This Week on the Show

If you think only guilty people confess to crimes, think again. Innocent people are often convicted after providing police with a false confession -- and many of them are underage. Terrill Swift was 17 when he claims Chicago police officers lied to him during an interrogation, accusing him and three other teens of raping and murdering a woman. Swift spent more than a decade in prison for a crime he did not commit before he was exonerated in 2012 based on DNA evidence. Brendan Dassey, featured in the Netflix series “Making a Murderer,” was in high school when he was interrogated – and remains in prison today for his alleged role in the murder of Tereasa Halbach. His attorney, Laura Nirider, claims Dassey’s confession was coerced and unjust. Plus, Dave Thompson, an expert in interrogation training and a certified forensic interviewer, tells parents what they need to know to prevent this from happening to their children.

More than 23,0000 children age out of the U.S. foster care system every year. Studies indicate that foster care children report lower scores for happiness, higher for depression, lower self-esteem, lower scores on marital happiness, and higher incidence of social isolation than adults who were never in foster care. Hear the challenges two women say they faced in the foster care system and aging out of it. Lisa claims she had a rough childhood separated from her siblings, enduring abuse, becoming homeless, starting college only to drop out, and then finally turning her life around after joining the army. She says she lost touch and hasn’t seen some of her siblings -- but today, she gets the surprise of a lifetime! Ne’a says she also struggled in foster care. Since aging out, she says she has discovered the extended foster care program and is fighting to make a good future for herself. Both say the foster care system is broken, and changes need to be made. CEO of CASA, Charity Chandler-Cole, and Bishop Ed Smith discuss how they are trying to help make a change.

On April 25, 1998, in the small town of Waverly, Virginia, Allen Gibson, a young, up-and-coming white police officer who was new to the force and excited about his job, saw a man run into the woods. Gibson suspected a drug deal was going down, so he followed. That’s when he locked eyes with two Black men. Gibson’s dying words were, “Two Black males were responsible.” The two men arrested for the crime, Terrence Richardson and Ferrone Claiborne, say they did not commit this murder. A federal jury agreed with them and found the pair not guilty. So, why were they sentenced to life in prison? Dr. Phil finds out when their attorney, Jarrett Adams, explains what the judge on the case did. Gibson's daughter, Crissana, who was 8 years old when her father was killed, says she believes the right two men are behind bars. Crissana shows Dr. Phil what she found from her dad that means so much to her. Plus, for the first time, Crissana comes face to face with Richardson's daughter, Iquisha, and Claibornes's sister, Felisha. And, hear from the former police chief, Warren Sturrup, and a juror on the men’s federal trial, Dawn, who tells Dr. Phil how the jury came to their not guilty verdict.

STATEMENT FROM THE OFFICE OF VIRGINIA ATTORNEY GENERAL
“The Office of the Attorney General calls balls and strikes and makes decisions guided by the rule of law. The Attorney General’s Office, including an internal working group of former Commonwealth’s Attorneys with over 76 years of combined prosecution experience, has carefully reviewed the petition for a writ of actual innocence and former Attorney General Herring’s position in the case. We are now of the view that both Virginia law and the facts of this case do not support the claim for a writ of actual innocence. It should be noted that an executive clemency request to President Barack Obama was also denied.“
- AG Jason Miyares Spokeswoman: Victoria LaCivita

Fentanyl, a deadly synthetic opioid, has poisoned and killed many of the country’s youth and young adults -- and if it isn’t killing them, they're getting hooked. One woman shares how she became addicted to Xanax and Oxycodone that she was purchasing through social media and later learned the pills were laced with fentanyl. A former drug dealer shares his perspective on just how dangerous buying drugs on and off the street can be. Also, find out why one father says he is pushing to designate fentanyl as a “weapon of mass destruction.” Plus, families share tragic stories of how they lost their loved ones to fentanyl poisoning, and the changes they are demanding so that no more lives are lost.

The new series Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story may have landed the number one spot on Netflix, but it wasn’t popular with everyone. Angry family members of Dahmer’s victims say the controversial drama re-traumatized them and romanticized the notorious serial killer. You’ve seen Hollywood’s version. Today, Dr. Phil is telling the real story and meeting the real people who say they knew the real monster that was Jeffrey Dahmer. In an exclusive interview, hear from the sister of one victim who says the series glorified the man she calls “Satan,” as well as two men who say they were tortured and terrorized by Dahmer and survived.

TELL DR. PHIL YOUR STORY: Are you involved in a story making headlines?

Watch more from part two: Raising Evil: The Interview with Jeffrey Dahmer's Father

Watch more from part three: Jeffrey Dahmer's Journey to Evil: The Home Movies and Childhood Clues