Why teens confess to crimes they didn't commit | Lindsay Malloy

Summary

This talk by forensic developmental psychologist Lindsay Malloy examines the alarming prevalence of false confessions among juveniles in the legal system. Highlighting cases like Brendan Dassey's, she explains how youth are particularly vulnerable to coercive interrogation tactics, often resulting in wrongful convictions. Malloy stresses the need for specialized training for law enforcement, mandatory legal representation for juveniles during interrogations, and broader public awareness to prevent such injustices and better protect young suspects' rights.

Takeaways

• 😢 Tyler Edmonds, Bobby Johnson, Davontae Sanford, Marty Tankleff, Jeffrey Deskovic, Anthony Caravella, and Travis Hayes served 89 years for murders they didn't commit, due to false confessions obtained during their teenage years.
• 👩‍🔬 The speaker is a forensic developmental psychologist who studies how children function in a legal system designed for adults.
• 😞 Brendan Dassey, a 16-year-old with an IQ around 70, was subjected to a high-pressure police interrogation, leading to a false confession and his conviction for murder and sexual assault.
• 📉 False confessions were present in approximately 25 percent of wrongful convictions later overturned by DNA evidence, indicating a systemic issue.
• 🧠 Juveniles are particularly vulnerable to false confessions due to their developmental limitations and susceptibility to social influence and pressure from authority figures.
• 👮‍♂️ In the US, police can interrogate juveniles like adults, including lying to them about evidence, which is banned in the UK.
• 👩‍⚖️ Many juveniles experience high-pressure interrogations without lawyers or parents present, with 80 percent reporting police threats.
• 🔎 Juveniles often don't request a parent or attorney during interrogations, with studies showing over 90 percent waive their Miranda rights.
• 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 In England and Wales, juveniles must have an appropriate adult, like a parent or social worker, present during interrogations automatically, unlike in the US.
• 💡 The speaker advocates for better police training in juvenile interrogations and the need for appropriate safeguards, like mandatory presence of a trained child advocate or attorney.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the speaker's research?

The speaker is a forensic developmental psychologist who focuses on studying cases of false confessions, particularly among teenagers, and how children function within a legal system designed for adults.

What was unique about Brendan Dassey's case?

Brendan Dassey's case was unique because it was featured in the Netflix series 'Making a Murderer' and it led to intense public outrage over the interrogation techniques used on him, despite being a minor with an intellectual disability.

What was the role of Brendan Dassey's confession in his conviction?

Brendan Dassey's confession was the primary evidence used against him, leading to his conviction for murder and sexual assault, despite the lack of physical evidence linking him to the crime.

What percentage of wrongful convictions later exonerated by DNA evidence involved false confessions?

Approximately 25 percent of wrongful convictions later exonerated by DNA evidence involved false confessions.

What percentage of adults versus juveniles falsely confessed in one study of exonerations?

In the study mentioned, only 8 percent of adults falsely confessed, while 42 percent of juveniles did so.

Why are juveniles considered more vulnerable to providing false confessions?

Juveniles are more suggestible and susceptible to social influence, such as the intense pressure, accusations, and suggestions from authority figures during interrogations. Their brains are also anatomically and functionally different from adults, affecting decision-making, emotion processing, and sensitivity to reward and risk.

What is the significance of the 'good cop/bad cop' strategy in police interrogations?

The 'good cop/bad cop' strategy is used to convey sympathy and understanding to the suspect ('good cop'), while applying pressure and threats ('bad cop'), which can lead to suspects feeling that confession is their only option.

How does the speaker suggest we can improve the treatment of juvenile suspects during interrogations?

The speaker suggests that law enforcement, attorneys, judges, and jurors need to be educated on juveniles' developmental limitations. Additionally, special protections, such as the presence of a parent, attorney, or trained child advocate during interrogations, should be considered.

What was the outcome of Brendan Dassey's case after the judge overturned his conviction?

