Is offering a suspect a moral or psychological excuse for committing the crime the same as offering them a promise of leniency if they confess?

Jun 03, 2024

Social psychologists and other law enforcement critics suggest that during interrogation if the investigator offers the subject a moral or psychological excuse for committing the crime, it is tantamount to making a...

Responding to a False Confession Expert in Your Case

Apr 09, 2024

Oftentimes the defense will present a "false confession expert” to testify that the investigator obtained a coerced and/or false confession. We have published a number of articles describing the type of statements...

What Do False Confession Experts Say in Their Reports?

Nov 28, 2023

The following represents the type of observations, assessments and opinions Dr. Richard Leo (and other social psychologists) offer/include in their reports and testimony when they are acting on behalf of the defendant...

How do you respond to false confession experts presented by the defense? (updated Nov '23)

Oct 20, 2023

Over the years we have received a number of emails that have stated essentially the following:

I am an investigator with the (agency name). A few years ago a coworker and myself...

The Disingenuous Testimony from Social Psychologists About the Reid Technique

Jul 11, 2023

Richard Leo, and other false confession experts (oftentimes social psychologists), have testified that “there is a consensus in the scientific community that the techniques taught by the Reid method sometimes lead to...

A General Outline of Richard Leo's Testimony on False Confession Issues and Reid Responses

Jul 05, 2023

A General Outline of Richard Leo’s Testimony/Followed by Reid Responses

The following are examples of the testimony Richard Leo has made in a number of cases and our responses to his statements.

What False Confession Experts Say About the Reid Technique and Our Responses

Jun 16, 2023

The attached document, "What False Confession Experts, Defense Attorneys and Academicians Say About the Reid Technique and Our Responses," includes the following topics:

Clarifying Misrepresentations About Interrogation Techniques (updated May 2023)

May 19, 2023

Over the years social psychologists, defenses attorneys, and some academicians have
offered a number of criticisms of current law enforcement interrogation practices, and, in
particular, the Reid Technique. Some of...

The Truth About the Research Social Psychologists Use as the Basis for Testimony Regarding False and/or Coerced Confessions

Mar 06, 2023

The Truth About the Research Social Psychologists Use as the Basis for Testimony regarding False and/or Coerced Confessions

Social Psychologists, Defense Attorneys, Academicians, and Law Enforcement interrogation critics oftentimes refer to research...

Clarifying Misrepresentations About Law Enforcement Interrogation Techniques

Mar 01, 2018

Over the years social psychologists, defenses attorneys and some academicians have offered a number of criticisms of current law enforcement interrogation practices, and, in particular, the Reid Technique. Some of these criticisms...

Research Review: The lie, the Bluff and False Confessions

Jan 01, 2011

One of the most controversial aspects of criminal interrogation involves the use of trickery and deceit. While Federal and State Supreme Courts routinely uphold confessions that were obtained from interrogations during which...

Responding to Defense Experts' Characterization of Interrogation

May 01, 2010

In 1998 David Lykken wrote a book titled, "A Tremor in the Blood: The Uses and Abuses of the Polygraph Technique". In it, he advocated the use of his own "Guilty Knowledge...