Interrogations-and-Confessions-Handbook

562 A Psychology of Interrogations and Confessions
independent evidence concerning this murder. The only form of corroboration
relates to Lucas apparently having some ‘special knowledge’ about the case
(i.e. knowing that the victim was having a period, the presence of a matchbook
from the Holiday Inn in Oklahoma, that he could not have full sexual
satisfaction because of the presence of a sanitary towel, pointing out the crime
scene from Sheriff Boutwell’s car). However, none of this ‘special knowledge’
is truly independent. By truly independent evidence I mean evidence that was
not known to the police at the time the suspect made the confession.
Conclusions
What made Lucas such a prolific serial false confessor? Undoubtedly, his confessions
resulted from a combination of factors, but the nature of his personality
was of crucial importance. There was evidence of personality disorder, which included
difficulties in forming and maintaining interpersonal relationships, poor
self-esteem, self-centredness, impulsivity, anti-social tendencies and total disregard
for the consequences of his behaviour to himself and others. He was also
emotionally labile, compliant and acquiescent and had an abnormal tendency
to confabulate on memory testing, particularly in relation to crime-related material.
Interestingly, he did not prove to be unduly suggestible on testing. I am
in no doubt that of crucial importance were Lucas’s need for notoriety, his eagerness
to please the police officers, the immediate reinforcement he received
for his confessions (people taking an interest in him, making him feel he had
something valuable to offer and giving him special privileges within the jail)
and his total disregard for the long term consequences of his behaviour.
The psychological assessment provided an important insight into Lucas’s
personality problems, which helped to explain his unusual, if not bizarre, behaviour
prior to, during, and after the Orange Socks murder case. It raised
questions as to his capacity to rationally assist his attorneys in the case at
trial. The main advantage of the psychological findings was to help explain his
Orange Socks confession in terms of his own needs and psychopathology.
I believe that the police made a serious mistake by their uncritical willingness
to accept Lucas’s confessions, most of which appeared to have been
offered by Lucas voluntarily and determinedly, and their belief that Lucas’s
lack of knowledge about the murders for which he was confessing was due to
his having committed so many murders that he had problems remembering
individual details. As a result, the police tried to assist Lucas’s memory recall
by showing him crime scene photographs and other salient information before
or while interviewing him. It is therefore not surprising that Lucas eventually
appeared to have special knowledge about the murders for which he was being
interviewed. This special knowledge was then unwisely viewed by the police
as evidence of his guilt. The Lucas case provides a fascinating and a unique
insight into some of the factors that make a serial false confessor. The fact that
Lucas could well have been executed for his Orange Socks confessions shows
how reluctant judges in the USA are to accept that false confessions can and
do on occasions occur. No doubt Lucas’s confessions were an embarrassment to
law enforcement agencies in the USA, and the case should make police officers