The script does not provide specific details on the outcome after the conviction was overturned, but it does mention that the conviction was overturned a few months prior to the speech.

What is the role of an 'appropriate adult' in the interrogation of juveniles in England and Wales?

In England and Wales, an 'appropriate adult' such as a parent, guardian, or social worker must be present during the interrogation of juveniles. This is an automatic safeguard and is not something the youth have to request.

How did the speaker's mock interrogation experiment demonstrate the vulnerability of teenagers to false confessions?

In the mock interrogation experiment, 59 percent of teenagers falsely confessed to cheating on a study task when accused, and only about 4 percent asked to talk to a parent, showing their vulnerability to external pressure and the tendency to waive their rights without seeking adult advice.

Outlines

00:00

🕵️‍♂️ False Confessions and Youthful Vulnerability

The speaker, a forensic developmental psychologist, introduces several individuals who falsely confessed to murders they did not commit, serving a combined total of 89 years in prison. The focus is on the case of Brendan Dassey, a 16-year-old with an intellectual disability, who was interrogated for hours and eventually gave a false confession under pressure. The speaker discusses the prevalence of false confessions, particularly among the youth, and the lack of physical evidence in such cases. The Dassey case gained public attention through the Netflix series 'Making a Murderer' and sparked outrage over interrogation techniques, which are legal but ethically questionable. The speaker emphasizes the need for a better understanding of how children function within a legal system intended for adults.

05:01

📊 The Reality of False Confessions and Juvenile Interrogations

This paragraph delves into the statistics and realities of the US legal system, highlighting that 97% of cases are resolved by plea bargains rather than trials. The speaker discusses the alarming rate of false confessions among teenagers, with 17% of incarcerated teens admitting to having made at least one false confession. The interrogation techniques used in the US are criticized for their potential to elicit false confessions, especially from juveniles who are subjected to high-pressure tactics without the presence of a lawyer or parent. The speaker also points out the psychological and neuroscientific differences between juvenile and adult brains, which make adolescents more susceptible to suggestion and social influence during interrogations.

10:04

👨‍👧‍👦 The Importance of Adult Presence During Juvenile Interrogations

The final paragraph discusses the importance of having an adult present during juvenile interrogations, as research indicates that the presence of a parent or attorney can significantly impact the outcome. The speaker shares findings from a mock interrogation experiment that revealed the reluctance of teens to involve a parent even when falsely accused. The lack of federal law requiring police to inform parents about their child's interrogation or to allow parents in the room is highlighted. The speaker advocates for better training for law enforcement in dealing with youth and the implementation of special protections for juveniles during police questioning.

Keywords

💡False Confession

A false confession is an admission of guilt to a crime that the confessor did not commit. In the context of the video, false confessions are a central theme, highlighting the psychological and legal issues surrounding why innocent individuals, especially juveniles, might confess to crimes they did not commit. The script provides the example of Brendan Dassey, who confessed to a crime that he did not commit, leading to his wrongful conviction.

💡Forensic Developmental Psychologist

A forensic developmental psychologist is a specialist who studies the intersection of psychology and the legal system, particularly focusing on how children and adolescents function within it. The speaker identifies as such, emphasizing their expertise in understanding the vulnerabilities of young suspects during police interrogations and the potential for false confessions, as illustrated by the case studies mentioned in the script.

💡Interrogation

Interrogation refers to the process of questioning suspects in a criminal investigation to extract information or a confession. The video script delves into the tactics used during interrogations, such as 'good cop/bad cop,' and how these can lead to false confessions, especially among juveniles who are more susceptible to pressure and manipulation, as evidenced by Brendan Dassey's case.

💡Intellectual Disability

Intellectual disability is a developmental disorder characterized by significant limitations in intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior. The script mentions Brendan Dassey's IQ of around 70, placing him within the range of intellectual disability, which is relevant because it highlights his vulnerability during the interrogation process and his reduced capacity to understand his rights and the consequences of confessing.

