History Main / FalseConfession

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** One episode featured the case of a man walking into a police station confessing to have murdered a doctor, carrying the revolver used to kill her as proof and sporting gunshot residue on his clothes. Turns out it was his wife that killed her. The man had a terminal illness and the couple [[AssholeVictim was swindled by the doctor into spending all their money in a non-working treatment]], causing the wife to kill her in a rage, leading the guy to discharge the gun someplace else to incriminate himself. [[TearJerker The episode ends with the man pleading to Stella that she arrest him instead seeing as he is about to die anyway, only for her to tell him she can't.]]

TakingTheHeat is a subtrope. Often the product of the JackBauerInterrogationTechnique.

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* One episode of ''Series/{{Columbo}}'' ended with a friend of the killer confessing. As the killer is dying of a brain tumor (and in fact, as a result of the tumor doesn't even remember that she's the killer), Columbo, who knows the truth and that the victim deserved it, gently points out that in the hands of a good defense attorney the evidence will show that the friend didn't do it. The man agrees, but says it will probably take a good six months of so before he'll go to trial, by which time the woman will be dead.

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* Subverted in ''Series/ThePractice''. A man named William Hinks is caught at the scene of the last of a series of brutal murders of women and confesses to all nine murders, but his confession includes incorrect details the police had given the press in order to weed out nut jobs. After almost being ruled out by an FBI profiler, Hinks speaks to a psychiatrist who comes to believe he's delusional and not a killer at all. Hinks insists he's guilty while Lindsey tries to prove his innocence, and she coaxes even more false details out of him on the stand. She posits that Hinks, chasing the notoriety of a serial killer, learnt of the location of the last murder via a police scanner, headed there and waited to be caught near the scene, whereas the prosecution argues that he was forced to rush his last murder, got caught and hit upon the idea of giving the impression of being a delusional man who merely thinks he's the killer. While they're awaiting the verdict, Lindsey gets the impression that the prosecutor's version of events is true, and Hinks tells her it is. However, the jury doesn't see through it and returns a not guilty verdict on all nine counts.

* ''Series/CriminalMinds'' featured this at least once.

* This may or may not have happened in an episode of ''Series/ThePractice''. A man confesses to being a serial killer and gives the police information on the killings that was known to the public, including incorrect details the police had leaked to the press in order to weed out nut jobs. The defense points to this as proof of his innocence, whereas the prosecution argues that he was forced to rush his last murder, barely got away, and hit upon the idea of making a false-sounding confession before the police started looking in his direction. He's acquitted and we never find out whether or not he really was the killer.

* ''Franchise/{{Predator}}: Race War'': Upon his arrest, serial killer Mark Towers tries to take credit for a string of ritual homicides actually committed by a Predator. He also claims some of the murders Ted Bundy admitted to were actually ''his''. A profiler sees right through Towers when shown the tape of this interview; "trophy-taking" isn't in his MO, he's just trying to create a media circus around him for attention. Towers gets what he wants, six life sentences and a rep anybody will respect, but [[spoiler:the Predator kills him in his cell, takes his skull as a trophy, and decides the supermax prison full of violent offenders is an ideal hunting ground]].

* One episode of ''Series/{{NUMB3RS}}'' involved Don finding out that he [[MiscarriageOfJustice arrested the wrong guy for a murder]] the previous year. The suspect didn't realize how weak the case against him actually was (to be fair, neither did Don), so he confessed and took a plea bargain so he'd at least have a shot at parole rather than go to trial and be locked up for life if found guilty. Don gets the conviction dismissed and the innocent man released as soon as they catch the real killer.

* ''Franchise/{{Predator}}: Race War'': Upon his arrest, serial killer Mark Towers tries to take credit for a string of ritual homicides actually committed by a Predator. He also claims some of the murders Ted Bundy admitted to were actually ''his''. A profiler sees right through Towers when shown the tape of this interview; "trophy-taking" isn't in his MO, he's just trying to create a media circus around him for attention. Towers gets what he wants, six life sentences and a rep anybody will respect, but [[spoiler:the Predator kills him in his cell -- and takes his skull as a trophy]].

* ''Franchise/{{Predator}}: Race War'': Upon his arrest, serial killer Mark Towers tries to take credit for a string of ritual homicides actually committed by a Predator. He also claims some of the murders Ted Bundy admitted to were actually ''his''. A profiler sees right through Towers when shown the tape of this interview; "trophy-taking" isn't in his MO, he's just trying to create a media circus around him for attention. Towers gets what he wants, six life sentences and a rep anybody will respect, but [[spoiler:the Predator kills him in his cell]].

* ''Franchise/{{Predator}}: Race War'': Upon his arrest, serial killer Mark Towers tries to take credit for a string of ritual homicides actually committed by a Predator. He also claims some of the murders Ted Bundy admitted to were actually ''his''. An FBI profiler sees right through Towers when shown the tape of this interview; "trophy-taking" isn't in his MO, he's just trying to create a media circus around him for attention and respect.

The possible reasons for the false confession are many. Perhaps the character is confessing because he [[MamaDidntRaiseNoCriminal knows or thinks one of his loved ones is really the criminal]] [[TakingTheHeat and is covering]]. Perhaps the character is mentally ill and is willing to confess to just about anything the police tell him to confess to. Perhaps the character just wants the publicity. And maybe, just maybe, the character actually thinks he committed the crime. Also, as real life interrogation tapes show, being questioned by the police can be a highly stressful experience. If made to go through it long enough, a suspect may confess just to end it, whether they're guilty or not. This can also be done sometime through PoliceBrutality.