In General

• “A confession is the admission of guilt by the defendant of all the necessary elements of the crime of which he is charged, including the necessary acts and intent. An admission merely admits some fact which connects or tends to connect the defendant with the offense but not with all the elements of the crime.”

Green v. State, 304 N.E.2d 845, 848 (Ind. Ct. App. 1973), reh’g denied)(quoting State v. Masato Karumai, 126 P.2d 1047, 1052 (Utah 1942))

E.g., Orr v. State, 472 N.E.2d 627, 637(Ind. Ct. App. 1984), reh’g denied, trans. denied(citing Parsons v. State, 333 N.E.2d 871, 873(Ind. Ct. App. 1975))(“[The defendant’s] statements in which he simply stated that he had been drinking did not encompass all the elements of the crime, and were admissions rather than a confession.”)

E.g., Parsons v. State, 333 N.E.2d 871, 873 (Ind. Ct. App. 1975)(“[The defendant’s] statement that he was the driver of the automobile did not embrace all of the elements of the alleged offenses and, thus, was only an admission.”)

See Parsons v. State, 333 N.E.2d 871, 873 (Ind. Ct. App. 1975)(citing Green v. State, 304 N.E.2d 845, 848(Ind. Ct. App. 1973), reh’g denied))(“A confession must include all essential elements of the crime, whereas an admission merely admits some fact which tends to connect the defendant with the alleged offense.”)

See also Orr v. State, 472 N.E.2d 627, 637(Ind. Ct. App. 1984), reh’g denied, trans. denied(citing Green v. State, 304 N.E.2d 845, 848(Ind. Ct. App. 1973), reh’g denied))(“A confession must be sufficiently comprehensive so as to embrace all essential elements of crime.”)

See also Worthington v. State, 409 N.E.2d 1261, 1271(Ind. Ct. App. 1980), reh’g denied)(citations omitted)(“A confession is the admission of guilt by the defendant of all the necessary elements of the crime of which he is charged. Thus, an admission of facts composing the offense may constitute a confession.”)

• “An admission is an acknowledgment by the accused of certain facts which tend, together with other facts, to establish his guilt; while a confession is an acknowledgement of guilt itself. An admission, then, is something less than a confession and, unlike a confession . . . an admission is not sufficient in itself to support a conviction.”

Green v. State, 304 N.E.2d 845, 848 (Ind. Ct. App. 1973), reh’g denied)(quoting Wharton’s Criminal Evidence (13th ed.) § 663)

See also Trinkle v. State, 284 N.E.2d 816, 818 (Ind. 1972)(citing 23 C.J.S. Criminal Law § 816, p. 155)(“While it has been broadly stated that the terms ‘admission’ and ‘confession’ are interchangeable, the difference between a confession and an admission is that the former . . . is an acknowledgment of guilt while the latter is but an acknowledgment of some fact or circumstance in itself insufficient to constitute an acknowledgment of guilt, and tending only toward the proof of the ultimate fact of guilt.”)

Admissions compared to confessions: Role of the trier of fact

• Whether the fourth statement may be termed a confession is a close question. Generally speaking, such determination is for the jury.

Worthington v. State, 409 N.E.2d 1261, 1271(Ind. Ct. App. 1980), reh’g denied)(citing Shields v. State, 296 So. 2d 786, 792 (Ala. Crim. App. 1974), reh’g denied, cert. denied 296 So. 2d 793 (Ala. 1974))(emphasis added)