Why teens confess to crimes they didn't commit | Lindsay Malloy

翻译人员: Carol Wang 校对人员: Monkey Luffy

Tyler Edmonds,

泰勒·埃德蒙兹,

Bobby Johnson,

鲍比·约翰逊,

Davontae Sanford,

达文特·桑福德,

Marty Tankleff,

马蒂. 坦克勒夫,

Jeffrey Deskovic,

杰弗里·德斯克维克,

Anthony Caravella

安东尼·卡若维拉

and Travis Hayes.

和崔维斯·海耶斯，

You probably don't recognize their faces.

可能你并不认识他们的面孔。

他们 7 人因为莫须有的谋杀罪， 而一共服刑 89 年！

Together, they served 89 years for murders that they didn't commit;

murders that they falsely confessed to committing when they were teenagers.

而这些谋杀罪是 在他们十几岁时错承认的罪行。

I'm a forensic developmental psychologist,

我是一名犯罪发展心理学家,

and I study these types of cases.

专注研究这种类型的案例。

As a researcher,

作为一名研究人员,

a professor

一位教授，

and a new parent,

和一位新家长,

my goal is to conduct scientific research that helps us understand

我的目标是进行科学研究, 以帮助我们了解

在一个为成年人设计的法律体系中 儿童是如何被对待的。

how kids function in a legal system that was designed for adults.

2006 年 3 月，

In March of 2006,

police interrogated Brendan Dassey,

警察审问了布兰登·戴斯,

a 16-year-old high school student with an IQ around 70,

一名智商约 70 分的 16 岁的高中生,

putting him in the range of intellectual disability.

这样的智商 属于弱智范围。

So here's just a brief snippet of his four-hour interrogation.

这里只是对他进行 四小时审讯的简短片段。

(Video) Police 1: Brendan, be honest.

（视频）警察 1: 布兰登, 你要说实话！

I told you before that's the only thing that's going to help you here.

我告诉过你，在这里 只有实话实说才能帮你！

我已经了解了所发生的一切, 明白吗？

We already know what happened, OK?

警察 2: 如果让我们发现 你不诚实的话---

Police 2: If we don't get honesty here --

I'm your friend right now,

现在我就是你的朋友,

but I've got to believe in you,

但我必须信任你,

and if I don't believe in you,

如果不信任你的话，

I can't go to bat for you.

我就无法帮到你。

OK? You're nodding.

对不对？你在点头。

Tell us what happened.

告诉我们发生了什么吧。

P1: Your mom said you'd be honest with us.

警察1 : 你妈妈说， 你会对我们诚实相告！

P2: And she's behind you 100 percent no matter what happens here.

警察2: 不管这里发生了什么, 她都会 100% 地支持你的。

P1: That's what she said, because she thinks you know more, too.

P2: We're in your corner.

P1: We already know what happened, now tell us exactly. Don't lie.

警察1: 我们已经知道发生了什么, 现在就告诉我们详情！别撒谎！

Lindsay Malloy: They told Brendan that honesty would "set him free,"

琳达思·马洛：他们告诉布兰登, 只要说实话，就会 "放他走",

but they were completely convinced of his guilt at that point.

但他们当时完全确信 布兰登是有罪的。

因此, 要求他诚实， 他们实际上想让他认罪,

So by honesty, they meant a confession,

and his confession would definitely not end up setting him free.

而且，只要他认罪， 他们就肯定不会放他走。

They eventually got a confession from Brendan

最终，他们还是 让布兰登承认犯了罪,

that didn't really make sense,

这样的认罪根本解释不通，

didn't match much of the physical evidence of the crime

它与犯罪的大部分物证不符,

and is widely believed to be false.

而且大家普遍认为 布兰登认罪是错的。

Still, it was enough to convict Brendan and sentence him to life in prison

然而, 这足以让布兰登定罪, 2017年他被判终身监禁,

for murder and sexual assault in 2007.

罪名是谋杀和性侵罪。

There was no physical evidence against Brendan at all.

其实，压根就没有 对布兰登不利的任何物证，

It was nothing more than his own words

只有他自己的认罪供词,

that sent him to prison for nearly a decade,

就是这份供词把他送进监狱， 让他坐了近十年牢,

until a judge overturned his conviction just a few months ago.

