This reply critically examines the methodological, conceptual, and rhetorical flaws in Bradford Beyer's rebuttal to my original critique of his book Rethinking the False Confession Phenomenon. While claiming to offer a corrective perspective, Beyer's arguments rely on anecdotal evidence, statistical misunderstandings, and ad hominem attacks on peer-reviewed scholarship. This article addresses his repeated misrepresentations of false confession research, flawed analysis of Innocence Project data, and rejection of science-based interrogation reform. I clarify the role of vulnerable populations in false confession statistics, challenge the dismissal of “older” exoneration cases as irrelevant, and highlight how legal, procedural, and institutional barriers suppress the recognition of wrongful convictions. This reply also underscores the foundational value of peer review in maintaining scientific integrity, countering Beyer's critiques with empirical and epistemological clarity. Ultimately, this rebuttal is not an attack on practitioners but a defense of evidence-based reform, emphasizing that systemic improvements in interrogation practices are both possible and necessary. The article reaffirms the importance of methodological rigor, interdisciplinary collaboration, and intellectual honesty in advancing justice. Where Beyer's work offers denialism dressed as skepticism, this response offers an evidence-grounded reaffirmation of the core insights from decades of false confession research.
AAMC Task Force on Financial Conflicts of Interest in Clinical Research (2003). Protecting subjects, preserving trust, promoting progress I: Policy and guidelines for the oversight of individual financial interests in human subjects research. Academic Medicine, 78(2), 225–236.
2.
BarrettoN. M.HealyJ.YangY. (2025, March). Objectivity vs subjectivity: How does evidence type affect judgements of guilt? Poster presented at the American Psychology & Law Society Conference, San Juan, PR.
3.
BeyerB. J. (2023). Rethinking the false confession phenomenon: A law enforcement perspective. Defiance Press & Publishing, LLC.
4.
BeyerB. J. (2025). Advocacy, Orthodoxy, and the Intolerance of Dissent: A Rebuttal to Sorochinski’s Critique of “Rethinking the False Confession Phenomenon”. Criminal Justice Review. https://doi.org/10.1177/07340168241311238
5.
Blandon-GitlinI.SperryK.LeoR. (2011). Jurors believe interrogation tactics are not likely to elicit false confessions: Will expert witness testimony inform them otherwise?Psychology, Crime & Law, 17(3), 239–260. https://doi.org/10.1080/10683160903113699
BullR. (2024). Is the interrogating/interviewing of crime perpetrators no longer suspect? A personal commentary on 25 years of progress. International Journal of Police Science & Management, 26(4), 414–420. https://doi.org/10.1177/14613557241298819
8.
DonnellyM. P. (2023). The dark plea: One of the most coercive abuses of power permitted in the criminal justice system. Cleveland State Law Review Et Cetera, 72, 125–140.
9.
Federal Polygraph Investigations (n.d.). Federal Polygraph Investigations – Bradford J. Beyer, Ph.D. Retrieved March 25, 2025, from https://federalpolygraphinvestigations.com/.
10.
GarrettB. L. (2010). The substance of false confessions. Stanford Law Review, 62(4), 1051–1119.
11.
GiannelliP. C. (2018). Forensic science: Daubert’s failure. Case Western Reserve Law Review, 68(3), 869–941.
12.
GoodmanS. N.BerlinJ.FletcherS. W.FletcherR. H. (1994). Manuscript quality before and after peer review and editing at annals of internal medicine. Annals of Internal Medicine, 121(1), 11–21. https://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-121-1-199407010-00003
13.
GrossS. R.PossleyM.OtterbourgK.StephensK.ParedesJ.O'BrienB. (2022). Race and wrongful convictions in the United States 2022. U of Michigan Public Law Research Paper, (22–051), 22–051.
14.
GrossS. R.PossleyM.RollK.StephensK. (2020). Government misconduct and convicting the innocent, the role of prosecutors, police and other law enforcement. U of Michigan Public Law Research Paper, (21–003), 21–003.
15.
Institute of Medicine (US). Committee on Assessing Integrity in Research Environments, Committee on Assessing Integrity in Research Environments, National Research Council, & United States. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health. Office of Research Integrity (2002). Integrity in scientific research: Creating an environment that promotes responsible conduct. National Academies Press.
16.
KassinS. M. (2017). False confessions: How can psychology so basic be so counterintuitive?American Psychologist, 72(9), 951–964. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000195
17.
KassinS. (2022). Duped: Why innocent people confess-and why we believe their confessions. Rowman and Littlefield.
18.
KassinS. M.ClearyH. M. D.GudjonssonG. H.LeoR. A.MeissnerC. A.RedlichA. D.ScherrK. C. (2025). Police-induced confessions, 2.0: Risk factors and recommendations. Law and Human Behavior, 49(1), 7–53. https://doi.org/10.1037/lhb0000593
19.
