Description: 13 percent of all individuals exonerated in the United States between 1989 and 2024 were wrongfully convicted because of a false confession
Why do innocent people confess to crimes that they did not commit? This question has confounded the public for decades. Most of us believe that we would never admit to something we did not do--especially if that admission could lead to prison. Yet, false confessions are one of the leading causes of wrongful convictions in the United States. Research and anecdotal evidence show that coercive police interrogations are often to blame.
In her book, Breaking Point, Robin Dahlberg sheds light on the powerful and often devastating tactics used in these interrogations. Collaborating with six exonerees--each of whom falsely confessed and served time for a crime they did not commit--Dahlberg reveals the human cost of these tactics. Each exoneree endured pressure so intense that telling a lie felt safer than holding onto the truth.
Brief description: Dr. Sara C. Appleby is Assistant Professor of Psychology at Mercer University in the College of Liberal Arts, focusing on psychology and the law. She teaches Introduction to Psychology, Research Methods and Statistics, and Forensic Psychology. Her research interests include deception detection, police interrogations and confessions, and legal decision-making. Appleby holds a Ph.D. from The Graduate Center, City University of New York, an M.A. from Boston University, and a B.A. from Rhodes College.