Is it possible for someone to confess to a crime that they didn't commit? Or is claiming 'false confessions' a little too much like the 'boy who cried wolf'? Well, stick around as Dr. Alceste and Lauren walk us through new research and the approaches to identifying and addressing false confessions within the legal system. This will BLOW YOUR MIND!

More about our Honored Guests:

Dr. Fabiana Alceste received a B.A. from the University of Florida, her Ph.D. from John Jay College of Criminal Justice/The Graduate Center, City University of New York. Dr. Alceste’s research area is Psychology and Law. She studies the social and cognitive processes involved in police interrogations and false confessions. Her recent work focuses on how interrogation practices (such as directly accusing a suspect, minimizing the moral seriousness of an offense, and/or sharing crime details with a suspect) influence judgments about police custody and confession evidence. She hopes that work in this field will continue to improve the criminal justice system by preventing and identifying false confessions that may lead to a wrongful conviction.

Lauren Motz is currently in her third year at Butler University in Indianapolis, IN. Lauren is majoring in Psychology with minors in Sociology and Race, Gender, & Sexuality Studies. Lauren has been a part Dr. Alceste’s research lab since 2022 and plans on attending graduate school in the future with hopes of becoming a licensed therapist.

Additional Links:

Psychology Faculty Research | Butler University

False Confessions - Innocence Project

Fact Sheet | False Confessions

Thanks for listening! If you want to support us, you can follow/subscribe to “WILDCIDE” on your favorite podcast listening app. While you’re there, please rate and leave us a review – we would really appreciate it! You can also visit our website at www.wildcidepodcast.com (MERCH NOW AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE!) 

​​Art for the podcast was created by Kelly Steen. Editing/Production for the podcast by Bltzwolff