Interrogations, Confession, and Lie Detection
The purpose of interrogating someone is to elicit incriminating statements, admissions, and perhaps a
full confession to secure the conviction of an offender. Detectives or police officers will use
interrogations to intimidate suspects who have committed or are suspected to have committed a crime.
Before the year 1930, police officers had used beatings and brutality in order to obtain the needed
confessions from the accused (Costanzo & Krauss, 2021). Confessions and interrogations usually go
together; if the interrogation did not happen, there would possibly not be a confession. Police use
interrogations as a way to scare a person into giving a confession, much like a scare tactic. This is usually
a team effort, or as we have seen on prime shows such as Criminal Minds, CSI, NCIS, etc., usually a “bad
cop” or “good cop.” There is usually a team effort going on with an end goal to get the suspect to
confess to the crime that they have committed. This assignment will examine interrogations and how
they have evolved and been used to obtain confessions from suspects. This assignment will also be
looking at fishing in the mountains why a lie detector is used as well as when a lie detector is used in
order to obtain the truth or to validate a witness's credibility or a suspect's credibility.
The primary role of interrogation is to evoke discriminating admissions, statements, and maybe full
confession to secure the conviction of offenders. Primarily, interrogations are used by police or
detectives to oversee the suspects of crime. Before the 1930s, the detectives used brutality and beating
to force the suspects to confess. According to Costanzo & Krauss (2021), the confession exists through
interrogation as it is used as a scare tactic to extract a confession. Both good and bad cops use various
interrogation tactics to oppress the victims to confess to the crimes committed (Costanzo & Krauss,
2021). Therefore, the paper will explore the evolution of interrogation and how the detectives or police
use it to extract confessions, as well as when and why lie detection helps obtain the truth or validate the
credibility of the suspect and their witnesses.
Interrogation and Confession
During interrogations, the detectives or police aim to win and gather much compliment evidence
surrounding the case. It takes officers a tussle for the suspect to confess that they committed the alleged
crime. Typically, there are nine stops for strategies that take place when an interrogation is performed.
These steps and strategies depict how an interrogation flows, and the primary purpose of these
strategies is to make a suspect feel uncomfortable. The first strategy is loss of control; when the suspect
is restricted to a small space, giving the interrogator the control this will happen. The second strategy is
social isolation; in this strategy, the suspect is interrogated alone and restricted from having contact
with the outside world, such as their lawyer, friends, or even family. With this step, the motivation and
any possible negative energy from which a suspect might react is taken away from them, benefitting the
interrogator. The third strategy is guilt; guilt is basically the interrogator accusing the suspect of
committing the crime. The final stage is minimizing culpability. With this strategy, the interrogator will
provide the suspect with reasons for committing the crime in hopes that they will get the suspect to
confess (Costanzo & Krauss, 2021).
A confession is a piece of evidence that can be false or correct based on the interrogation tactics used.
In this case, the interrogations might be harsh to oppress the suspect to get physically and mentally
drained to confess the crimes they never committed. For instance, in the case of Thomas Sawyer, the
suspect's thinking was shaped until he falsely confessed to having committed murder and rape crimes.
The real suspects provide the interrogators with detailed information about the convicted crimes during
interrogation. In most cases, false or correct confessions are achieved through coercion (Costanzo &
Krauss, 2018).
When you have a confession, it is as good as any other evidence collected. However, a confession is not
always true; some confessions can be falsely given due to the specific interrogation tactics mentioned
above, leading to this confession being thrown out in court. Sometimes the interrogations can last for
hours upon hours, leaving the suspect mentally and physically drained until, eventually, they end up
confessing to a crime they never committed. In 2016, 27% of known wrongful convictions involved false
confessions (Costanzo & Krauss, 2021). A very good example of a false confession is the case of the West
Memphis Three. These three boys were found guilty of a crime that they never committed. In 1993,
there were three boys murdered in West Memphis, Arkansas. Damien Echols was sentenced to death,
Jessie Misskelly Jr. was sentenced to life in prison plus two 20-year sentences, and Jason Baldwin was
sentenced to life imprisonment. Jessie Misskelley Jr. Had a reported IQ of 72, which categorized him as
borderline intellectual functioning. He also had a status as a minor and was questioned alone. His father
had given permission for him to go with the police but did not give permission for his son to be
questioned or interrogated. Misskelley was questioned for roughly 12 hours, with only two segments
that totaled 46 minutes being recorded. He had quickly recanted his confession, citing that he was
intimidated, coerced fatigued, and had veiled threats from police. He had specifically said that he was
“scared of the police” during this confession. Even though he was informed of his Miranda rights, he
later claimed that he did not fully understand them. In 1996, the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled that
Misskelly’s confession was voluntary and that he did, in fact, understand his Miranda warning and its
consequences. This is a prime example of a false confession due to interrogation tactics. Misskelley did
not have the mental capacity to be interrogated for 12 hours without counsel present to help him
understand why he was being interrogated. His fear of the police led to him being coerced into
confessing to a crime he had not committed, and his IQ of 72 did not help either. During a suspect’s
confession, they are typically able to provide police with details of the crime that they had committed.
When a suspect gives a confession, they usually give clues to where there might be objects, money, or
even possible victims, elevating doubt and time (Costanzo & Krauss, 2021).
