By Avery Redula
SPRINGFIELD, IL – Lawmakers in Illinois are promoting a bill that would require lawyers to be present for all police interrogations of minors under 18, regardless of the crime.
Current Illinois law provides automatic lawyer assignment for all minors under 15 who are charged with sexual assault or murder, but groups, including Fair and Just Prosecution (FJP) and Illinois lawmakers believe this law is not enough to protect children from making false confessions under law enforcement pressure.
The FJP organization said in the report, “Youth Interrogation: Key Principles and Policy Recommendations,” those under 18 (due to continuing development, lack of maturity, and mental health issues) are likely to give in to law enforcement through false testimony and admissions.
The FJP states this is also caused by minors caving into police interrogation pressure and wanting to respect powerful authority figures, a custom often instilled in youth.
A large majority of minors waive their Miranda rights simply due to not understanding them, and believe they will get into trouble if they choose not to talk to police or if they do not confess—regardless of their innocence or guilt, said FJP.
The American Bar Association (ABA), in their study “Police Routinely Read Juveniles their Miranda Rights, But do Kids Really Understand Them?” reports that approximately 90 percent of minors waive their Miranda rights.
Within this article researcher Richard Rogers details that, due to the stress of being arrested, these juveniles reduce their comprehension of their Miranda rights by 20 percent.
Roger’s research demonstrated that “juvenile offenders were able to remember an average of just 32.3 percent of a simple Miranda warning immediately after hearing it read aloud.”
A clear example of a faulty waiving of Miranda rights was shown when a 15-year-old Illinois boy falsely admitted to shooting a store clerk, despite not even being in town when the crime took place, which police were able to elicit from him in under an hour.
This minor was told he had a right to an attorney, but was convinced by the police officer that it would take a while for the attorney to appear—easily bending and confusing the minor about his Miranda rights, said researchers.
The FJP said, “Thirty-six percent of individuals who have been exonerated for crimes that they were convicted of while children, and 86 percent of those exonerated for crimes that purportedly occurred before they turned 14, had falsely confessed, compared to only 10 percent of those exonerated for crimes they were convicted of as adults.”
This statistic emphasizes how the pressure of police interrogation and lack of maturity in minors affects the admittance of false confessions, said FJP, adding not only does this hurt the minor—but inhibits justice being served to whomever actually committed the crime as well as law enforcement itself.
The FJP maintains children do not understand the long-term stakes of these confessions, and although parental supervision would be helpful during these interrogations, actual attorneys should be present to navigate the complexities of the legal system.
Although the current Illinois law regarding police interrogations are helpful, lawmakers and the FJP urge the passing of this newest bill.
FJP argues these interrogations might take up more time for both law enforcement and the accused minors due to an attorney being present, but this bill would prevent many false confessions under pressure and help all children under 18 understand their Miranda rights.
