Springfield, Ill. (AP) — The Illinois House has approved a bill that could ban police from lying to youth during interrogations — a practice that adds significantly to the risk of false confessions and wrongful convictions.
The bill passed Saturday would still require the final approval of the state Senate and the governor to become law.
Though few Americans realize it, police regularly deceive suspects during questioning to try to secure confessions, from saying DNA placed them at the scene of a crime to claiming eyewitnesses identified them as being the perpetrator.
Interrogation experts say minors are especially vulnerable to such tactics and have been found to be two to three times more likely to confess to crimes they didn’t commit.
