LOL! "Usually"? How could you possibly know that?
Before Social Security, nursing homes, etc... when close relatives would observed and communicated their loved ones last thoughts, they would often “leak out” (Admit, poor choice of words). Also, a person that truly confesses would no doubt like to make right what they did wrong, especially law makers.
It would beholden to a Priest to entice a public leader to publicly renounce supporting that which you are repenting from. It would be a logical contrition of a leader who values his or her soul over the rebellious ideology they promoted.