Six People Confessed To A Murder They Never Committed. How Did That Happen?

Rachel Aviv takes a deep dive into the story of six people from a small town in Nebraska who were convicted of raping and murdering an old woman. They have all confessed, as some even remembered the details of the murder. The catch is that none of them had anything to do with the crime. 

This story presents fascinating and rather haunting evidence of the malleability of human memory. There's scientific evidence that 70% of people will develop false memories if they are subjected to highly suggestive and repetitive interviews. Those who have suffered from violence in the past, and learned to dissociate from it, are more susceptible to such manipulation, as were the six murder suspects. The story of "the Beatrice Six" is the biggest single case of a murder sentence being revoked based on the DNA evidence. All the suspects have been released and are trying to rebuild their lives - and yet some of them still have the false memories, despite a successful lawsuit against their county.