Confessing to a crime you didn't commitConfessing to a crime you didn't commit
All In The Mind
Imagine police are interrogating you over a crime you didn't commit. If you're innocent, you're safe, right? Wrong. Sometimes, being innocent can make you more likely to confess. How is that possible? In part two of our four-part series, Forensic, we learn about the police interviewing techniques that make false confessions more likely, and the bizarre cases in which people come to believe they really, truly did commit a crime – despite being innocent. Guests: Saul Kassin Distinguished Professor Emeritus at John Jay College of Criminal Justice Professor Emeritus at Williams College Lisanne Adam Lecturer in Law, RMIT University School of Law Celine van Golde Associate Lecturer in Legal Psychology, University of Sydney Credits: Presenter/producer: Sana Qadar Senior producer: James Bullen Producer: Rose Kerr Sound engineer: Roi Huberman You can catch up on more episodes of the All in the Mind podcast with journalist and presenter Sana Qadar, exploring the psychology of topics like stress, memory, communication and relationships on ABC Listen or wherever you get your podcasts.
31:15•15 May 2026
Why Innocent People Confess: The Psychology of False Admissions
Episode Overview
- False confessions can arise from voluntary motives, coercive pressure, or even internalised belief that a person committed a crime they did not do.
- Innocent people may waive their rights and confess because they assume evidence will clear them later, without realising that a confession often ends proper investigation.
- Vulnerabilities such as youth, mental health conditions and high suggestibility make people more susceptible to misleading and aggressive interview techniques.
- Stressful, extended and suggestive questioning can distort recall, create gaps in memory and even lead to entirely false memories of committing a crime.
- Reforms like the PEACE model of interviewing and recording police interviews aim to reduce coercive practices and lower the risk of wrongful convictions based on false confessions.
“"Once you confess, there is no investigation. Case closed."”
Gain insights from experts on how ordinary people can be pushed into confessing to crimes they never committed. This episode of **All In The Mind** zooms in on false confessions, making it clear that innocence alone doesn't always keep someone safe in an interrogation room. Social psychologist Saul Kassin explains how his early research into confession evidence left him "horrified" by standard police tactics. He shares the chilling realisation that "once you confess, there is no investigation.
Case closed," and shows how an innocent person’s belief that the truth will eventually clear them can actually become a risk factor. You'll hear about different types of false confessions: people who volunteer to take the blame for complex reasons, those who give in under relentless pressure, and those who end up genuinely believing they committed the crime.
Cases like Peter Riley and Andrew Mallard highlight how vulnerable states, mental health issues, and long, aggressive interviews can push people past their breaking point. Legal scholar Dr Lisanne Adam walks through the Andrew Mallard case, where speculative, third-person comments made in a fragile mental state were treated as a confession, despite no physical evidence. Associate professor Celine Van Gold then breaks down how memory, stress and suggestibility interact, explaining how extended, suggestive questioning can help create entirely false memories.
Rather than pure true-crime drama, the episode leans heavily on research, case studies and reform efforts, including the shift towards the PEACE model of interviewing and mandatory recording of police interviews. For anyone interested in mental health, vulnerability, or how pressure can warp judgement – issues that often overlap with addiction and recovery – this is a sharp reminder of how fragile our sense of certainty can be under stress.
It leaves you asking: how confident are you that you’d hold firm under hours of questioning if your freedom was on the line?
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