by TChris

Improperly suggestive questioning of young children can easily lead to false accusations of sexual abuse. (A state-of-the-art reference on the subject of interviewing children is Investigative Interviews of Children by Debra Poole and Michael Lamb.) John Stoll, a victim of false accusations of sexual abuse prompted by improper questioning of children, will soon be freed after twenty years of confinement.

Four of Stoll's accusers, now adults, testified in January they were manipulated by investigators who dogged them for hours until they fabricated the stories. A fifth witness testified that he has no memories from that part of his childhood.

Stoll was represented by lawyers from the California Innocence Project. They deserve to be congratulated for their excellent work.

Another man who may have been victimized by false accusations -- Gerald "Tooky" Amirault, who ran a daycare center near Boston with his sister and mother, all of whom were convicted of child molestation -- was released on parole today after spending 18 years in prison.