💡Exonerated

To exonerate means to clear someone of an accusation or conviction, especially of a crime. The video discusses wrongful convictions and the role of DNA evidence in exonerating individuals who were falsely confessed to crimes. It emphasizes the importance of recognizing and correcting these miscarriages of justice, as seen in the cases of the individuals mentioned at the beginning of the script.

💡Youth Vulnerability

Youth vulnerability in the script refers to the increased susceptibility of young individuals to provide false confessions due to their developmental stage. The speaker provides data indicating that a higher percentage of juveniles than adults have falsely confessed in exonerated cases, pointing to the need for special considerations and protections during police interrogations for this demographic.

💡Good Cop/Bad Cop

The 'good cop/bad cop' strategy is a common interrogation technique where one officer plays a sympathetic role while the other is harsh and threatening. The script describes how this dynamic can manipulate suspects into confessing, with a focus on how juveniles like Brendan Dassey are particularly affected by these tactics due to their developmental stage and susceptibility to social influence.

💡Maximization Strategies

Maximization strategies are tactics used during an interrogation to make a suspect feel that denial is futile and that confessing is their only option. The script explains how these strategies, such as threats of severe consequences, are particularly impactful on juveniles, leading them to feel cornered and more likely to provide a false confession.

💡Minimization Strategies

Minimization strategies are a type of interrogation technique designed to convey sympathy and understanding to the suspect, implying that a confession will lead to more lenient treatment. The script illustrates how these tactics can be especially persuasive to adolescents, who may be more focused on the immediate relief of ending the interrogation rather than the long-term consequences of a false confession.

💡Prefrontal Cortex

The prefrontal cortex is a part of the brain involved in executive functions such as decision-making, self-control, and emotion regulation. The script discusses how the prefrontal cortex is still developing during adolescence, which can affect a juvenile's ability to handle the stress of an interrogation and may contribute to their propensity to give false confessions.

💡Limbic System

The limbic system is a group of brain structures involved in情绪 processing and regulation, as well as the response to reward and risk. The script highlights that changes in the limbic system during adolescence can influence how青少年 respond to the pressures and suggestions presented during police interrogations, potentially leading to false confessions.

Highlights

The transcript discusses the issue of false confessions, particularly among teenagers, who served a combined 89 years for crimes they did not commit.

The speaker is a forensic developmental psychologist studying how children function within a legal system designed for adults.

Brendan Dassey, a 16-year-old with an intellectual disability, was interrogated for four hours and falsely confessed to a crime he did not commit.

Police used high-pressure tactics and manipulation during Brendan's interrogation, despite the lack of physical evidence.

The case of Brendan Dassey gained public attention through the Netflix series 'Making a Murderer', sparking outrage over his treatment.

False confessions occur in approximately 25% of wrongful convictions later exonerated by DNA evidence.

Youth are more susceptible to providing false confessions, with 42% of juveniles compared to only 8% of adults in exonerated cases.

The legal system in the US resolves 97% of cases through pleas rather than trials, often excluding minor crimes and those resolved without DNA evidence.

17% of incarcerated teenagers reported making at least one false confession to the police.

Police in the US are allowed to use the same interrogation techniques on juveniles as they do on adults, including lying and high-pressure tactics.

Over 80% of incarcerated teens reported experiencing high-pressure police interrogations without legal or parental presence.

More than 70% of teens in the study said police tried to 'befriend' them during interrogations, using 'minimization strategies' to imply lenient treatment for confessions.

Adolescent brains are anatomically different from adult brains, affecting self-control, decision-making, and sensitivity to reward and risk.

75% of police officers requested specialized training in talking to children and adolescents, indicating a need for better education on juvenile developmental limitations.

The judge in Dassey's case emphasized the lack of an adult presence during his interrogation as a significant issue.

