Historically, confessions were often obtained by which means?

• A. Not admissible.
• B. Voluntary with no coercion.
• C. Casual questioning.
• D. Often obtained via promises, threats, brutality.

Answer: (D)

Coercive interrogation practices were historically used to extract confessions. Promises of leniency, threats of harsher punishment, and even brutality were common tools to pressure a suspect into admitting guilt. Because these methods push a person to confess, they often produce statements that are not reliable reflections of actual guilt, yet they were a frequent route for obtaining confessions in the past. This is why the described means is the best explanation: it captures the historical pattern of how confessions were commonly obtained.

Not admissible would be inaccurate because many coerced confessions were admitted in court; voluntary with no coercion reflects an ideal that rarely matched historical practice; casual questioning is less likely to yield formal confessions, which are typically the result of more deliberate interrogation efforts.