Interrogation scene

I think I just have to admit that I have no idea how to write an interrogation scene. How do you write one where the suspect is a hardened criminal?

Depends on how nice the police are and where it's taking place.

Can't tell you much without details...

Modern day, FBI, suspect is an illegal who may have been helping out to smuggle classified military parts out of the country.

EDIT: Oh yeah, and he's opened fire on police and took someone hostage very recently.

edited 10th Sep '11 11:49:02 PM by Exploder

...well, they can get away with a lot, I bet. Not a citizen = too bad for you, in the civil/political rights department.

~shrug~

Depends on what they're trying to get out of him—i.e. will his info stop some horrible thing, or just help them catch people who aren't going to kill others in a pressingly short about of time?—their methods will likely vary...

Watch something from Season 5 of the original Law & Order. Now flip over and watch something from Season 1 of Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Flip again and watch the interrogation bits from the first episode of Criminal Minds.

You'll see most the methods and wrinkles to legal forms of interrogation at work in all likelyhood. Add to that extended time periods; few people who aren't trained to it manage to last through eight or twelve hours of questioning without a mistake.

If you want a starting point, then you can watch the interview tapes of Russell Williams. I don't think you would classify him as a "hardened criminal" (he was an air force base commander with a clean record who moonlighted as a serial rapist/murderer). However, the tapes of his interview where the officer corraled him into a confession will probably be required study in future police interrorgation technique courses.