True Crime Night – with Veikko Bartel

There was a single piece of evidence against my client – the statement of a co-defendant. "He hired me to find a hitman." My client: "I don't even know him, so I've never exchanged a single word with this person." For the court, this testimony was enough for a guilty verdict and a life sentence.
“'I have done that,' says my memory. 'I cannot have done that,' says my pride, and remains relentless. Eventually—memory yields.” Nietzsche “Everyone is a liar.” Psalm 116:11 “The parties to a dispute lie, the defendant lies anyway; only the witnesses, especially the 'neutral' witnesses, tell the truth.” An unnamed district court judge “The suspect is sweating and looked down and to the right. That means he's lying.” TV series True Lies “He's telling the truth! Why would he lie?” Someone in almost every crime thriller
Let's be honest! Every one of us has caught ourselves having such thoughts or similar ones. Can this really be the basis for deciding which testimony to believe and which not to? Yes, they do exist – criteria that allow us, at least with some probability, to distinguish error and lies from the truth. Dive into the world of perception, memory, and statement psychology with me. And not in a strictly academic way, but in an engaging, playful manner based on cases from my own practice as a criminal defense attorney. I make you a promise right now: If anyone manages to successfully lie to you after this evening, you'll get your admission ticket refunded.