直到几个月前，一名法官 才推翻了对他的判决。

The Dassey case is unique because it made its way into a Netflix series,

戴斯的案例太特殊了， Netflix电视台为此制作了系列纪录片,

片名 "制造一个杀人犯",

called "Making a Murderer,"

which I'm sure many of you saw,

相信你们很多人都看过，

and if you haven't, you should definitely watch it.

如果没看过的话, 你一定要看看。

The Dassey case is also unique

戴斯案的另一个特殊之处是,

because it led to such intense public outrage.

它引起了强烈的公愤！

People were very angry about how Brendan was questioned,

人们对布兰登被审问的方式 非常愤怒,

and many assumed that his interrogation had to have been illegal.

许多人认为对他的审讯方式 应该是非法的。

It wasn't illegal.

其实，这并不违法。

As someone who's a researcher in this area

作为这个领域的研究人员

and is familiar with police interrogation training manuals,

和熟悉警察审讯培训手册的人,

I wasn't really surprised by what I saw.

我对刚才所看到的画面 并不感到惊讶。

The fact is, Dassey's interrogation itself is actually not all that unique,

事实上, 戴斯的审讯本身 并没什么特别之处,

and to be honest with you, I've seen worse.

老实说, 我还见过更糟的。

So I understand the public outcry about injustice

所以，我特别理解

in Brendan Dassey's individual case.

公众对布兰登·戴斯 个案中的不公所提出的抗议。

但请不要忘记, 在美国,

But let's not forget that approximately one million or so of his peers

are arrested every year in the United States

他的同龄人 每年约有 100 万人被逮捕,

and may be subjected to similar interrogation techniques,

可能会遭受类似的审讯技术，

techniques that we know increase the risk for false confession.

我们知道这些审讯技术 会增加错认罪的风险。

And I know many people are going to struggle with that term,

我知道，很多人

"false confession,"

会难以理解”错认罪’’这个词，

and with believing that false confessions actually occur.

也很难相信 错认罪的真实存在，

And I get that.

对此我能够理解。

It's very shocking and counterintuitive:

这是令人非常震惊 和违反直觉的：

Why would someone confess and even give gruesome details

如果压根儿就没犯 像强奸或谋杀这样的恐怖罪行，

为何有人会认罪，

about a horrifying crime like rape or murder

if they hadn't actually done it?

甚至给出令人毛骨悚然的细节呢？

It makes no sense.

这根本就说不通呀。

And the fact is, we can never know precisely

而事实上， 我们永远无法准确知道

how often false confessions occur.

错认罪发生的频率。

But what we do know is that false confessions or admissions were present

但有一点我们是清楚的---

in approximately 25 percent of wrongful convictions

错认罪或错坦白约占 因后期DNA证据证明无罪的

of people later exonerated by DNA evidence.

错判案例的 25%，

Turns out, they were innocent.

事实证明， 他们是无辜的。

These cases are crystal clear because we have the DNA.

这些案例都非常清晰， 因为我们有DNA。

So they didn't do the crime,

因此，他们根本没有犯罪，

and yet one-quarter of them confessed to it anyway.

却有四分之一的当事人 承认有罪。

And at this point, from countless research studies,

大量调查研究显示， 就这一点来说，

we have a pretty good sense of why people falsely confess,

我们很容易理解 为何人们会错认罪，

and why some people,

为何有些人，

like Brendan Dassey,

像布兰登·戴斯这样的人，

are at greater risk for doing so.

更容易错认罪。

We know that youth are especially vulnerable to providing false confessions.

我们知道, 年轻人 特别容易提错认罪。

In one study of exonerations, for example,

例如，一项关于免罪研究的结果显示，

only eight percent of adults had falsely confessed,

只有 8% 的成年人会错认罪，

but 42 percent of juveniles had done so.

而高达 42% 的青少年却会那么做。

Of course, if we're just looking at wrongful convictions and exonerations,

当然, 如果我们 只看错判和免罪的话,

we're only getting part of the story.

我们才只看到了事情的一面。

Left out, for instance, are the many cases that are resolved by guilty pleas,

例如, 这样的话会漏掉 很多以有罪抗辩、

not trials.

