by TChris

Even adults sometimes respond to police interrogations by confessing to crimes they didn't commit. When the police interrogate a child, without a parent or lawyer present, the risk of a false confession is alarming.

Georgia attorney Gerald Word says the police questioned his twelve year old client for four hours, outside the presence of his parents and without a lawyer, before the twelve year old allegedly admitted his involvement in strangling an eight year old neighbor.

Word said it was only after lengthy questioning Tuesday that the boy made a statement that led investigators to believe he killed Amy Yates. The boy, whose name is not being released by authorities, was then charged with murder.

The boy claims he was "repeatedly called a liar" during the interrogation, and was not read his rights before being questioned, Word said. He never admitted to harming the girl, he said.

Few adults are capable of withstanding coercive interrogation techniques, and they often have trouble grasping the meaning of a Miranda warning. It is absurd to think that a twelve year old would understand his constitutional right to remain silent or his right to counsel, and it is equally absurd to think that a twelve year old's decision to participate in a police interview is truly voluntary. When the police interrogate a young child without a parent's permission, any resulting statements should be presumed to be unreliable.

Word thinks the Georgia legislature should enact a law that requires the police to obtain a parent's permission before interrogating a child. He's right, and other states should do the same.