KassinS. M.DrizinS. A.GrissoT.GudjonssonG. H.LeoR. A.RedlichA. D. (2010). Police-induced confessions, risk factors, and recommendations: Looking ahead. Law and Human Behavior, 34(1), 49–52. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10979-010-9217-5
20.
KassinS. M.LeoR. A.MeissnerC. A.RichmanK. D.ColwellL. H.LeachA.-M.LaFonD. (2007). Police interviewing and interrogation: A self-report survey of police practices and beliefs. Law & Human Behavior, 31, 381–400. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10979-006-9073-5
21.
KassinS. M.SukelH. (1997). Coerced confessions and the jury: An experimental test of the “harmless error” rule. Law and Human Behavior, 21(1), 27–46. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024814009769
22.
KleinmanS. M. (2021). Milestones and signposts in the science of investigative interviewing. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 35(2), 458–459. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.3810
23.
KopplR.SacksM. (2013). The criminal justice system creates incentives for false convictions. Criminal Justice Ethics, 32(2), 126–162. https://doi.org/10.1080/0731129X.2013.817070
24.
KozinskiW. (2017). The reid interrogation technique and false confessions: A time for change. Seattle Journal for Social Justice, 16(2), 301–346.
25.
KriegerS. A. (2011). Why our justice system convicts innocent people, and the challenges faced by innocence projects trying to exonerate them. New Criminal Law Review: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal, 14(3), 333–402. https://doi.org/10.1525/nclr.2011.14.3.333
MeissnerC. A.KleinmanS. M.MindthoffA.PhillipsE. P.RothweilerJ. (2023). Investigative interviewing: A review of the literature and a model of science-based practice. In DeMatteoD.ScherrK. C. (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of psychology and law (pp. 582–603). Oxford University Press.
28.
MeissnerC. A.RedlichA. D.MichaelS. W.EvansJ. R.CamillettiC. R.BhattS.BrandonS. (2014). Accusatorial and information-gathering interrogation methods and their effects on true and false confessions: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 10(4), 459–486. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11292-014-9207-6
29.
MeissnerC. A.Surmon-BöhrF.OleszkiewiczS.AlisonL. J. (2017). Developing an evidence-based perspective on interrogation: A review of the U.S. Government’s high-value detainee interrogation group research program. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 23(4), 438–457. https://doi.org/10.1037/law0000136
NorrisR. J.WeintraubJ. N.AckerJ. R.RedlichA. D.BonventreC. L. (2020). The criminal costs of wrongful convictions: Can we reduce crime by protecting the innocent?Criminology & Public Policy, 19(2), 367–388. https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9133.12463
34.
PierieJ. P. E. N.WalvoortH. C.OverbekeA. J. P. M. (1996). Readers’ evaluation of effect of peer review and editing on quality of articles in the nederlands tijdschrift voor geneeskunde. The Lancet, 348(9040), 1480–1483. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(96)05016-7
35.
RedlichA. D. (2010). False confessions and false guilty pleas: Similarities and differences. In LassiterG. D.MeissnerC. (Eds.), Interrogations and confessions: Current research, practice, and policy (pp. 49–66). APA Books.
36.
RedlichA. D.GoodmanG. S. (2003). Taking responsibility for an act not committed: The influence of age and suggestibility. Law and Human Behavior, 27(2), 141–156. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022543012851
37.
RedlichA. D.SummersA.HooverS. (2010). Self-reported false confessions and false guilty pleas among offenders with mental illness. Law and Human Behavior, 34, 79–90. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10979-009-9194-8
38.
RussanoM. B.MeissnerC. A.AtkinsonD. J.BrandonS. E.WellsS.KleinmanS. M.RayD. G.JonesM. S. (2024). Evaluating the effectiveness of a 5-day training on science-based methods of interrogation with U.S. federal, state, and local law enforcement investigators. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 30(2), 105–120. https://doi.org/10.1037/law0000422
39.
SorochinskiM. (2024). Beyond the Badge: A Critical Commentary on B. Beyer's “Rethinking the False Confession Phenomenon”. Criminal Justice Review, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1177/07340168241297129
40.
SorochinskiM. (2025). Casting light on the unseen victims: A comprehensive review of the ramifications of wrongful convictions and exonerations on families. International Review of Victimology, 31(2), 285–305. https://doi.org/10.1177/02697580241265871
41.
WellsG. L.SmallM.PenrodS.MalpassR. S.FuleroS. M.BrimacombeC. A. E. (1998). Eyewitness identification procedures: Recommendations for lineups and photospreads. Law and Human Behavior, 22(6), 603–647. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1025750605807
