It didn't seem such a stretch, but the jury was nevertheless confused. In their post-trial edition, The Saturday Evening Post jumped on this bandwagon by running a lengthy editorial on the methods of brainwashing. In an informal survey of military men and missionaries, they found that even those prepared for it may still be brainwashed into accepting an enemy's ideology, even to the point of harming their country. The confession becomes self-criticism. The person's weakened physical state and feeling of shame and inferiority merge into a bond with the captor.
Captors prove their sincerity by using the same tactics on their fellow prisoners.
Even upon returning to society, the person will experience confusion and doubt. These procedures, the editorial went on to say, are not unlike those used in boot camp to get recruits to become part of a fighting team, for the honor of the country. In other words, it's used because it works, and DeFreeze knew how to do it. In addition, Patty had some clear disadvantages. She had no training in these tactics, she was young and vulnerable, she'd been protected most of her life, and she lived among college students who articulated anti-establishment values.