Guilty pleas in children: legitimacy, vulnerability, and the need for increased protection (original) (raw)
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While studies have explored adult suspects’ understanding of their legal rights, seldom are the experiences of children and young people taken into account. In this article, we discuss findings arising out of research interviews conducted with 61 children and young people; many of whom have experience of being suspects. From listening to their points-of-view, we find that children and young people fundamentally lack understanding of the rights of suspects, and especially the inalienable nature of those rights. We argue this is not surprising when children are being dealt with in an adult-centred punitive system of justice, which is contrary to international human rights standards.
Law and Human Behavior, 2005
While there is an increasing recognition that developmental differences may exist in legal decision-making, little research has examined this. This study examined the legal judgments of 152 defendants aged 11-17 (73 females, 79 males). Adolescents aged 15 and younger were more likely than older adolescents to confess and waive their right to counsel, and less likely to report that they would appeal their case or discuss disagreements with their attorneys. Also, while adolescents aged 15-17 were more likely to confess, plead guilty, and accept a plea bargain if they perceived that there was strong evidence against them, younger defendants' legal decisions were not predicted by the strength of evidence. Importantly, defendants with poor legal abilities were more likely to waive legal protections, such as the right to counsel and to appeal. Defendants from below-average socioeconomic backgrounds were more likely to waive their interrogation rights, and defendants from ethnic minority groups were less likely to report that they would disclose information to their attorneys. The advice of attorneys, parents, and peers emerged as important predictors of plea decisions. None of the defendants reported that their parents advised them to assert the right to silence during police interrogation.
Conviction by Consent? Vulnerability, Autonomy and Conviction by Guilty Plea
The Journal of Criminal Law, 2019
A criminal conviction resulting from a guilty plea rather than a full trial is typically justified on the basis that the defendant had the ability to go to trial but instead chose to admit guilt in exchange for a small sentence reduction. In other words, the conviction, and associated waiver of rights, occurred by consent. In this article, I challenge that notion by drawing on psycho-legal research on vulnerability and consent and research on guilty pleas in the USA. I suggest that while plea procedure in England and Wales appears less coercive than the practice of ‘plea bargaining’ in the United States, aspects of the system are highly problematic and are likely to be leading to non-consensual guilty pleas, through which innocent defendants are pleading guilty.
Weighing in the balance: Reflections on the sentencing process from a children's rights persepctive
A substantial body of research now exists indicating that parental imprisonment can produce multiple negative effects on dependent children. While the criminal justice system can respond to this post-imprisonment through positive interventions, an important question arises as to whether courts should take into account the impact of imprisonment on the children of offenders at the point of sentencing. The recognition of children’s rights in many jurisdictions has prompted courts to develop approaches that take account of these important third party considerations. This article will explore how the courts of South Africa and England and Wales have made space for the rights of children of offenders within the sentencing process and consider whether Ireland might adopt such an approach. Central to this process is how relevant information regarding dependent children can best be presented to the sentencing court. The article will therefore examine the potential introduction of child impact statements into the Irish sentencing process, and the extent to which probation officers are suited to adapting their current pre-sanction report role to include child impact information.
Prosecution reliance on the quantity rather than the quality of evidence for children's testimonies
What characterizes testimonies by children that proceed to prosecution as compared with those that do not? Data for 46 cases that included a child’s testimony were collected from the police force databases and transcriptions of children’s videotaped testimonies in Cyprus. Prosecution rates were highly correlated with the evidence provided but with no other factors investigated. Study outcomes suggest a link between evidence provided and prosecution rates raising puzzling indications that the decision regarding whether a case gets prosecuted or not relies heavily on the number of evidence gained and not on the quality of questions used during the criminal investigations.
Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly
Currently in England and Wales the law considers that all children below 10 years of age are exempt from criminal liability for their actions as such children are morally not responsible and lacking blameworthiness. This approach to young people in conflict with the law misrepresents the evidence regarding young people who offend and encourages highly contestable judgements about individuality, identity and welfare. I will argue that children have a right to respect for their evolving capacities and that respecting this right would help to redirect the criminal justice system towards a normative framework better equipped to accommodate the realities of childhood and in which the child’s experience of vulnerability and powerlessness is embedded throughout.
Weighing in the balance: Reflections on the sentencing process from a childrens rights perspective
Probation Journal, 2016
A substantial body of research now exists indicating that parental imprisonment can produce multiple negative effects on dependent children. While the criminal justice system can respond to this post-imprisonment through positive interventions, an important question arises as to whether courts should take into account the impact of imprisonment on the children of offenders at the point of sentencing. The recognition of children's rights in many jurisdictions has prompted courts to develop approaches that take account of these important third party considerations. This article will explore how the courts of South Africa and England/Wales have made space for the rights of children of offenders within the sentencing process and consider whether Ireland might adopt such an approach. Central to this process is how relevant information regarding dependent children can best be presented to the sentencing court. The article will therefore examine the potential introduction of child impact statements into the Irish sentencing process, and the extent to which Probation Officers are suited to adapting their current pre-sanction report role to include child impact information.