To understand why presumptive questions are so powerful, take your “guilty Simpson” hat off, and put your “innocent Simpson” hat on. If you were innocent and you were asked precisely the same question, you would immediately know the answer—you wouldn’t have to hesitate. You might say something like “All I know is that she was killed.” But with your “guilty Simpson” hat on, you have to process that. Now you have to factor in what the detectives might know, and determine how that will impact your game plan. That’s going to take some time, so you’re likely to pause, and attempt to buy yourself
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