Preparing For The Interview
Everyone Wants To Talk
People's Words Will Betray Them
True Stories Come From Memory
The Shortest Answer Is The Best
Everything Has A Meaning
Use The Same Language
People Do Not Want To Lie
The Denial
Starting The Interview
Get Them Talking To You
Obtaining A Statement
Analyzing The Statement
Look At The Language
Specific Words
Unique Words
Unusual Words
Untruthful Words
Test Your Knowledge
Lesson One Test
Send Email
Introduction Page
Preparing For The Interview
The Denial
When people are accused of doing something they should not have done, they will often deny it. It is important to listen to their denial to see exactly what they are saying. Many guilty people will not deny committing the crime. They will give you a statement that sounds like a denial, but the reality is they have not denied committing the act itself.
"I am innocent." "I am not guilty."
A lot of guilty people are very quick to proclaim their "innocence." In their mind, they are giving a truthful statement. After all, in the United States a person is innocent until proven guilty. However, phrases such as, "I am innocent" or "I am not guilty" are only denying the conclusion and not the act itself. It is believed the person is guilty. He denies that by saying “I am innocent.”
"The only way we can really answer that is we are going to plead not guilty." - Timothy McVeigh
"I couldn’t have done that." "I wouldn’t have done that."
In statements such as these, the person wants you to believe it is impossible for him to have done such a thing. Therefore, he wants you to conclude that he did not do it. However, he has not told you that he did not do it. He has not denied committing the act.
"I loved Nicole, I could never do such a thing." - O.J. Simpson
"I had nothing to do with........"
This can be a very convincing denial. After all, if a person had nothing to do with the crime, then how could he be guilty? However, this denial still stops short of saying “I didn’t do it.”
"First everyone understand, nothing to do with Nicole’s murder." - O.J. Simpson
"I deny........"
Sometimes a person will "deny" doing something. Again this is different than saying "I didn’t do it." The word "deny" can mean "to refuse to accept." If you have a friend who is an alcoholic and he refuses to admit he is an alcoholic, we say he is in denial. It may be the person refuses to accept the fact he committed the act.
"There may be many similarities between these deaths and the death of my first wife, Debra Spivey. However, I deny killing her and her mother." - Mark Barton
Only sounds like a denial.
Some people will give a statement that sounds like a denial, but if you listen carefully you will see they have not denied committing the act.
"In my history of crime, this is a minor thing, even if it is proven, and I don’t think it can be proven." - Sammy "The Bull" Gravano
"You’re asking me to admit to something and as far as I am concerned I didn’t do it." - David Westerfield
"I didn’t do it."
When a person says, "I didn’t do it" he is denying the act. He is telling us that he did not commit the crime, or he did not commit a certain act. The only true denial is to state "I didn’t do it" or to specifically deny the act itself, "I didn’t kill her."
"They don’t have anything to arrest me on, and they never will because I did not do it." - Richard Jewell
"I am innocent" = Deny the conclusion
"I didn’t do it" = Deny the act
You should also write down in the notes section some of the sample statements found in this lesson.
| Continue Lesson One with "Get Them Talking To You" |