Laura Nirider Hosts 'Wrongful Conviction' Experts to Discuss Bills to Ban Deception During Police Interrogations

On April 14th, Laura Nirider leads a panel of special guests in discussion about new bills in Illinois, New York, and Oregon that would ban the use of deception in the interrogation room. The discussion, taking place on a bonus episode of her hit podcast, Wrongful Conviction: False Confessions, will feature Illinois State Senator Robert Peters (D-13th District), exoneree and attorney Marty Tankleff, and CFI investigation consultant Dave Thompson.

With more than 2,700 wrongful convictions tallied around the country, false confessions have been identified as one of the leading causes of wrongful convictions. Now, for the first time in U.S. history, lawmakers in these three states have introduced legislation that would ban the use of deceptive interrogation tactics, like falsely telling a suspect that his fingerprints or DNA was found at a crime scene. These kinds of lies about the evidence have long been identified as risk factors for false confessions and have contributed to some of the most notorious known wrongful convictions, like those of the Exonerated Five, previously known as the Central Park Five.

Nirider, a Clinical Professor of Law and co-director of the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, is among the leaders speaking out in strong support of these bills that, if passed, would bring about a wave of interrogation reform. She co-hosts the Wrongful Conviction: False Confessions podcast, which hit #1 on the Apple True Crime podcast charts last year.

In Illinois, Senator Peters has sponsored Senate Bill 2122, which would ban the use of deceptive interrogation tactics when youth under 18 are being questioned. Set for a committee vote on April 16, that bill has the support of Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx.

In March 2007, Marty Tankleff was released from a 19-year prison nightmare after being wrongfully convicted of murdering his parents. Last year, Marty was admitted to the New York State bar. He works at Metcalf & Metcalf, PC, the Manhattan law firm where he's been employed since 2018. In addition to his career as a lawyer, Marty is also an adjunct Professor at Georgetown University and Touro Law School. He and his wife Laurie, established the Marty and Laurie Tankleff Scholarship at Touro.

David Thompson, CFI, is the president of global police training firm Wicklander-Zulawski & Associates (WZ). He handles a variety of investigations and has conducted hundreds of interviews and interrogations across a wide spectrum of clients and diverse cases. He has an educational background in the field of psychology and criminal justice and is known for his advocacy on behalf of wrongful conviction cases.

To listen to this episode or learn more about Wrongful Conviction: False Confessions, visit www.wrongfulconvictionpodcast.com.

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