Only 7% of incarcerated teens had a parent or attorney present during police questioning, highlighting the need for special protections for juveniles.

In a mock interrogation experiment, 59% of teenagers falsely confessed to cheating, showing a tendency to comply with authority figures even when innocent.

Over 90% of juveniles waive their Miranda rights and submit to police questioning without legal or parental presence.

The speaker calls for better training for law enforcement and special protections for juveniles during police questioning to prevent wrongful confessions.

Transcripts

Tyler Edmonds,

Bobby Johnson,

Davontae Sanford,

Marty Tankleff,

Jeffrey Deskovic,

Anthony Caravella

and Travis Hayes.

You probably don't recognize their faces.

Together, they served 89 years for murders that they didn't commit;

murders that they falsely confessed to committing when they were teenagers.

I'm a forensic developmental psychologist,

and I study these types of cases.

As a researcher,

a professor

and a new parent,

my goal is to conduct scientific research that helps us understand

how kids function in a legal system that was designed for adults.

In March of 2006,

police interrogated Brendan Dassey,

a 16-year-old high school student with an IQ around 70,

putting him in the range of intellectual disability.

So here's just a brief snippet of his four-hour interrogation.

(Video) Police 1: Brendan, be honest.

I told you before that's the only thing that's going to help you here.

We already know what happened, OK?

Police 2: If we don't get honesty here --

I'm your friend right now,

but I've got to believe in you,

and if I don't believe in you,

I can't go to bat for you.

OK? You're nodding.

Tell us what happened.

P1: Your mom said you'd be honest with us.

P2: And she's behind you 100 percent no matter what happens here.

P1: That's what she said, because she thinks you know more, too.

P2: We're in your corner.

P1: We already know what happened, now tell us exactly. Don't lie.

Lindsay Malloy: They told Brendan that honesty would "set him free,"

but they were completely convinced of his guilt at that point.

So by honesty, they meant a confession,

and his confession would definitely not end up setting him free.

They eventually got a confession from Brendan

that didn't really make sense,

didn't match much of the physical evidence of the crime

and is widely believed to be false.

Still, it was enough to convict Brendan and sentence him to life in prison

for murder and sexual assault in 2007.

There was no physical evidence against Brendan at all.

It was nothing more than his own words

that sent him to prison for nearly a decade,

until a judge overturned his conviction just a few months ago.

The Dassey case is unique because it made its way into a Netflix series,

called "Making a Murderer,"

which I'm sure many of you saw,

and if you haven't, you should definitely watch it.

The Dassey case is also unique

because it led to such intense public outrage.

People were very angry about how Brendan was questioned,

and many assumed that his interrogation had to have been illegal.

It wasn't illegal.

As someone who's a researcher in this area

and is familiar with police interrogation training manuals,

I wasn't really surprised by what I saw.

The fact is, Dassey's interrogation itself is actually not all that unique,

and to be honest with you, I've seen worse.

So I understand the public outcry about injustice

in Brendan Dassey's individual case.

But let's not forget that approximately one million or so of his peers

are arrested every year in the United States

and may be subjected to similar interrogation techniques,

techniques that we know increase the risk for false confession.

And I know many people are going to struggle with that term,

"false confession,"

and with believing that false confessions actually occur.

And I get that.

It's very shocking and counterintuitive:

Why would someone confess and even give gruesome details

about a horrifying crime like rape or murder

if they hadn't actually done it?

It makes no sense.

And the fact is, we can never know precisely

how often false confessions occur.

But what we do know is that false confessions or admissions were present

in approximately 25 percent of wrongful convictions

of people later exonerated by DNA evidence.

Turns out, they were innocent.

These cases are crystal clear because we have the DNA.

So they didn't do the crime,

and yet one-quarter of them confessed to it anyway.

And at this point, from countless research studies,

we have a pretty good sense of why people falsely confess,

and why some people,

like Brendan Dassey,

are at greater risk for doing so.

