Confession By Culprit

Confession by culprit, the acknowledgment by a criminal of the offence charged against him when charged by any person or called upon to plead to the indictment. A confession before trial, if given without any inducement of favour or threat of punishment, is evidence against the person charged even though he may be in custody (R. v. Best, (1909) 1 KB 692), and by the Criminal Justice Act, 1925 (c. 86), s. 12, replacing Indictable Offences Act, 1848, s. 18, and the Summary Jurisdiction Act, 1879, s. 13 (2), justices of the peace are directed to give an accused person 'clearly to understand that he has nothing to hope from any promise of favour, and nothing to fear from any threat which may have been held out to him' to make any confession of guilt. See ACCUSED.