而不是审判结案的案件。

From TV and news headlines,

从电视和新闻头条中所看到的,

you may think that trials are the norm in our legal system,

你可能会认为 审判是我们法律体系中的常态,

but the reality is that 97 percent of legal cases in the US

但现实是, 美国 97% 的法律案件

are resolved by pleas, not trials.

是通过有罪抗辩 而不是审判来结案的。

Ninety-seven percent.

97% 呀！

Also left out will be confessions to more minor types of crimes

还会漏掉一些 更小类型的犯罪招供,

that don't typically involve DNA evidence

这些罪行通常不涉及 DNA 证据,

and aren't usually reviewed or appealed following a conviction.

而且，通常不会在定罪后 复查或上诉。

So for this reason,

正是由于这个原因,

many refer to the false confessions we actually do know about

许多人认为 我们已知的错认罪案例

as the tip of a much larger iceberg.

只是一个巨大冰山的一角而已。

In our research, we found alarming rates of false confession among teenagers.

在我们的研究中, 我们发现 青少年的错认罪率高得惊人。

We interviewed almost 200 incarcerated 14-to-17-year-olds,

我们采访了近 200 名被监禁的 14 岁至 17 岁的孩子,

其中 17% 的人说

and 17 percent of them reported

that they'd made at least one false confession to police.

他们至少向警方做过一次错认罪。

What's also shocking to most is that,

让大多数人感到震惊的是,

in interrogations in the US,

在美国的审讯中,

police are allowed to interrogate juveniles just like adults.

允许警察 像审讯成年人一样审问青少年,

So they can lie to them --

所以，警察可以对他们撒谎--

blatant lies like, "We have your fingerprints,

明目张胆的谎言如, "我们有你的指纹,

we have your DNA;

我们有你的 DNA;

your friend is down the hall saying that this was all your idea."

你的朋友就在大厅里， 说这完全是你的主意。”

Lying to suspects is banned in the UK, for example,

例如, 英国 禁止警察对嫌犯撒谎,

but legal here in the US,

但这在美国合法的,

even with intellectually impaired teens like Brendan Dassey.

即使是对待像布兰登·戴斯这样 智力受损的青少年。

In our research, most of the incarcerated teens that we interviewed

在我们的研究中, 我们采访过的 多数被监禁的青少年说，

reported experiencing high-pressure police interrogations

他们经历过 没有律师或父母在场情况下的

without lawyers or parents present.

警察高压审讯。

More than 80 percent described having been threatened by the police,

超过 80% 的人描述说 曾遭受警察威胁,

including with the possibility of being raped or killed in jail

包括可能会在狱中 被强奸或杀害威胁，

or being tried as an adult.

或被威胁当作成年人受审。

These maximization strategies are designed

这些效果最大化策略的目的

to make suspects feel like denials are pointless

是为了震慑嫌疑犯， 让他们觉得抵赖毫无意义,

and confession is the only option.

而认罪是唯一的选择。

So you may have heard of playing the role of "good cop/bad cop," right?

所以，你可能听说过分饰 "好警察/坏警察" 角色的策略吧？

Well, this is bad cop.

刚才视频中 警察扮演的正是坏警察。

Juveniles are more suggestible and susceptible to social influence,

青少年更易接受暗示、 更容易受到社会影响,

就像审讯中 来自权威人物的

like the intense pressure accusations and suggestions

coming from authority figures in interrogations.

强压指控和建议。

More than 70 percent of the teens in our study said

在我们的研究中, 超过 70% 的青少年说,

that the police had tried to "befriend" them

警方曾试图与他们 "交朋友"

or indicate a desire to help them out during the interrogation.

或暗示希望在审讯中帮助他们。

These are referred to as "minimization strategies,"

这些被称为 "最小化策略",

and they're designed to convey sympathy and understanding to the suspect,

它们旨在向嫌疑犯传达同情和理解,

and they imply that a confession will result in more lenient treatment.

他们暗示： 认罪会导致更宽大的处理。

So in the classic good-cop-bad-cop oversimplification

所以在经典的好警察-坏警察

of police interrogations,

过于简单化的审讯中,

this is "good cop."

这位扮演 "好警察"。

(Video) P1: Honesty here, Brendan, is the thing that's going to help you, OK?

（视频）警察1：布兰登, 在这里 你只有说实话才能帮你, 明不明白？

No matter what you did,

不管你做了什么，

we can work through that, OK?

我们都能解决的，明白吗？

We can't make any promises,

我们虽然并不能许诺什么,

but we'll stand behind you no matter what you did, OK?

但无论你做了什么, 我们都会支持你的, 知道吗？

LM: "No matter what you did, we can work through that."

琳达思·马洛：“不论你做了什么， 我们都能解决。”

Hints of leniency like you just saw with Brendan

像你刚才看到的那样， 警察给出了宽大处理的暗示，

are especially powerful among adolescents,

这在青少年中尤其有说服力,

in part because they evaluate reward and risk differently than adults do.

一部分原因是，他们 对好处和风险的评估异于成年人。

Confessing brings an immediate reward to the suspect, right?

认罪会 立刻给嫌犯带来好处，对吧？

Now the stressful, unpleasant interrogation is over.

高压、恼人的审讯终于结束了！

So confessing may seem like the best option to most teens,

因此, 对于多数十几岁的孩子来说, 服罪似乎是最好的选择，

who are less focused on that long-term risk of conviction and punishment

他们却没那么关心

随之而来的 因为认罪

down the road

as a result of that confession.

而导致的定罪和惩罚的长期风险。

I think we can all agree that thoughtful, long-term planning

我想大家都认同这一点： 进行深思熟虑的长远规划

is not a strength of most teenagers that we know.

并不是我们所知道的 多数青少年的强项。

And by and large, the legal system seems to get

总的来说, 法律制度似乎了解

that young victims and witnesses should be treated differently than adults.

应该区别对待 年轻的受害者和证人。

But when it comes to young suspects, it's like the kid gloves come off.

但当轮到年轻的嫌犯时, 却没有区别对待之说了。

And treating juveniles as though they're adults in interrogations

在审讯中， 把青少年当成年人对待

是个问题，

is a problem,

because literally hundreds

因为数以百计的

权威心理和神经科学研究证明：

of psychological and neuroscientific studies

tell us that juveniles do not think like adults,

青少年的思考方式异于成年人,

they do not behave like adults,

他们的做事方式不像成年人,

and they're not built like adults.

他们的构造不像成人。

Adolescent brains are different from adult brains --

青春期的大脑 与成年后的大脑不同--

even anatomically.

甚至解剖结果也不一样。

So there are important changes happening

因此, 青春期的大脑

in the structure and function of the brain during adolescence,

在结构和功能方面 发生了重大变化,

especially in the prefrontal cortex and the limbic system,

特别是前额皮质 和大脑边缘系统，

and these are areas that are crucial for things like self-control,

而大脑的这些区域

对自我控制、决策、

decision-making,

情绪处理、管控、

emotion processing and regulation

and sensitivity to reward and risk,

以及对收益与风险的 敏感程度，

all of which can affect how you function in a stressful circumstance,

所有这些都会影响到 在紧张环境中如何应对,

like a police interrogation.

比如警察的审讯。

We need to educate law enforcement,

我们需要教育执法人员、

attorneys, judges and jurors

律师、法官和陪审员,

on juveniles' developmental limitations

让他们了解青少年的发展限制、

and how they can play out in a high-stakes interrogation.

了解在高风险审讯中 如何进行审讯。

In one national survey of police officers,

一项对全国范围内 警察的调查结果显示,

75 percent of them actually requested specialized training

实际上有 75% 的警察 申请进行特殊培训---

in how to talk to children and adolescents --

培训何与儿童和青少年交谈---

他们中的大多数 根本没受过这样的培训。

most of them had had none.

We also need to consider having special protections in place for juveniles.

我们还需要考虑 为青少年提供特殊保护。

In his 91-page decision to overturn Dassey's conviction earlier this year,

今年早些时候，在法官 推翻戴斯原判的91页判决书中,

他特别强调: 在审讯室里审讯时，

the judge made a big deal about the fact that Dassey had no parent

or other allied adult

戴斯没有父母

in the interrogation room with him.

