The case of Stefan Kiszko casts a dark shadow over British justice. Totally unconnected to the murder of which he was convicted—that of a young girl Lesley Molseed—he spent 16 years in prison tormented as a sex-offender and suffering from what one expert described as ‘delusions of innocence’. As author Michael O’Connell explains, it was in fact the system by which he was ensnared which was suffering from ‘delusions of guilt’. Kiszko could not have been Lesley’s attacker as subsequently established by DNA and the medical fact that he could not produce sperm. But a false confession written for him by a corrupt police officer set in train proceedings from which he was never to recover, dying only a short time after his eventual release. In this book, Michael O’Connell investigates every small detail of the case with especial reference to the foibles of the lawyers, investigators and scientists involved, all of whom either missed or ignored the signs that should have pointed to an early discharge from a misguided prosecution. The book includes the participation of a prosecutor who went on to become Lord Chief Justice and a leading defence barrister who became Home Secretary before his elevation to the House of Lords. Everyone seems to have become caught up in the momentum originally fuelled by policing methods that are hopefully now long gone. The most detailed treatment available. Contains Kiszko’s original confession and retraction. Explains the points at which the case went wrong. Looks at the motivations of those involved.

In an ideal world, our beliefs would satisfy norms of truth and rationality, as well as foster the acquisition, retention, and use of other relevant information. In reality, we have limited cognitive capacities and are subject to motivational biases on an everyday basis. We may also experience impairments in perception, memory, learning, and reasoning in the course of our lives. Such limitations and impairments give rise to distorted memory beliefs, confabulated explanations, and beliefs that are elaborated delusional, motivated delusional, or optimistically biased. In this book, Lisa Bortolotti argues that some irrational beliefs qualify as epistemically innocent, where, in some contexts, the adoption, maintenance, or reporting of the beliefs delivers significant epistemic benefits that could not be easily attained otherwise. Epistemic innocence does not imply that the epistemic benefits of the irrational belief outweigh its epistemic costs, yet it clarifies the relationship between the epistemic and psychological effects of irrational beliefs on agency. It is misleading to assume that epistemic rationality and psychological adaptiveness always go hand-in-hand, but also that there is a straight-forward trade-off between them. Rather, epistemic irrationality can lead to psychological adaptiveness, which in turn can support the attainment of epistemic goals. Recognising the circumstances in which irrational beliefs enhance or restore epistemic performance informs our mutual interactions and enables us to take measures to reduce their irrationality without undermining the conditions for epistemic success.

The book is an interdisciplinary exploration of the nature of delusions. It brings together recent work in philosophy of mind, cognitive psychology and psychiatry, offering a comprehensive review of the philosophical issues raised by the psychology of normal and abnormal cognition.

A new perspective on the roles of psychopathology, confirmation bias, false confessions, the media and internet (amongst other causes) of unjust accusations. Putting lack of empathy at the fore in terms of police, prosecutors and others, it considers a wide range of other psychopathological aspects of miscarriages of justice. By looking at three high profile cases, those of Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito (Italy), Stefan Kiszko (UK) and Darlie Routier (USA)—the authors show that motive forces are a mind-set in which psychopathy (what they term ‘constitutional negative empathy’) may be present and the need to reinforce existing supposition or lose face plays a large part.

As she waits to give her statement in one of the interrogation rooms of Arcata Police Department, Abigale recites the same line over and over inside her head. I did not kill anyone. I did not kill anyone. But there's a trail of bodies, and it leads straight to her. The events that brought her to this very moment all point to one thing...her guilt. She must convince Detective Collins of her innocence, but how can she explain her ties to the victims, and the evidence that has her name written all over it? Then there's the mysterious Facebook profile. DarkHeart434. Who is DarkHeart434? And why does it seem like this person has all the answers, including the identity of the real murderer? As pieces of the puzzle start to come together, everything about Abigale's life begins to unravel-her past, her present...and even her self-proclaimed innocence.

Whose truth is the lie? Stay up all night reading the sensational psychological thriller that has readers obsessed, from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Too Late and It Ends With Us. #1 New York Times Bestseller · USA Today Bestseller · Globe and Mail Bestseller · Publishers Weekly Bestseller Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer on the brink of financial ruin when she accepts the job offer of a lifetime. Jeremy Crawford, husband of bestselling author Verity Crawford, has hired Lowen to complete the remaining books in a successful series his injured wife is unable to finish. Lowen arrives at the Crawford home, ready to sort through years of Verity’s notes and outlines, hoping to find enough material to get her started. What Lowen doesn’t expect to uncover in the chaotic office is an unfinished autobiography Verity never intended for anyone to read. Page after page of bone-chilling admissions, including Verity's recollection of the night her family was forever altered. Lowen decides to keep the manuscript hidden from Jeremy, knowing its contents could devastate the already grieving father. But as Lowen’s feelings for Jeremy begin to intensify, she recognizes all the ways she could benefit if he were to read his wife’s words. After all, no matter how devoted Jeremy is to his injured wife, a truth this horrifying would make it impossible for him to continue loving her.

Excerpt from Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions, Vol. 2 A forest huge of spears and thronging helms Appear'd, and serried shields, in thick array. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.