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November 18, 2008
Posted: 02:53 PM ET
NEW YORK–Twelve minutes of video have just been released, showing the eight-year-old Arizona boy accused of double murder doing something surprising: calmly answering police questions after the killings, denying any involvement.
An 8-year-old boy accused in the shooting deaths of his father and another man interviewed by police I’ve watched all of the video that’s been released, and the boy certainly comes across as consistent and believable in his denials. He says he came home from school to find the bloody bodies of his father and his father’s friend. He touched his father’s body to see if he was “a little bit alive,” then cried, then ran to a neighbor’s house for help. He said a car sped away from the scene. Authorities say that the boy confessed to the premeditated killing. If he did, it’s not on the portion of the tape I saw. Which raises more disturbing questions, namely, how reliable is the confession of an eight year old when he’s questioned at length by police without an attorney, parent or guardian present? What kind of people are we to try this boy as an adult, as Arizona authorities are considering, when he would never be treated as an adult in any other context? At least the interrogation was videotaped, so the judge can watch it all and decide whether the boy was susceptible to suggestion. Children that young will tell adults what they want to hear, without any appreciation of the long-term consequences. Let’s not prejudge this boy until the facts are clear. –Lisa Bloom, In Session anchor Filed under: Lisa Bloom Opening Statement |
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