或其他成年亲属在场陪同。

So here's a clip of Brendan talking to his mom after he confessed,

下面是布兰登服罪后， 与妈妈之间的对话片段,

when it was obviously far too late for him.

显然为时已太晚！

(Video) Mom: What do you mean?

（视频）妈妈: 你什么意思？

Brendan: Like, if his story is, like, different,

布莱登：就好像, 如果他的故事是不同的,

like I never did nothing or something.

好像我从来没有做过什么呀。

M: Did you?

妈妈：你没做吗？

Huh?

啊？

B: Not really.

布莱登：不是我做的。

M: What do you mean, "Not really"?

妈妈：你说“不是我做的” 是什么意思？

B: They got into my head.

布莱登：它们跑到我脑子里去了。

LM: So he sums it up pretty beautifully there:

琳达思·马洛：布莱登总结得很贴切：

"They got into my head."

“它们跑到我脑子里去了！”

We don't know if the outcome would have been different for Brendan

我们不知道 结果是否会有所不同，

if his mom had been in the interrogation room with him.

如果当时布兰登的妈妈 在审讯室陪着他的话。

But it's certainly possible.

不过，很可能是不同的结局。

In our research, only seven percent of incarcerated teens,

在我们的研究中,

仅7%的监禁少年 （他们中大多数与警察打过无数次交道）

most of whom had had numerous encounters with police,

had ever had a parent or attorney in the room with them

在作为嫌疑犯被盘问时，

曾有家长或律师在场陪同，

when they were questioned as a suspect.

Few had ever asked for a parent or attorney to be present.

很少有人提出让父母 或律师在场。

And you see this in lower-stake situations, too.

在低风险的审讯中， 你看到的情况与此类似。

We did a mock interrogation experiment in our lab here at FIU --

我们在佛罗里达国际大学的实验室 做过一个模拟审讯实验,

with parent permission for all minors, of course,

当然有父母对所有未成年人的许可,

and all the appropriate ethical approvals.

以及所有相关的道德认证。

We falsely accused teens and adults of cheating on a study task --

我们错误地指责这些青少年 和成年人在一项学习任务上作弊--

an academic dishonesty offense --

这是一种学术上的欺诈行为--

that we told them was as serious as cheating in a class.

我们告诉他们, 这和 在课堂上作弊一样的性质恶劣。

In reality, participants had witnessed a peer cheat,

实际情况是，实验者 目睹了一位同龄人作弊，

someone who was actually part of our research team

实际上， 这人是我们研究团队的成员，

and was allegedly on academic probation.

声称自己目前正留校察看。

And we gave everyone a tough choice:

我们让每个人 做出艰难选择:

you can lose your extra credit for participating in the study

选择失去 因参加研究课题而得的额外学分,

or accuse your peer,

或者选择控告同伴,

who will probably be expelled because of his academic probation status.

选择后者的话，留校察看的同伴 可能会因此被学校开除！

Of course, in reality, none of these consequences would have panned out,

当然, 在现实中, 这些后果都不会发生,

而且，我们随后向所有实验者 进行了全面的汇报。

and we fully debriefed all of the participants afterward.

But most teenagers -- 59 percent of them --

但大多数青少年-- 59%的人--

signed the confession statement,

签署了认罪声明,

falsely taking responsibility for the cheating.

错误地承担了作弊的责任。

Only three teens out of 74,

74 人中， 只有 3 个十几岁的孩子，

or about four percent of them,

或者说只有约 4% 的人，

asked to talk to a parent when we accused them of cheating,

在当我们控告他们作弊时， 提出要与父母交谈,

despite the fact that for most of them,

尽管事实上在整个研究过程中，

their parent was literally sitting in the next room during the study.

他们多数人的父母 就一直在隔壁房间坐着。

Of course, cheating is far from murder,

当然，我们也知道，

作弊 远比不上谋杀那么严重，

and I know that.

But it's interesting that so many teens, significantly more teens than adults,

但有趣的是，那么多十来岁的孩子， 很明显孩子多于成年人，

signed the confession saying that they cheated.

