Confession Accountability (CAT)
The focus of the Confession Accountability team is to research the use of coercive interrogation techniques against minors in Rhode Island, trace their unequal impact and connection to wrongful convictions, and advocate against their use.
Overall Purpose
We know that wrongful convictions exist, and with false confessions accounting for a large share of these injustices, people under 18 are some of the most vulnerable. The aim of the Confession Accountability team is to advocate for legislation that would prohibit law enforcement and school resource officers from using threats, physical harm, deception, and/or psychological manipulation when interrogating minors. Similar laws have been enacted both domestically and abroad, and it is time Rhode Island follows suit to protect our students. With coercive interrogation tactics proving less effective overall, we seek to improve the reliability and integrity of our criminal legal system while starting to address some of the injustices and disparities it creates.
Achievements
The Confession Accountability team has (1) engaged with community organizations and legal experts to better understand the harms of existing interrogation practices; (2) produced a 30-page report examining interrogation methods in Rhode Island; and (3) authored, introduced, and advocated for legislation to prohibit the coercive interrogation of minors, including testifying before the Rhode Island House and Senate Judiciary Committees.
Short-Term Goals
The Confession Accountability Team plans to (1) continue educating students and community members about the widespread issue of false confessions; (2) obtain and analyze public school and juvenile arrest data from police departments across Rhode Island; and (3) pass legislation to protect children in our state from coercive interrogation tactics.