The Reid technique of interrogation (developed by John Reid) is used throughout Oregon and the United States, and is the highly effective method of eliciting confessions from suspects, both guilty and innocent. With the Reid technique, arm-twisting is replaced with mind-twisting. One out of four post-conviction DNA exonerations involve a false confession.
Because of its demonstrated unreliability and the frequency with which it elicits false confessions, the Reid Technique has been renounced in Canada and Great Britain. With the Oregon Supreme Court’s courageous and scientifically rigorous stand against suggestive eyewitness identifications in State v. Lawson (link to blog), the next frontier for Oregon criminal defense lawyers will be to convince judges and juries to see Reid technique-induced confessions for what they are: unacceptably unreliable.
Further Reading:
"I Did It" - Why do people confess to crimes they didn't commit? via New York Magazine