We know that youth are especially vulnerable to providing false confessions.

In one study of exonerations, for example,

only eight percent of adults had falsely confessed,

but 42 percent of juveniles had done so.

Of course, if we're just looking at wrongful convictions and exonerations,

we're only getting part of the story.

Left out, for instance, are the many cases that are resolved by guilty pleas,

not trials.

From TV and news headlines,

you may think that trials are the norm in our legal system,

but the reality is that 97 percent of legal cases in the US

are resolved by pleas, not trials.

Ninety-seven percent.

Also left out will be confessions to more minor types of crimes

that don't typically involve DNA evidence

and aren't usually reviewed or appealed following a conviction.

So for this reason,

many refer to the false confessions we actually do know about

as the tip of a much larger iceberg.

In our research, we found alarming rates of false confession among teenagers.

We interviewed almost 200 incarcerated 14-to-17-year-olds,

and 17 percent of them reported

that they'd made at least one false confession to police.

What's also shocking to most is that,

in interrogations in the US,

police are allowed to interrogate juveniles just like adults.

So they can lie to them --

blatant lies like, "We have your fingerprints,

we have your DNA;

your friend is down the hall saying that this was all your idea."

Lying to suspects is banned in the UK, for example,

but legal here in the US,

even with intellectually impaired teens like Brendan Dassey.

In our research, most of the incarcerated teens that we interviewed

reported experiencing high-pressure police interrogations

without lawyers or parents present.

More than 80 percent described having been threatened by the police,

including with the possibility of being raped or killed in jail

or being tried as an adult.

These maximization strategies are designed

to make suspects feel like denials are pointless

and confession is the only option.

So you may have heard of playing the role of "good cop/bad cop," right?

Well, this is bad cop.

Juveniles are more suggestible and susceptible to social influence,

like the intense pressure accusations and suggestions

coming from authority figures in interrogations.

More than 70 percent of the teens in our study said

that the police had tried to "befriend" them

or indicate a desire to help them out during the interrogation.

These are referred to as "minimization strategies,"

and they're designed to convey sympathy and understanding to the suspect,

and they imply that a confession will result in more lenient treatment.

So in the classic good-cop-bad-cop oversimplification

of police interrogations,

this is "good cop."

(Video) P1: Honesty here, Brendan, is the thing that's going to help you, OK?

No matter what you did,

we can work through that, OK?

We can't make any promises,

but we'll stand behind you no matter what you did, OK?

LM: "No matter what you did, we can work through that."

Hints of leniency like you just saw with Brendan

are especially powerful among adolescents,

in part because they evaluate reward and risk differently than adults do.

Confessing brings an immediate reward to the suspect, right?

Now the stressful, unpleasant interrogation is over.

So confessing may seem like the best option to most teens,

who are less focused on that long-term risk of conviction and punishment

down the road

as a result of that confession.

I think we can all agree that thoughtful, long-term planning

is not a strength of most teenagers that we know.

And by and large, the legal system seems to get

that young victims and witnesses should be treated differently than adults.

But when it comes to young suspects, it's like the kid gloves come off.

And treating juveniles as though they're adults in interrogations

is a problem,

because literally hundreds

of psychological and neuroscientific studies

tell us that juveniles do not think like adults,

they do not behave like adults,

and they're not built like adults.

Adolescent brains are different from adult brains --

even anatomically.

So there are important changes happening

in the structure and function of the brain during adolescence,

especially in the prefrontal cortex and the limbic system,

and these are areas that are crucial for things like self-control,

decision-making,

emotion processing and regulation

and sensitivity to reward and risk,

all of which can affect how you function in a stressful circumstance,

like a police interrogation.

We need to educate law enforcement,

attorneys, judges and jurors

on juveniles' developmental limitations

and how they can play out in a high-stakes interrogation.

In one national survey of police officers,

75 percent of them actually requested specialized training

in how to talk to children and adolescents --

most of them had had none.

