Criminals commonly use defense mechanisms to rationalize their actions, to project blame onto someone or something else, and to minimize their crimes. Investigators employ these mechanisms--rationalization, projection, and minimization (RPM)--to help suspects maintain their dignity, or "save face," which often pays significant dividends in the form of confessions. To improve the possibility of obtaining confessions, investigators must convince suspects that confessing their crimes will work to their advantage and will give them a respectable way out. The article describes an actual homicide case in which the investigator used information gained in the initial interview with the suspect to develop the RPMs and, by using them in an effective style of delivery, obtained a confession. Notes