SUBJECT

Police Child Interrogation Laws

BODY

I am writing to you today from [your city, county, state] and my heart is with you as you make policies and decisions that support the people of this country. I also write to you as a concerned citizen who believes it’s important to protect our children.

Only twenty-five jurisdictions in the United States require that law enforcement agencies either make video recordings or audio recordings of all custodial (aka children) interrogations. Arkansas, Montana, Minnesota, and Alaska all require that all custodial interrogations for all criminal offenses be recorded. Wisconsin, Utah, New Mexico, and Indiana require recordings for only felony charges.

I just watched the short documentary “What We’ll Never Know.” The film has a very Memphis centric story but I believe it spotlights an issue that so many states have yet to tackle: juvenile interrogations and false confessions. The short documentary tells the story of one teen who falsely confessed to murder after a 7 hour interrogation. We’ll never know what happened inside the interrogation room that convinced the teen to confess, because there is no recording of it. If you'd like to watch the film please visit www.foreverreadyllc.com/wwnk

I am asking you to review the laws and advocate for a policy that requires all child interrogations be recorded by police.  A bonus: recommend a lawyer be present.

As you consider, represent and advocate for the people of [your city, county, state] & the entire country, I ask that you support any bill that would protect children from being interrogated without representation or a recording. To me, this is a bipartisan piece of legislation that will keep our communities safer and help justice play out for all.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,                                                

[Your Name]

[Your Email]

[Your Phone Number]