Eric Morgan: Ontario; False confessions; Toronto Star cites new research in an exposee that claims aggressive questioning pursuant to the Reid Technique led to a wrongful accusation in Peel, Ontario - and a $25 million lawsuit. (Must Read. HL);

STORY: "Aggressive police questioning may boost false accusations, study finds," by reporter Wendy Gillis, published by the Toronto Star on February 15, 2015.

SUB-HEADING: : "Research inspired by a wrongfully accused Peel man finds coercive tactics with witnesses may result in them telling interrogators "what they think you may want to hear."

PHOTO CAPTION:  "Eric Morgan has filed a complaint to the Office of the Independent Police Review Director, and is suing Peel police and the officers involved in his case for $25 million.

GIST:  "There was never a thief, there was never a crime, and the supposedly stolen cellphone didn’t exist. Nevertheless, participants in a psychological study at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology accused another person of stealing a cellphone after being subjected to aggressive and coercive interrogations about the sham crime. After only a few minutes of forceful questioning, which included threats of academic misconduct for withholding information, five people confidently implicated another person in a theft they did not witness. The study, accepted by the Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, examined the effect of a popular and increasingly controversial style of police interviewing commonly known as the Reid technique. The tactic is most often employed on suspects to elicit incriminating information but can also be used on witnesses.  The research was inspired by the case of Eric Morgan, a Brampton man wrongly accused of murder after Peel Regional Police used Reid-style questioning on witnesses to build a case against him. Brian Cutler, a UOIT psychology professor and expert in eyewitness testimony and wrongful conviction, developed the study alongside student Danielle Loney to fill an important knowledge gap: while researchers have examined the effect of Reid-style questioning on suspects — some finding it can prompt an innocent person to confess — little is known about how aggressive and threatening questioning affects witness testimony......... Developed by American police officer John Reid in the 1950s, the Reid technique assumes the subject of the interview is guilty or there is a strong likelihood of guilt. The chief purpose of the interview is therefore to extract a confession or incriminating evidence. The questioning is confrontational and accusatory, meant to convince the person being questioned that to deny responsibility is futile. Often, the investigator says he or she knows the suspect is guilty and hints there is strong evidence proving guilt, even if that is exaggerated or made up. The Reid manual detailing the technique includes a section on witness interviews, suggesting it can be effective when they are uncooperative with police."

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.thestar.com/news/crime/2015/02/15/aggressive-police-questioning-may-boost-false-accusations-study-finds.html

See also: Joseph Buckley, President of Reid and Associates, defends "The Reid Technique" in a letter sent to The Charles Smith Blog in response to another post; It is often stated that the Reid Technique "shows no interest in learning the truth, but the goal is to seek a confession." We clearly state the exact opposite in our book Criminal Interrogation and Confessions (5th edition 2013) on page 5: "The purpose of an interrogation is to learn the truth. A common misperception exists in believing that the purpose of an interrogation  is to elicit a confession.... If the suspect can be eliminated [from suspicion] based on his or her behavior or explanations offered during the interrogation, the interrogation must be considered successful because the truth was learned."

 http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-reid-technique-joseph-buckley.html

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: 

Dear Reader. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following this case.
 
I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located  near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.

The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:

http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith

Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
 
http://smithforensic.blogspot.ca/2013/12/the-charles-smith-award-presented-to_28.html
 
I look forward to hearing from readers at:

hlevy15@gmail.com.
 
Harold Levy; Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;