ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the research conducted into cases of false confessions in the five Nordic countries Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Norway and Sweden. A number of models have been developed to further the understanding of false confessions. A review of the anecdotal cases also demonstrates how dangerous it is to rely on apparent 'special knowledge' of crime details presented by the prosecution at trial as evidence of the defendant's guilt. The work in false confessions was extended to witnesses and suspects interviewed at four city police stations in Iceland. Commentary is the only known case in Iceland where psychiatric and psychological evidence has been presented in court in a case of retracted confession. Typically, it is the inability of suspects to cope with the custodial and interrogative environment or that they are taking on a case for a peer which is crucial for understanding most false confessions. The international landscape involving false confessions and wrongful confessions is changing.
