A thoroughly researched and well-organized book that makes clear why false confessions are a symptom of how broken the American criminal justice system is. The author looks at specific case studies as well as the psychology behind false confessions, giving the reader a full look at the scope of the issue. The final chapters include steps for reform that are realistic and left me feeling inspired to action.

Kassin is an expert on false confessions and this book attempts to share all that knowledge and years of research with us! Kassin looks into reasons why someone might make a false confession, how common false confessions are, and ways to set up policies to prevent this from happening. I did deduct a couple of stars because, to me, this felt more like an academic study than the narrative non-fiction I typically lean towards. I did appreciate that Kassin shared various case histories throughout the book to allow those of us who need "a face with the name" of statistics to connect more with all the data he shared. At times, I did feel like points were made repetitively as well. All in all, a very enlightening work, especially for those who are not well-versed in the frequency of false confessions and the reasons behind them. I learned quite a bit!

I learned so much reading Duped. My mind was blown at how far some departments will go to get a confession. This is a very important book to read. I think I'll have my older kids read it, so they can learn too. One of them is interested in becoming a lawyer. I couldn't believe how many false confessions there are. It's kind of scary to think about, these innocent people locked up and the real "suspect" is free. Highly Recommend.

Saul Kassin’s Duped: Why Innocent People Confess and Why We Believe Their Confessions (Prometheus Books, 2022) is a part of the growing body of literature that discusses false confessions, the psychology behind false accusations, and the injustice that is baked into the American judicial system. What I think this book is doing differently is explaining why false confessions are so easily believed and, even more alarmingly, how false confessions can poison every other piece of evidence in a case.
Saul Kassin is a social psychologist and professor, specializing in evidence and trial procedure, and his experience makes this book extremely effective. Kassin’s text makes several clear-cut arguments as it explains why innocent people confess, why we believe them, and what can be done to avoid the large numbers of false confessions that are taken in the United States each year. One thing I really appreciated about Kassin’s approach was how willing he was to criticize law enforcement and their techniques—he directly takes on procedures like the Reid technique, as well as individual police officers and District Attorney’s that were involved with eliciting and prosecuting people based on a false confessions. He critiques these techniques and cases in an academic way: using summaries of case studies and statistics, he presents solid arguments as to why these individual cases and techniques failed, and what should have been done differently.
As a reader, you cannot argue with his logic: many people falsely confess to crimes they didn’t commit because of the way they were interrogated by law enforcement. The justice system is supposed to be set up to catch these kinds of errors in court of law so innocent people do not go to prison. Kassin shows his reader not only again that these checks and balances in the justice system often fail, but how and why they do. I found his blatant criticism of law enforcement refreshing. Most true crime books do not go as far as Kassin goes to criticize these systems that more often than not fail the accused. And as has been shown in many cases where there was police misconduct or prosecutorial misconduct, these people are not usually held accountable for gross misdeeds. Kassin’s book attempts to make up the difference by holding the justice system to task.
One of my favorite sections of the book is a staunch takedown of the Reid Technique. The Reid Technique is a kind of guidebook that police officers use to interrogate suspects. Kassin uses the language of the Reid Technique against itself, systematically pulling apart its so-called logic and making a direct correlation between these techniques and false confessions. I could not help but cheer him on as I was reading: these techniques are outdated and do not produce the results they claim to. Kassin uses psychological facts to make his case, and his case is so crucial, because the misuse of interrogative techniques result in so many nightmares.

Kassin’s book is chock-full of facts, stats, experiment summaries, and quotations from other psychologists and sociologists. For this reason, I would say this book isn’t a light read. There is much to be learned from all the sources Kassin utilizes, but if you are looking for a fast-paced true crime read, this isn’t the book you are looking for. That being said, I would recommend that all true crime fans dive into this book because false confessions and the cascade effect they tend to have are not often not discussed as thoroughly as they are in Duped. In order to be responsible consumers of true crime material, I believe that we need to understand the systemic problems that Kassin is imploring us to pay attention to.

When riveted to true crime in books or on TV I have often wondered how and why innocent people confess to crimes they did not commit, sometimes more than once, even after being in prison for years! Often these crimes are terrible, including murder. Not only does the wrong person confess but the right person is free. This strange yet natural phenomenon is described in great detail in this book written by the world's top expert in the field psychologist Saul Kassin who has been present at numerous trials and has conducted many fascinating experiments and research, often with alarming results. He details this...and so much more...in this revealing book.

Topics include interrogation methods, many of which practically extract confessions (of which there are three types); heartbreaking juvenile injustice; DNA exoneration; withdrawing false confessions; polygraphs; the need for emotional support; stereotyping; the psychology of lying; lie detection workshops; video recording in interrogations; "perceptual set"; "adversarial allegiance effects"; ramifications such as imprisonment; being "freed" when the real criminal is caught, yet not really free, with inefficient financial recompense; and the many changes which need to be made to correct these injustices. Multitudinous cases are outlined, some known, others less so but all crushing. Photographs emphasize a personal quality and remind us that these are real people.

Kassin's experiments are detailed as well (mock crimes, cues), often with surprising results. The amount of information I learned is staggering! I knew that some have and do use egregious interrogation methods, justify findings on hunches and gut feelings (perhaps the juvenile "interviewed" was 15 years old and looked guilty when he was actually embarrassed and frightened) and false evidence ploys but its prevalence in North America compared with elsewhere is mind blowing. After reading this book I am more thankful than ever for organizations and people who work to find the guilty and defend the innocent, knowing the the psychology behind reasons for false confessions...being duped.

My sincere thank you to Rowman & LIttlefield for the privilege of reading this critically important and compelling book. Absolutely outstanding, especially for those with an interest in true crime and psychology.