On September 28th, Damon Thibodeaux, 38, became the 300th prisoner nationwide to have his conviction overturned based on DNA evidence, and the 18th death row prisoner freed based on such evidence according to the Innocence Project. Thibodeaux served 16 years in prison for a crime he did not commit, most of them on death row.

While the above numbers are startling, Thibodeaux was also one of the approximately 25% of wrongfully convicted defendants cleared by DNA evidence who made false confessions, admissions or statements to law enforcement officials.

He was convicted in 1997 and sentenced to death after he confessed to the July 19, 1996, rape and murder of his 14-year-old step-cousin, Crystal Champagne, in Westwego, near New Orleans. DNA testing later showed that he was not the murderer and that the victim had not been raped.

So why in the world would Thibodeaux or any innocent person confess to a crime they did not commit?

Studies have shown that the decision to confess is often seen as a way to avoid an immediate consequence, even though the confession likely increases the risk of incurring a future consequence. Other studies have found that those who are truly innocent naively believe that the truth will come out in a fair trial and that justice will prevail.

Personality traits can be another factor. Some people are simply more malleable and suggestible than others, allowing experienced interrogators to lead them into a false set of beliefs. Police have also been known to present false evidence or misinformation, thus increasing a person’s willingness to confess.

How do we decrease the number of false confessions? The Innocence Project believes the single best reform is the electronic recordings of interrogations from the moment Miranda rights are read to a suspect.

In 2003, Illinois became the first state to require that all police interrogations of suspects in homicide cases be recorded.

The Supreme Courts of Alaska and Minnesota have declared that, under their state constitutions, defendants are entitled as a matter of due process to have their custodial interrogations recorded.

Three hundred people have served a combined total 4,013 years in prison for crimes they didn’t commit. It’s long past time the rest of the states required the video recording of all interrogations.