Worcester Interrogation Tape Casts Doubt On Reliability Of Confessions

27:59

December 07, 2011

Worcester Police Sgt. Kevin Pageau, right, and Detective John Doherty, left, interrogate Nga Truong, 16, following the 2008 death of her baby boy. (WBUR screenshot)

WBUR has obtained video of the interrogation of a 16-year-old girl by Worcester police, ending in an allegedly coerced confession.

As reported by WBUR's David Boeri, Nga Troung was accussed of smothering her 13-month-old son.

Troung confessed to the crime following hours of grueling interrogation in which officers falsley claimed that 1) there was physical evidence of foul play, when there was none; 2) Troung would be charged as a juvenille, though she was ultimately charged as an adult; 3) Troung and her family would receive help from social service agencies as a condition of her confession.

Boeri joins us to listen to some extended excerpts from the interrogation, and we'll run them by a former Massachusetts Superior Court Judge to get his reaction.

Guests:

David Boeri, senior reporter, WBUR
Judge Robert Barton, retired Mass. Superior Court Justice

More:

VIDEOS: Anatomy of a Bad Confession

This segment aired on December 7, 2011.