The interview reminded me of the Ryan Ferguson case from Columbia, MO. It became a 48-Hours episode. In that one, the popular sports editor of the local paper was found murdered in the parking lot of the paper early in the morning on 11/1, 2001. Robbery was the suspected motive, but it went cold fast. A couple of years later, this boy, Chuck Erickson, had dreams that he and a buddy, Ryan Ferguson, had committed the crime. Chuck was a disturbed young man with a history of drug abuse. Someone heard him talking about his dreams and told the police, who picked him up. The police interviewed him, and absolutely led him down the road. They used every dirty trick in the book and got him to "remember" details of the crime he had no idea about. He ended up taking a plea for a reduced sentence if he would testify against Ferguson. Ryan Ferguson was convicted and spent a few years in prison before the case was finally overturned. Ryan was released in 2013. Chuck is still in prison. The videotape of his "interview" was awful. That poor kid was railroaded.

Police use dirty tricks all the time to get confessions and evidence they need to put criminals away. I don't have a problem with this. But when they use these tricks on unrepresented people with mental problems or diminished capacity, it really bothers me.