The Netflix series “When They See Us”—a drama based on the prosecution of five innocent teens for a crime they did not commit—demonstrates the many ways in which the law fails to protect the rights of children when police seek to interrogate them. It has now been over three decades since the five teenagers were wrongly prosecuted. Still, New York law continues to fail to protect children under the age of 18. California recently passed a law (SB 203) to protect children in police custody by requiring a consultation with an attorney before a child may waive Miranda rights or be interrogated. New York State should afford children similar procedural safeguards. This is why Trellis and our Trellis Crew supports S.2800/A.5891, which amends procedures required for the custodial interrogation of children and for taking juveniles into custody to provide additional protections.

Below you can read more the proposed legislation and how you can help advocate for this necessary legislation

Some of our crew have been a part of helping to craft this legislation as part of organizing meetings led by Bronx Connect, that included a viewing of the first episode of When They See Us and a talkback afterwards. These are some of the things that our crew learned and heard as part of this work

“Over the past years, there had been minorities placed in intense situations that challenged their own mental capacity as they face serious interrogations. However, many of these minorities encountering obstacles like this were often youth teens or even younger. These young people were often not fully aware of the actual individual rights bestowed to them that allows them to feel protected and guarantee a safe interrogation with no penalties. These campaigns are what is needed to retaliate against the corrupt law system and its enforcement.
In our meetings, it has been brought to light that many other states within the U.S. are seeking to pass legislation ending youth interrogations. These states are doing so by passing bills and state laws that employ rights to a lawyer as well as “Miranda” rights of the states that are meant to help protect the youth from being affected by wrongful interrogation techniques.
It has to be brought to the attention of the public, that it is extremely necessary to help prevent the youth in our communities from even getting into situations where they are to be taken into custody to undergo firm interrogation that consists of unjustifiable measures. Because of old events such as the central park 5 incident, it had become critically important to reimpose the need for Miranda rights and even other human rights that help to protect innocent citizens from the harsh criminal justice system, such as the right to a lawyer, etc. We talked about how the criminal justice system is already unjust since it targets many minorities, through harmful actions. We talked about how although youth are given the verbal warning by police during high-stress arrests, children and teens may not fully comprehend what they are agreeing to, studies have found. To correct for that, the proposed legislation would require that before being interrogated, youth would consult with a lawyer – in person, by phone or through a video conference.” This directly notes the need for a better change in youth interrogations to increase the protection of people of young age. However, other states are trying to suppress the need for young people to be stated their rights when interrogated, as well as the right to lawyers, and other rights that avoid coercive interrogation tactics.
The passing of any legislation that is trying to bring an end to youth interrogations without counsel present is actually beneficial to many people under 18 as a whole. The systematic oppression forced onto minorities that are convicted by the justice system always targets those of color to be faced with harsh conditions of interrogation. However, many of our youth are pushing to march against this, to make sure that many of us are entitled to our Miranda and human interrogation rights that protect us whenever we are to be arrested.
There have been many campaigns and movements developing in modern day, in order to help prevent another significant event like the central park five incidents. These campaigns are focused on teaching the youth the power of having the right to remain silent, and to even overcome the coercive police interrogation tactics such as violence and giving false information, that are unfairly placed onto them. The main goal is also to bring an end to youth interrogations that take place without any lawyers present. Hence, the people have the right to hold just enough power that allows them to feel protected in any given circumstance, especially ones that involve a law that enforces unjustifiable tactics.”

— Gbenga Akinrosoye, Trellis Crew

“In When They See Us, there was one scene in particular where the police were interrogating a kid with his father but they were not getting any answers. The police officer then takes his father outside of the room and said if he doesn’t get his son to cooperate they are going to tell his boss of his criminal record which will most likely result in him losing his job. After that father was very afraid of losing his job so in order to protect himself he tells his son to go ahead and cooperate and tell them whatever they want to hear. This is the type of thing we want to avoid. In the film the police officers tried to pressure the dad into allowing his son to lie because they can manipulate the story and also bring up records that have nothing to do with the current case. The dad had to had a private conversation with his son talking about how the police have power over them and that they should just comply even when they are blatantly in the wrong . They also violently tried to force false confessions out of the kids and make them blame each other on things so they themselves wouldn’t get in trouble . Things like this happen all the time in real life but these things are not seen by the public and are usually covered up . This is primarily the reason why this bill needs to be passed.”

