Can Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment Help Us Distinguish between True and False Confessions?

Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law, Vol. 9, p. 231, 2011

23 Pages Posted: 14 Mar 2012

See all articles by Rinat Kitai-Sangero

Rinat Kitai-Sangero

Zefat Academic College; Zefat Academic College

Date Written: March 13, 2012

Abstract

Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment is also a story about confessions. Raskolnikov, who committed a double murder, and Nikolay, an innocent suspect, each confesses to the same crime. An analysis of Raskolnikov’s and Nikolay's confession demonstrates the complexity of motives that drive the guilty and the innocent alike to confess and points to the distinction between true and false confessions. Finally this novel supports the conclusion that the accused should be required to provide significant details of the crime as a requirement for relying on his or her confession.

Suggested Citation

Kitai-Sangero, Rinat, Can Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment Help Us Distinguish between True and False Confessions? (March 13, 2012). Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law, Vol. 9, p. 231, 2011, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2021097

Rinat Kitai-Sangero (Contact Author)

Zefat Academic College ( email )

11 Jerusalem St.
Zefat, 1320611
Israel

Zefat Academic College

11 Jerusalem Street
Zefat
Israel

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