False confessions seemed to me like an open and shut case… they rarely existed. I thought that no logical person would be able to confess to a heinous crime like murdering their own mother. However, some deliberation tells a unique story.
I may be the biggest ‘The Wire’ fan of all time, or at least on campus, which means I’ve watched the Reid technique in action for a whole lot of time. As well as an in-depth look into the reactions that this technique garners. What I found over time is that regardless of guilt or of innocence, the situation is tense, anxiety-ridden, and thus, extremely misleading. Many-a-times, I felt completely convinced of the guilt of a party, when I was so incredibly wrong. While this is fault on my part, it’s also due to the sentiments that we all hold surrounding what guilt ‘looks like’. I decided to think more critically about this, placing myself in the hot seat. I sweat easily, I have terrible eye contact skills, I struggle with articulation under pressure, I have trouble confronting authority, and I cannot withstand shouting. Where did that leave me… likely with a false confession.
One of the biggest strategies employed by officers who use the Reid technique is the idea of maximization and minimization. This is where they leave no space for arguing for innocence, yet leave too much space to argue against innocence. Essentially it leads you in one direction based on the hunch of the interrogator and often sprinkles in the notion that they have irrefutable evidence of your guilt. When it feels like the full force of the law is CONVINCED, with evidence, that you are guilty, all it takes is a little bit of motivation- “it’ll fare better for you”.
Officers being conscious of tampering and incriminating the suspects is pivotal to a fairer justice system. Full recordings of the interrogation should also be mandatory in order to rule out omissions of unfair practice.
An example of a false confession that highlights a large issue with the Reid technique is Brendan Dassey’s confession. Brendan Dassey was a part of two of the most vulnerable groups to false confessions at the time. He was a teenager and has a learning disability. This led to his false confession of both rape and murder. To this day, although evidence supports his exoneration, he is in jail.
I really like how you put yourself in the position of someone being interrogated, and explained how easy it would be to confess falsely.
I agree with the idea that complete recordings of interrogations be available to the judge, jury, and defense. Withholding access to this full recording or failure to make a complete recording should count as failure to turn over evidence to the defendants. In addition, the police have to develop more effective methods of deriving confessions without contaminating the interviewee. Wrongful convictions are a significant example of the failures of the criminal justice system, and being more efficient in procuring confessions is crucial to righting those wrongs.