railroading to confession

[CdwJava]

Whatever happened to the idea that they are innocent until PROVEN guilty.

Investigating is not determining guilt or innocence. Guilt and innocence is the jpb of the court. Focusing on a suspect or suspects is not confering guilt - just suspicion.

Their job is to try and find out what happened. And sometimes we have to use some unusual tactics to discern fact from fiction. From the outside, those tactics can sometimes look "unfair" ... but if they work, and are neither unlawful nor immoral, then we will use them.

The IO told us he went to the high school and talked to some kids_ do you suppose they were lying or is it just the two that offered to take a polygraph test to prove their innocence?

I couldn't tell you. But polygraph tests on witnesses and such seems to be far more common in TX than anywhere else. They are rarely used in CA, and not acceptable as evidence anywhere. Though the statements made CAN be provided as proof - just not the results and conclusions (usually).

I know my child well enough to know that after continued questioning he would eventually falter in his story-and so far that hasn't happened.

It could very well be that he's telling the truth. It could also be that he's learned to lie better ... or the story he's telling is close enough to the truth that is is easy to repeat without failing.

True lies are where people trip up ... half lies (those based largely on truth) are harder to detect.

I have heard parents insist their kid would "never" do something right up to the moment we showed them videotape. We parents tend to see what we want to see - its a fact of life. And its not a fault. But its a bias that every good parent should be aware of.

And I don't doubt your sincerity or your son's truthfulness in the matter ... but I (we, the police) would be remiss if we took statements completely on face value. or, if we discounted additional statements that came to our attention - like other students saying that the boys bragged about their involvement.

It was prom night -I don't suppose any other kids could possibly have been responsible for this and are lying to get the heat off of them,now could it?

Could be. But how many were alleged to have gone back to the school and bragged about it? And depending on how many sources there are, sometimes its kinda hard to refute a half dozen seperate witnesses saying essentially the same thing. If you have two close buddies as the only accusers, there might be a little less credibity to the matter.

And since we don't know what the officers have been told - or the number of students that allege the boys 'fessed to the event - we can't say for sure what was said. And, we don't know for sure WHAT the officers know ... there may be other witnesses or descriptions that you aren't privy to.

As for the criminal act - it's been 2 months - don't you think if they had enough evidence they should have done something by now. I have no problem with the police dept in our town-they do a good job. I just think this investigator is trying to prove a point and he is not looking at all of the possibilities.

I don't know how it is in TX, but in CA two months for a large jursdiction would be no surprise. In San Diego County, I often had to wait almost three months for a decision ... depending on the event. I live and work in a small county now, and two weeks is usually more than sufficient time.

And you may be right. The Investigator may have tunnel vision. On the other hand, if all roads lead to the boys, he's certainly not required to blaze a detour through the woods just to avoid using the road.

Good luck.

Carl

 

[lngentr]

Carl-I do thank you for your input. We live in a small town in Texas,so we are just amazed that they are still trying to collect whatever evidence they need,not much goes on here,if you know what I mean.And I certainly do not mean to trivialize the severity of this offense at all,I do realize that whoever did this could have certainly done more damage to the property or caused a severe personal injury. It just seems that whoever is in charge of this investigation is taking a long time to decide what they need to do. If charges are filed,what would the procedure be? Can we expect a knock at the door and our son taken into custody or what?

 

[CdwJava]

The peculiarity of TX law sometimes confuses me, so as to what would happen if charges are filed, I can't be sure. If it were CA, you would likely receive notice from Juvenile Probation to attend a hearing or a meeting where the charges would be discussed and further action would be decided upon (court, diversion, counseling, etc.). Under some circumstances, ad Juvenile Detention Order (aka a 'Warrant') would be issued and the child arrested. But, this is usually when we have an uncooperative or unreachable juvenile - this does not seem to be the case here.

And I, too, live and work in a small town in central CA. Something like this would likely be resolved in relatively short order. But, if the investigator was working other cases with higher priorities it is not unconceivable that this kind of thing might take a back burner.

I presume they have one year to file charges or start proceedings. I would sort of wait and see what might happen. Or, pay the money for your attorney to take some pre-emptive action and find out what it might take to get the issue decided one way or the other. If the attorney is local, chances are he might have a relationship with the investigator and be able to resolve it with a short lunch.

Good luck.

Carl