# Has a wrongdoer ever confessed to the media?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-wrongdoer-ever-confessed-to-the-media/808481>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [February 8, 2018, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-wrongdoer-ever-confessed-to-the-media/808481 "2018-02-08T23:38:49Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\
**Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-wrongdoer-ever-confessed-to-the-media/808481/1 "2018-02-08T23:38:49Z")

</div>

Has there ever been any instances of someone who did something wrong confessing the details of his or her misdeeds to the press? This can be any type of wrongdoing, financial, political, criminal, etc. The type of scenario I’m picturing is something like this. Something is being investigated and a possible suspect is being interviewed by someone like Anderson Cooper. Anderson asks the interviewee what his or her role was in whatever wrongdoing occurred. Instead of answering no comment or I had nothing to do with it or something similar, the person instead decides to detail his or her part in whatever happened and gives a blow by blow description of what went down. Has anything like that ever happened?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\
**Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-wrongdoer-ever-confessed-to-the-media/808481/2 "2018-02-08T23:47:18Z")

</div>

Edited to add. I’m not so much interested in someone who gives such an interview after things have already come out in court and they are just rehashing things that have already come out. I’m also not interested in someone that says yes, I may have done something, but wait till the court date for any details.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\
**Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-wrongdoer-ever-confessed-to-the-media/808481/3 "2018-02-09T01:39:54Z")

</div>

Less than a month ago, one[Brian Hawkins confessed on TV to a murder from 25 years ago, then turned himself in to the police.](https://coed.com/2018/01/13/who-is-brian-hawkins-unsolved-mystery-television-confession-info/)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![yearofglad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b782af/32.png) [@yearofglad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yearofglad)\
**Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-wrongdoer-ever-confessed-to-the-media/808481/4 "2018-02-09T03:01:12Z")

</div>

The HBO series The Jinx, about Robert Durst, _kind of_ fits what you’re looking for, although he appears to confess when he doesn’t believe he’s being taped. So maybe not. But worth pointing out, anyway.