Retired Texas Ranger James Holland reveals the psychology behind confessions in new ID series

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – When cases stall and evidence runs dry, retired Texas Ranger James Holland is often called in as a last resort.

“I get brought in when there’s no DNA or forensics,” Holland said. “My expertise is getting these people to talk.”

That rare skill is the focus of Killer Confessions: Case Files of a Texas Ranger, a new Investigation Discovery series that takes viewers inside interrogation rooms and long-cold cases solved not through physical evidence, but through psychology.

Holland spent more than two decades with the Texas Rangers, a role he says is often misunderstood.

“Hard work, dedication, not sleeping, long hours — and time away from family,” Holland said. “Being a ranger is really a life of selflessness. It’s about helping those who can’t help themselves anymore.”

Many of those people, Holland said, are victims who never get the chance to speak.

“Justice is a hard word,” he said. “There’s nothing fair about someone being killed. But bringing answers to families and making sure the perpetrator doesn’t have the opportunity to do it again — that’s what matters.”

Killer Confessions centers on interviews and interrogations, where Holland says psychology becomes the most powerful investigative tool. He described his approach as the result of decades of study, observation and experience.

“It’s 27 years of reading people, studying the human psyche and understanding sociopathic and psychopathic personalities,” Holland said. “There were times I sat in a room with a killer for seven or eight hours and got nothing. Then I had to study what went wrong and go back in.”

Serial killers, he said, present the greatest challenge.

“Their crimes don’t bother them,” Holland said. “They don’t lose sleep. They don’t have any problem lying. Breaking through that shield is the hardest part.”

Holland said the goal of the series is not to glorify criminals, but to center victims and their families while offering a realistic look at violent crime.

“We can’t ever forget the victims or what their families went through,” he said. “That’s more important than anything.”

At the same time, Holland hopes viewers come away with a heightened awareness of the danger that exists.

“There are bad people hiding in the shadows,” he said. “I want people to realize that evil really exists — and that law enforcement is working to keep them safer.”

He also said the show highlights the importance of continued support for investigative resources, including DNA and psychological analysis.

“Some of these people killed for decades,” Holland said, referencing serial killers like Samuel Little and Ted Bundy. “The impact on families is unimaginable.”

Holland said Killer Confessions stands apart from other true-crime series because it shows what is rarely seen.

“It pulls back the curtain on what actually happens in the interview room,” he said. “You see how little remorse there is — and understand that if they were free, they’d do it again.”

Killer Confessions: Case Files of a Texas Ranger is now on Investigation Discovery.