We also need to consider having special protections in place for juveniles.

In his 91-page decision to overturn Dassey's conviction earlier this year,

the judge made a big deal about the fact that Dassey had no parent

or other allied adult

in the interrogation room with him.

So here's a clip of Brendan talking to his mom after he confessed,

when it was obviously far too late for him.

(Video) Mom: What do you mean?

Brendan: Like, if his story is, like, different,

like I never did nothing or something.

M: Did you?

Huh?

B: Not really.

M: What do you mean, "Not really"?

B: They got into my head.

LM: So he sums it up pretty beautifully there:

"They got into my head."

We don't know if the outcome would have been different for Brendan

if his mom had been in the interrogation room with him.

But it's certainly possible.

In our research, only seven percent of incarcerated teens,

most of whom had had numerous encounters with police,

had ever had a parent or attorney in the room with them

when they were questioned as a suspect.

Few had ever asked for a parent or attorney to be present.

And you see this in lower-stake situations, too.

We did a mock interrogation experiment in our lab here at FIU --

with parent permission for all minors, of course,

and all the appropriate ethical approvals.

We falsely accused teens and adults of cheating on a study task --

an academic dishonesty offense --

that we told them was as serious as cheating in a class.

In reality, participants had witnessed a peer cheat,

someone who was actually part of our research team

and was allegedly on academic probation.

And we gave everyone a tough choice:

you can lose your extra credit for participating in the study

or accuse your peer,

who will probably be expelled because of his academic probation status.

Of course, in reality, none of these consequences would have panned out,

and we fully debriefed all of the participants afterward.

But most teenagers -- 59 percent of them --

signed the confession statement,

falsely taking responsibility for the cheating.

Only three teens out of 74,

or about four percent of them,

asked to talk to a parent when we accused them of cheating,

despite the fact that for most of them,

their parent was literally sitting in the next room during the study.

Of course, cheating is far from murder,

and I know that.

But it's interesting that so many teens, significantly more teens than adults,

signed the confession saying that they cheated.

They hadn't cheated,

but they signed this form anyway saying that they had,

rarely attempting to involve a parent in the situation.

Other studies tell the same story.

Over 90 percent of juveniles waive their Miranda rights

and submit to police questioning without lawyers or parents present.

In England and Wales, interrogations of juveniles must be conducted

in the presence of an "appropriate adult,"

like a parent, guardian or social worker.

And this isn't something youth have to ask for --

which is great, because research shows that they won't --

it's automatic.

Now, having an appropriate adult safeguard for juveniles here in the US

would not be a cure-all for improving police questioning of youth.

Unfortunately, parents often lack the knowledge and legal sophistication

to appropriately advise their children.

You can just look at the case of the Central Park Five:

five teenagers who falsely confessed to a brutal gang rape in 1989,

with their parents by their sides.

And it took over a decade to clear their names.

So the appropriate adult really should be an attorney

or perhaps a trained child advocate.

Overturning Dassey's conviction, the judge pointed out that there's no federal law

requiring that the police even inform a juvenile's parent

that the juvenile is being questioned

or honor that juvenile's request to have a parent in the room.

So if you think about all of this together for a second:

as a country, we've decided that juveniles cannot be trusted

with things like voting,

buying cigarettes,

attending an R-rated movie

or driving,

but they can make the judgment call to waive their Miranda rights,

rights that we know from research, most teens don't understand or appreciate.

And parents in the room: depending on the state that you live in,

your child can potentially waive these rights without your knowledge

and without consulting any adult first.

Now, no one -- and certainly not me -- wants to prevent police

from doing the very important investigative work

that they do every day.

But we need to make sure that they have appropriate training for talking to youth.

As a parent and as a researcher,

I think we can do better.

I think we can take steps to prevent another Brendan Dassey,

while still getting the crucial information that we need

from children and teens

to solve crimes.

Thank you.

(Applause)