Lie Detection
Even with all the interrogation tactics, it becomes very hard for detectives or even the court to
determine if the suspect is lying or telling the truth. The common ways to note when the suspect lies are
through body language, demeanor, or even from the detectives’ experience. However, human beings
are flawed to mistakes, and detectives can make false conclusions on whether the suspect is lying or
not, a situation referred to by psychologists as confirmation bias (Costanzo & Leo, 2009). In this study,
Polygraph, a perceived lie detector test, is applied by interrogators to monitor the suspect's blood
pressure and physiological changes. However, similar to human judgments, the polygraph has its
weaknesses. First, the polygraph cannot be used for professional liars since they show no emotional
changes. Secondly, innocent suspects are physiologically emotional, and the polygraph test may react to
their emotional changes, hence making a false judgment. Innocent suspects get nervous about the false
allegations, making the polygraph machine give false psychological judgments (Littlefield, 2011).
Another interesting data point from Littlefield’s book, The Lying Brain, is the argument that,
Instead of providing a break from or a novel approach to lie detection,
neuroscience is implicitly recycling scientific and cultural assumptions about
deception and its mechanical detection: that lies are measurable phenomena
that manifest themselves in the body’s physiology, particularly in the autonomic
and central nervous systems; that the body produces objective data that are
easily and unambiguously interpretable; and that deception demands the
knowledge and suppression of truth.
One thing to think about when it comes to confessions and interrogating is how the interrogating
officers or detectives determine whether that person is telling the truth. It is very difficult for officers to
determine whether a suspect is lying. When figuring out whether a person is being truthful or not, you
have to pay attention to that person’s body language and demeanor. A person often has little things
here and there that will usually “Let the cat out of the bag,” showing that they are lying. Some officers
are more experienced in detecting these little things that a person does, proving that they are lying.
“Perhaps police officers are better at noticing lies than the rest of us. Police have extensive experience
with criminals who lie about their involvement in crimes” (Costanzo & Krauss, 2021). When it comes to
determining whether a person is lying, the issue lies with the interrogator and the fact that they could
be wrong about the suspected person that they are questioning
Analysis from a Christ-Centered Perspective
Confession in the bible has largely been emphasized. The Christian teachings require all people to
confess their sins, not to the detectives and interrogators but to their God, and seek forgiveness. In
contrast, confession emphasized by the bible aims at spiritual restoration, whereas the confession
demanded by the interrogators or detectives aims to punish the victims. From a Christian perspective,
there are no interrogations but willing confessions. From Proverbs 28:13, the person who covers their
sins will never prosper, but those who forsake and confess shall receive mercy. Similarly, in Psalms
119:29, remove from me the lie ways and grant me the law graciously (Nelson & Martha, 2012).
Although the detectives and police officers take pride in convicting the suspects of crimes, they largely
lack integrity in pursuing their interrogations for the suspects to confess. The interrogation tactics
mainly used differ from the Christian teachings. Proverbs 6:17, a lying tongue, proud look, and the hands
that try to shed innocent blood will confess and get their judgment before God. Although detectives and
police officers are employed to punish the victims for their crimes, they also sin before God when
discharging their mandate. They even lie to their master to show pride in their excellent job. In Proverbs
12:22, the bible says that the lining lips are an abomination of God, but those who deal with truth are a
delight. From the Christian perspective, all sins are equal, whether committed by the real suspects or the
suspect interrogators, and all are answerable to God (Nelson & Martha, 2012).
The Lord says in Proverbs 28:13 “he that covers his sins shall not prosper colon but who so confesses
and forsakes them shall have mercy” (The Busy Mom’s Bible, 2011, Proverbs 28:13). Psalms 119:29, it
states “Remove from me the way of lying: and granny me thy law graciously” (The Busy Mom’s Bible,
2011, Psalms 119:29). In Psalms 120:2, it reads “deliver my soul, oh Lord, from lying lips, and from a
deceitful tongue” (The Busy Mom’s Bible, 2011, Psalms 120:2). And in Proverbs 12:22, it reads “lying lips
are an abomination to the Lord: but they that deal truly are his delight” (The Busy Mom’s Bible, 2011,
Proverbs 12:22). Officers are one of the few people who despite the fact whether they have done their
job with integrity will wear a proud look on their face believing that they have done the right thing when
in fact they might not us. The Lord states in Proverbs 6:17 that “a proud look, a lying tongue, and hands
that shed innocent blood” (The Busy Mom’s Bible, 2011, Proverbs 6:17). The Lord clearly makes known
throughout the Bible that there is no sin that is greater than the next and everything will be answered
for when we stand before God on judgment day.
References
Costanzo, M., & Krauss, D. (2021). Forensic and Legal Psychology (4th ed.). Worth Publishers.
Costanzo, M., & Leo, R. A. (2009). Research and Expert Testimony on Interrogations and Confessions.
Social Science Research Network. https://ssrn.com/abstract=1521647
Littlefield, M. M. (2011). The Lying Brain: Lie Detection in Science and Science Fiction. University of
Michigan Press
Selby, D. (2023, June 7). West Memphis Three: What you should know about their Wrongful Conviction.
Innocence Project. https://innocenceproject.org/who-are-west-memphis-three-damien-echols/
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