https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafael_Robb
Rafael Robb (born October 31, 1950) is an economist and former professor at the University of Pennsylvania who confessed to
killing his wife in 2006. ... Robb specialized in
game theory
Robb pleaded guilty in November 2007 to
voluntary manslaughter in the high-profile death of his wife,
Ellen Gregory Robb. She had been bludgeoned to death with a chin-up bar.[SUP]
[6][/SUP] Her death occurred during a December 22, 2006, argument over the couple's divorce and the plans for their home in
King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.[SUP]
[7][/SUP] Robb pleaded guilty on November 26, 2007, and resigned from the university, where he had been on leave since his arrest in January 2007.[SUP]
[8][/SUP] Robb was sentenced on November 19, 2008, to a 5- to 10-year prison term, though the prosecutor asked for a sentence of 10 to 20 years
http://www.econport.org/econport/req...etheory_intro1
Well, how do we know what is best for the two convicts? Let's go ahead and compare the outcomes achieved with each action. For Joe, a confession gets him 10 years in prison if Crow also confesses. Instead, if Joe confesses and Crow does not then Joe only gets a year in prison. An alternative situation for Joe is of not confessing. Well, if Joe does not confess and Crow does, then Joe lands up in jail for 25 years, and if Crow does not confess and Joe does then Joe spends three years behind bars.
Comparing the outcomes we see that confessing is better for Joe if Crow also confesses. Furthermore, confessing is better for Joe if Crow does not confess! So, no matter what Crow does, confessing to the crime is better for Joe. A similar argument holds for Crow. So a solution to this game is that both Joe and Crow decide to confess simultaneously and end up with ten years each in prison. For your information a formal term for a solution like this is "dominant strategy Nash equilibrium."