Juvenile and False Confession

I have heard the police repeat the Miranda right time and again in television movies involving police and crime suspect. Prior to my MS in forensic psychology program in Walden University, I had not the slightest idea that the words embedded in Miranda rights are actually legal right, I thought they were mere lines used in movie acting and I never envisaged its importance; even Police in Nigerian movies recites this right to crime suspects even though the Nigerian constitution is silence about such right. Historically, Miranda right was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court which passed 5-4 in 1966 in the lawsuit Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U. S. 436. Miranda rights gives suspects the right to remain silent when arrested, the knowledge that any statement made can be used against them in a Court of law and an understanding they have the right to an attorney and they reserve the right to waive this right and succumb to interrogation by the police.
Research abound that addresses the inability of juveniles in fully comprehending the implication of waiving Mirada rights. Ferguson, Jimenez & Jackson (2010) conducted literature review of relevant research studies and lawsuits to establish the fact that juveniles are not properly developed to make informed decisions when it comes to upholding their right to remain silence in the wake of police arrest and their competence to stand trial. Studies has confirmed the fact that age an IQ level of juveniles is related to juveniles’ ability to comprehend Mirada rights (Goldstein, Condie, Kalbeitzer, Osman, & Geier, 2003). Grisso (1997) also noted that juveniles’ limited understanding of legal terminologies leads to increased risk of waiving their Miranda rights. Ferguson, Jimenez and Jackson further reviewed articles on cognitive and psychological abilities in juvenile citing the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Adolescent Development and Juvenile Justice. The foundation’s study indicated that adolescents and

References: Eckhardt, C., & Norlander, B. (2004). Anger Hostility and Male Perpetrators of In- Timate Partner Violence: A Meta-Analytic Review Goldstein, N. E., Condie, L. O., Kalbeitzer, R., Osman, D. & Geier, J. L. (2003). Grisso, T. (1997). The Competence of Adolescents as trial defendants. Psycholo- Gy Public Policy and Law, 3 (1) 3-32 Viljeon, J. L. & Roesch, R. (2005). Competence to Waive Interrogation Interroga- Tion Rights and Adjudicative Competence in Adolescents Defendants: Co-