There was a show on just the other day, where they showed the Mr. Big scenario they used to catch a guy that ended up innocent. Story is, he came home in a drunken stupor one day, telling his then girlfriend he killed someone. 6 years later, the police get interested as there was a murder about then in that town. They try to get the woman to get the guy to confess to it on the phone, but he doesn't, and tells her she's crazy, and what the hell are you talking about, etc.
By that time, he was also an alcoholic. The police started small, introducing themselves to him as criminals, and getting him to do things for money, like bring bags from A to B. Finally, they set up in a hotel room and told him that they know the justice system is crooked, and that the murder case is stacked against him by crooked dealings, but they could help him out. But first they need him to confess to it, otherwise they won't help him. He adamently says he won't confess to something he didn't do, he didn't do it, there's no way he's gonna say he did it just to get out of something, since he didn't do it, etc, etc. The cops tell him to go downstairs and grab a beer or two and think it over, so he does. Eventually, he says "well ok, if that's what it takes for you guys to help me is for me to say that I did it, well then, I did it, ok?".
They threw him in jail, and a few years later, guess what. He's not guilty, as proven through DNA and other conflicts in the circumstantial story (oh yeah, that they just kind of overlooked, you know, those glaring inconsistencies that get in the way of a good story).
The technique is good if it does manage to get guys, but that kind of behavior is just BS, IMHO of course.
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