Thirteen years after five boys, 14-16 years old, were convicted of the assault and rape of a female jogger in New York City's Central Park based solely on their confessions, Matias Reyes, who was not a subject in the original investigation, confessed to being the actual rapist. His confession was corroborated by DNA evidence from semen found on the victim's body and socks. The five boys initially convicted of the crime had their convictions vacated in 2002. The features of this case, which are characteristic of countless other cases, reveal a chain of three risks for wrongful convictions: the targeting of innocent people for intensive interrogations based on judgments of deception that are often erroneous; interrogation techniques that can cause people to confess to crimes they did not commit; and the difficulties posed for police, attorneys, judges, and juries in recognizing false confessions once they occur. The risks inherent in this chain of events suggest the absence of adequate safeguards in the criminal justice system. Confessions obtained through interrogation without any persuasive independent evidence of guilt must be carefully scrutinized. This requires being able to evaluate the interrogation techniques used based on the video-audio taping of every interrogation session that produced a confession. When the interrogation techniques observed involve coercive, intimidating, stressful, and suggestive behaviors by the interrogator, fact-finders in the case should recognize the high risk of a false confession, particularly when no independent evidence exists to corroborate the confession. 48 references