Would you confess to a crime you did not commit?
‘In the Closed Room’ is a documentary on the vital subject of false confessions. For over two years Emmy-nominated director Katrine Philp has been following defense attorney Jane Fisher-Byrialsen (Korey Wise’s lawyer from the Central Park Jogger Case) as she fights to exonerate the wrongfully convicted and to raise awareness of the coercive and manipulative techniques that are being used during police interrogations.
The coerced confession of Brendan Dassey outraged the many viewers of Making a Murderer – but Dassey’s case is far from unique. According to the innocence Project 25% of overturned cases involve some kind of a false confession. Through three of Jane’s cases this documentary uncovers this phenomenon. Why do so many people admit to horrible crimes they have never committed? They say that trained interrogators can get anybody to confess to anything – and often people get convicted with no other evidence than their own false confession.
This documentary wants to raise awareness of this profound injustice, to generate a vibrant debate that can lead to change, and to help Jane in her fight for a more transparent and just interrogation process.
The dedicated team behind the movie is almost there; they just need the last funding to reach the finish line. If you too believe in the importance of this documentary, please support them on kickstarter; every amount makes a huge difference.
You can support the project here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/316719015/in-the-closed-room-documentary
Jane Fisher-Byrialsen: “Although I believe that lawyers can do amazing things when they are willing to fight for their clients, I don’t always think that it is enough to make the larger changes that we need in society. Therefore I agreed to participate in this documentary in the hopes that it would raise awareness around the problem of false confession.”
Dean Strang (Making a Murderer): “This important new documentary will help to spread understanding of the very real phenomenon of false confessions and help us to understand why they happen and what we can do about them.”
Sherene G.
