Saul Kassin – författare

Why do people confess to crimes they did not commit? And, surely, this must be a rare phenomenon? In fact, it happens all the time. Psychologist Saul Kassin is the world’s leading expert on false confessions – why innocents confess, how interrogators force false confessions, and why we all believe them.

This conclusive and comprehensive book reveals the psychology behind why innocent men and women, intensely stressed and befuddled by the promises, threats, trickery, and deception of a police interrogation, are duped into confession, no matter how horrific the crime. Featuring riveting case studies, highly original research, work done in tandem with the Innocence Project, and quotes from individuals who confessed to crimes they did not commit, Duped tells the story of how this happens, how the system turns a blind eye, and how to make it stop.

Starting in the 1980’s, Dr. Kassin pioneered the scientific study of police interrogations and confessions. At that time, he distinguished three types of false confessions: voluntary, in which people claim responsibility for crimes they did not commit without outside prompting or pressure; compliant, in which the suspect capitulates to escape a stressful in-custody situation, avoid physical harm or legal punishment, or gain a promised or implied reward; and internalized, in which innocent but psychologically vulnerable suspects become confused, lost their grip on reality, and come to believe that they committed the crime in question. This taxonomy is still universally accepted today.

Examining famous cases like the Central Park jogger and the Amanda Knox case as well as the scores of ordinary people convicted based on their confessions who have been exonerated by Kassin’s work with the Innocence Project, along with groundbreaking research into how age, race, and station play into false confessions, Duped shows why this stigma persists and how we can reform the criminal justice system to be more just.

Why do people confess to crimes they did not commit? And, surely, those cases must be rare? In fact, it happens all the time—in police stations, workplaces, public schools, and the military. Psychologist Saul Kassin, the world’s leading expert on false confessions, explains how interrogators trick innocent people into confessing, and then how the criminal justice system deludes us into believing these confessions.

Duped reveals how innocent men, women, and children, intensely stressed and befuddled by lawful weapons of psychological interrogation, are induced into confession, no matter how horrific the crime. By featuring riveting case studies, highly original research, work by the Innocence Project, and quotes from real-life exonerees, Kassin tells the story of how false confessions happen, and how they corrupt forensics, witnesses, and other evidence, force guilty pleas, and follow defendants for their entire lives— even after they are exonerated by DNA.

Starting in the 1980’s, Dr. Kassin pioneered the scientific study of interrogations and confessions. Since then, he has been on the forefront of research and advocacy for those wrongfully convicted by police-induced false confessions. Examining famous cases like the Central Park jogger case and Amanda Knox case, as well as stories of ordinary innocent people trapped into confession, Dr. Kassin exposes just how widespread this problem is. Concluding with actionable solutions and proposals for legislative reform, Duped shows why the stigma of confession persists and how we can reform the criminal justice system to make it stop.