Episode 85
The Presumption of Innocence - Episode 85
Inside the Interrogation Room: A Psychologist's Mission to End False Juvenile Confessions
An innocent person would never confess to a crime they didn't commit, right?
That's what most people believe. But the science tells a very different story.
In this compelling episode of “The Presumption of Innocence,” host Matt Adams talks with Dr. Hayley Cleary, a Virginia Commonwealth University professor who is an expert on police interviews and the interrogation of youth.
Their conversation unpacks the psychology of how an interrogation room can turn into a false-confession risk zone — especially for juveniles and adolescents who are generally socialized from a young age to comply with requests from authority figures in virtually every facet of their lives.
This episode takes you inside the interrogation room, exploring how police tactics can distort a suspect's choices, particularly for vulnerable juveniles. Dr. Cleary also discusses the potential impact of reforms, such as recorded interrogations and science-based police questioning, and how new virtual-reality research is providing insight into the experience of being interrogated from the subject’s perspective.
The views expressed in this podcast are those of the participants and should not be considered the views of Fox Rothschild LLP or its attorneys. This podcast is for informational purposes only, is not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship.