No child should be in prison because police lied. But under current Connecticut law, police are allowed, during an interrogation, to lie to children about evidence and leniency, to threaten to hurt them, and to deny their physical and mental health needs.
Right now, Connecticut legislators have the chance to pass S.B. 1071, a bill that would ban police from using deceptive interrogation tactics for anyone under 18.
Police deceptive interrogation tactics lack scientific support, frequently result in false confessions, harm wrongfully convicted people and their families and crime victims and their families, and have cost Connecticut at least $48 million because of wrongful convictions.
Youth should be safe and protected everywhere, especially when they are at their most vulnerable. That includes when a child is sitting in a police interrogation room, without parents or guardians, facing the potential lifelong harm of a criminal record and the dangerousness of police, who hold handcuffs, guns, and tasers.
Message Recipients:
Your State Senator
Your State Representatives