签署了认罪书, 承认自己作弊。

They hadn't cheated,

他们并没有作弊,

but they signed this form anyway saying that they had,

但他们签署了这份 承认自己作弊的文件，

在这种状况下，他们几乎 没有尝试让父母参与进来，

rarely attempting to involve a parent in the situation.

Other studies tell the same story.

其它研究结果也与此类似。

Over 90 percent of juveniles waive their Miranda rights

90% 以上的青少年没有使用 米兰达权利（保持沉默的权利）,

and submit to police questioning without lawyers or parents present.

在没有律师或父母在场的情况下， 他们直接回答警察盘问。

In England and Wales, interrogations of juveniles must be conducted

在英格兰和威尔士,

in the presence of an "appropriate adult,"

对少年犯的审讯 必须在 "合适的成年人" 面前进行,

like a parent, guardian or social worker.

如父母、监护人 或社会工作者。

And this isn't something youth have to ask for --

这是法律的刚性要求--- 根本不需要年轻人自己提出！

which is great, because research shows that they won't --

这样做很好，因为研究表明

青少年不会提出这样的要求。

it's automatic.

Now, having an appropriate adult safeguard for juveniles here in the US

现在, 为美国的青少年 提供适当的成年人保护，

would not be a cure-all for improving police questioning of youth.

并不是改善警察对年轻人 盘问现状的万能药，

Unfortunately, parents often lack the knowledge and legal sophistication

不幸的是, 父母往往 缺乏知识和法律经验，

因而无法为孩子提供合适的建议。

to appropriately advise their children.

You can just look at the case of the Central Park Five:

你只要看一下 中央公园五少年案就明白了：

five teenagers who falsely confessed to a brutal gang rape in 1989,

1989 年，五名十几岁的孩子 错误地承认了一宗残暴的帮派强奸案,

with their parents by their sides.

审讯时，他们的父母 都在现场陪伴。

And it took over a decade to clear their names.

为了洗清他们的罪名， 竟然花了十几年的时间。

So the appropriate adult really should be an attorney

所以，合适的成年人 应该是律师，

or perhaps a trained child advocate.

或者受过专门训练的 儿童权益倡导者。

Overturning Dassey's conviction, the judge pointed out that there's no federal law

在推翻对戴斯的定罪后， 法官指出,

没有任何联邦法律要求警察 哪怕是通知一下被审讯的

requiring that the police even inform a juvenile's parent

青少年的父母,

that the juvenile is being questioned

or honor that juvenile's request to have a parent in the room.

或者尊重该少年的请求 在审讯时有家长在场。

So if you think about all of this together for a second:

所以, 如果你快速思考下面的信息:

as a country, we've decided that juveniles cannot be trusted

国家层面规定，

有些事情青少年不能被信任, 如投票、

with things like voting,

buying cigarettes,

购买香烟,

attending an R-rated movie

看R级片

or driving,

或开车，

but they can make the judgment call to waive their Miranda rights,

但国家却认为青少年能作出判断 而放弃他们的米兰达权利，

rights that we know from research, most teens don't understand or appreciate.

而我们从研究中得知, 大多数青少年 根本不理解或领会米兰达权利。

And parents in the room: depending on the state that you live in,

今天在会场的家长们： 根据你们所在的州的不同，

your child can potentially waive these rights without your knowledge

你的孩子可以 在你可能并不知情的情况下，

and without consulting any adult first.

放弃米兰达权利，而且 事先不会征求任何成年人的意见！

Now, no one -- and certainly not me -- wants to prevent police

现在, 没有人---当然也不是我---

from doing the very important investigative work

想阻止警察进行日常的、

that they do every day.

重要的调查取证工作，

But we need to make sure that they have appropriate training for talking to youth.

但是, 我们需要确保他们接受过 适当的、如何与青少年交谈的培训。

As a parent and as a researcher,

作为一名家长和研究人员,

I think we can do better.

我认为 我们可以做得更好。

I think we can take steps to prevent another Brendan Dassey,

在从儿童和青少年身上 获取关键信息

while still getting the crucial information that we need

以解决犯罪的同时，

我们也要采取措施，

from children and teens

to solve crimes.

去防止另一个布莱登·戴斯案的发生！

Thank you.

谢谢大家！

(Applause)

（掌声）