— Raphael Moreau, Trellis Crew

So why do things need to change?

Under current New York law:

Police are allowed to interrogate a child without a parent or guardian present.
Police can lie to a youth in order to induce that youth to waive their right to remain silent.
Police are not required to allow a child to meet and talk with their parent or guardian before the police read the child their Miranda rights.
Police are not required to explain to the child and the child’s parent or guardian what it is the police want to question the youth about.
Police do not tell the child, parent and/or guardian that the child can stop answering questions any time the child chooses.
Even if present, a parent or guardian may be unable to protect their child’s right to remain silent because they do not understand the right either, the stress of their child’s situation renders them unable to think clearly, or they have conflicting interests.

90% of youth waive their Miranda rights. Thirty years of research by psychologists, sociologists, and neurologists make it clear that even under controlled circumstances, children lack the capacity to fully appreciate the meaning and significance of the right to remain silent, and to appreciate the almost certain repercussions of waiving that right. Add to that the stress and tension inherent in a custodial interrogation, and the prospect of an intelligent and voluntary waiver of the right to remain silent becomes a myth.
Research also demonstrates that the young people most likely to come into contact with law enforcement are those with the most limited capacity to understand their rights. While false confessions are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Miranda waivers, these are the same children who are most likely to say whatever they think will most immediately relieve them from the stress and pressure they are exposed to when being interrogated. The Exonerated Five highlighted in “When They See Us” were not an isolated case, but rather an example of what happens all too often. Empirical research also tells us that children are significantly more likely than adults to falsely confess to a crime, and that the presence of a parent or guardian does not result in fewer waivers of Miranda rights.

S.2800/A.5891 is not intended to demonize law enforcement. While abuses may occur on a case by case basis, the greatest risk comes from the limited capacity of young people to adequately appreciate what is at stake even when the police do everything right. On top of this, we know that the children most likely to come into contact with law enforcement and the juvenile legal system are African-American and Latinx children from over-surveilled schools and communities. The result is a disproportionate number of Black and Latinx children interrogated by police without an attorney to help them decide whether to waive Miranda rights while their more affluent peers are protected by hired attorneys. For Black and Latinx children from low income communities, the protections of Miranda are illusory.
The Proposed Legislation

S.2800/A.5891 would provide the needed protection. Current law provides that police may interrogate a child when it is necessary. This bill would clarify that interrogation of a child is necessary only when the life and safety of the subject child or another person is in danger. When police determine interrogation is necessary, this bill would require that a youth first consult with counsel before any questioning can take place. Consultation with counsel would be a non-waivable requirement that would exclude any statement taken in violation of the rule from being entered into evidence against the youth.
We call on the New York State Legislature to pass this critical piece of legislation to ensure that children’s Miranda rights are protected and minimize the risk of harm arising from false confessions.

How Can I Help?

You can help by sharing this post and by calling on our state officials to pass this important and necessary bill to protect the rights and safety and dignity of our young people

You can include this wording and tag the officials on Twitter and/or on Facebook

As the NYS Legislature reconvenes, we are calling on Albany lawmakers to enact #Right2RemainSilent legislation to protect all young New Yorkers' Miranda Rights by providing an attorney before police interrogation. @NYGovCuomo

-Ever since the Exonerated Five were interrogated as youth and coerced into false confessions more than 30 years ago, New York State has failed to curb deceptive interrogation tactics used by the police. Enact #Right2RemainSilent. Cc: @AndreaSCousins

-New York law fails to protect children who can’t afford a lawyer during police interrogations, with over 90% waiving their right to remain silent. Albany must protect these children's rights by passing #Right2RemainSilent legislation. Cc: @CarlHeastie