REDUCED SENTENCE
Denial of guilt is almost always a recommended legal strategy. Many
people deny guilt to keep open the possibility that they might be
granted early release, pardon, or a commutation of a sentence.
Legally, a person convicted of a crime is forever after considered to
a 100% certainty as the offender. Logically however the question will
always remain open, even if a jury of his peers convicts him, unless
the person actually ?tells us? publicly that he committed the crime.
After all, in many cases he is the only one who really knows. Even the
guilty would like at least ?some people? to think he is innocent and
so some continue the not guilty act beyond their conviction.
DISASSOCIATION
Some criminals flatly deny their guilt in an effort to disassociate
themselves with the crime. They don?t not want the notoriety that
comes with the association and believe that in time, by virtue of the
fact that they have always denied their guilt, the public too will
come to believe it.
IMPAIRMENT
Face it. Some criminals have mental problems. A segment of criminals
deny guilt because they actually believe, due to some mental illness,
they weren?t present at the time and didn?t commit the crime. Some
convicts have literally blocked the horrendous acts from their
memories altogether and really cannot recall the events. Others suffer
from paranoia and swear that there is a conspiracy to convict them of
the crimes, while in other rare instances a few have reported that
what they are accused of having done was mandated to them by a
controlling power (religious doctrine, supernatural powers, voices,
etc) and as such their crimes are exempt from the prosecution of mere
mortals.
HOPE
Some people are just holding out; hoping against hope that the matter
will just somehow go away. Perhaps new evidence will surface allowing
them to find a new loophole out of the situation, or some revelation
will emerge discrediting their accusers or disqualifying certain
evidence against them. Maybe they are hoping to outlive witnesses so
they can have the final word or hope that someone else involved will
end up being considered the primary offender.
As for your question about which kind of crime has the highest
population of prisoners who always deny their accusation? Who knows?
Oddly enough murderers frequently admit their guilt either because
they work out some kind of deal with the prosecution to avoid the
death penalty or life imprisonment or because they simply want to put
the issue behind them. Being a murderer is a tough burden to bear and
most murderers are guilty of crimes of passion ? that is to say, they
let their emotions get the best of them for a brief and violent moment
and spontaneously lashed out at someone. Most will tell you that if
they had it all to do over again they would not make the same decision
again. The same is true with sex offenders. Most of them are ashamed
of their actions, receive counseling in prison and as a requirement of
their parole must admit their guilt and come to terms with the damage
they have done.
My own experience is that the people who deny guilt are the people who
commit minor offenses. They hope that there is little or no proof to
substantiate their arrest or if they are arrested and convicted that
they can deny their guilt based on the fact that ?everyone does it?.
The school of thought here is that the minor crimes are ?no big deal?
? ?everyone speeds a little?, ?everybody drinks and drives once in a
while?, and ?everyone fudges the tax man a little?. Since these crimes
are seemingly minor and much more prevalent, clearly it is the
misdemeanor offender who denies his guilt much more often than any
other criminal defendant.
I hope you find that my research exceeds your expectations. If you
have any questions about my research please post a clarification
request prior to rating the answer. Otherwise I welcome your rating
and your final comments and I look forward to working with you again
in the near future. Thank you for bringing your question to us.
Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga
INFORMATION SOURCES
Over 20 years professional experience in law enforcement |
Clarification of Answer by
tutuzdad-ga
on
24 Nov 2003 18:39 PST
The term ?Empirical? suggests mere evidence as opposed to necessarily
factual data. (Empirical: Based on the results of observation and
experiment only.)
The term ?Research? suggests an end result that is a clinical truth,
or, at a minimum, results leading one to believe that the data is
predominantly based on fact. (Research: A course of critical or
scientific inquiry)
I can provide some ?empirical evidence? supporting portions of my
answer beyond what my years of actual experience have shown me, but
denial in itself is such a multifaceted and complicated human reaction
so as to make formal findings on the issue unlikely. The issue appears
to be surrounded by complexities not the least of which are
conflicting definitions (what exactly "is" denial?) and recidivism
(learned how and when to successfully deny guilt after multiple
encounters with the legal system). This is especially true in sex
offenders and habitual offenders who ?learn? to perfect their denial
skills as they progress. Such a formal study would be difficult to
find (if it can be found at all) as it lacks both theory and empirical
data on important aspects, such as denial among those in certain
social circles, religious backgrounds, genders and so on. This of
course does not even begin to address those who are coerced into
admission or the phenomenon wherein one, for some other reason, admits
to crimes that they did not actually commit. Clearly these statistics
alone could render such a study wholly inaccurate if not properly
ferreted out.
The fact (and the problem here) is that we don?t know who among the
accused is denying his guilt or professing the truth. If we did, you
and I wouldn?t even be having this conversation about denial in the
first place. We would be discussing the question ?Why do people tell
lies?? - See what I mean? It is a very, very complex issue indeed and
seems, for the moment at least, only answerable in the form of years
of personal observation - which is basically what I could provide.
As for the statements about those who lack conscience or remorse and
supporting the statement about misdemeanor offenders frequently
denying guilt:
?Harris-Lingoes subscales are:
Ma1 Amorality (6 items)
Internal consistency is .29 for men and .32 for women; test-retest
reliability is .72 and .78 for men and women
High scorers may see others as selfish, dishonest, and opportunistic,
and use such rationalization to justify behaving in a similar way.
They tend to deny guilt. Males tend to have a history of alcohol abuse
and domestic violence, while females are more likely to have histories
of drug abuse and misdemeanor convictions?
BSCI INTERPRETATIONS OF THE MMPI2 CLINICAL SCALES
http://www.psychpage.com/objective/basic_interps_clinical_scales.htm
About sex offender denying, then admitting guilt as a prerequisite for
treatment or release (provides great statistics here on the various
forms of denial)
IPT LIBRARY
http://www.ipt-forensics.com/library/admission.htm
Supporting the statement that denial is a frequently practiced legal strategy:
?The system discourages reconciliation. The legal process has no place
for repentance or forgiveness. Indeed it encourages offenders to deny
their guilt and to focus on their own preoccupations.?
SWARTHMORE LECTURE 2000
http://cp.yahoo.net/search/cache?p=research+inmates+%22deny+their+guilt%22&ei=UTF-8&n=20&fl=0&url=FmmRyBeYGDIJ:www.woodbrooke.org/swarthmore/swarthmoore2000.rtf
?The adversarial court process encourages inmates to deny their guilt?
CIRCLE SENTENCING IN CANADA
http://www.bigjuicybrains.net/moody/sentencingcircles.pdf
This study supports the statement that a person would lie to prevent
his reputation from being soiled and also addresses those who justify
their crimes by suggesting that the incident does not fit the legal
criteria for the violation:
BUILDING IMAGE: THE PRESENTATION OF SELF
ACCOUNTING FOR A SPOILED IDENTITY
http://www.pineforge.com/newman4study/resources/identity.htm
I hope these provide some better insight
Regards;
Tutuzdad-ga
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