My child was not read his rights until the officers got all info they wanted.then they told us it was a murder investigation!then they read him his rights. Wash State
My son is being tried as an adult!
The U.S. Supreme Court has stated that childrens thought patterns and reasoning are not mature. They do not understand what the miranda is really about or what it is going to mean in their lives. No child should ever be allowed to sign away their rights without having a parent or attorney present. Too many children are signing away their rights and now serve long and at times life sentences because they didn't understand what it was they were really agreeing to. Many times these children are questioned without audio or video taping and in some cases only one officer present. My son didn't even write his only signed it after being told to. The Officer didn't know he was learning disabled and could not have read or understood what he signed. The statement was allowed anyway in court. This kind of thing happening has to stop.
There should be no way that any juvenile could ever waive their rights! If your gonna do this then let them Vote an sign contracts an have credit cards too! Whats right is right.
This petition is a step in the right direction, but Children should not be allowed to waive without talking to someone on their side. Sometimes this is not the parent, who may actually be forcing the child to take fall for something the parent did.
I don't care if the person being question is an child or adult. Everyone should always have an attorney present when being quested. I'm not sure, but I believe that in most states parents are held responsible for what their children do. This should be the parents decision. My son 14 yoa was recently forced to sign a confession in regards to graffiti case. This questioning and confession happened while he was at school. The schools policies and procedures clearly state that a parent must be present during this type of questing. I did not give anyone permission to question my son. No-one at any time told my son or I that we had a right to have an attorney and or a parent present. No-one told my son that anything he said could be used against him in a court of law. or even that he had the right to remain silent. My son was painting his skate board in the parking lot while another kid was damaging the school.
My son got some over spray on the concrete under his skate board. It looked like a smiley face. My son was pushed into signing a statement saying he painted a smiley face in the parking lot of the school. Without me or attorney present. I have no problem with my sons confession. The way that the police obtained it does bother me. At what point in time did the children of this country become second rate citizens that do not have the same rights that are suppose to apply to all of us?
SusanM. I attended Christopher's trial and you only researched it. You don't get the same effect from reading the transcripts after the fact as you do from personally attending the trial. Whatever your opinions of the transcripts are, are just that, your opinion. What type of "medical research" did you do? It was clearly stated during the trial that SSRIs can and DO cause suicidal and violent tendencies in young children AND adults! The FDA has also made it mandatory to warn patients of the violent side effects these drugs cause by placigna black box label on prescriptions of these meds. Pfizer and other pharmaceutical companies know and admitt that their drugs can cause violent behavior in some people. Prozac is the ONLY SSRI that has ever been approved to be prescribed to children. None of the others (Zoloft, Paxil, Effexor, etc) are approved for use by children. They are, in fact, deemed unsafe for use by children. YOU are the one who needs to quit misleading the public about Christopher's case. You sound to me to be part of Barney Giese's team of good ol' boy prosecutors...
Christopher Pittman committed a horrible act BUT he is only a child and his rights have most certainly been violated. He was taken advantage of. His actions were violent and shocking but his actions DO NOT make him an adult, period! He should never have been questioned by the police without a guardian present. There may have been unbiased witnesses around when he was questioned but there was NO ONE looking out for his well being. If you think that the concern for this child is due to his skin being white instead of black, you're wrong again. Please take a lokk at www.justiceforjuveniles.o rg and take a look at the many cases that are being followed by this group. The casees of white children as well as black children are of concern by this group. Christopher Pittman's case is ot about race. it is about JUVENILE JUSTICE, or lack thereof!! Every parent in t
However strongly the public may feel, this child’s rights were extensively protected throughout the judicial process. There was several unbiased witness present when he gave his various statements. Are we to believe that the four psychiatrists’ who interviewed him are lying about what Chris told them when he talked to them? I disagree with the author of this petition. You are being disingenuous when you state this petition is for all children. This petition was only created for one child in mind and that was for Chris Pittman. You would never have started this petition if it were for a color kid. According to your logic we should not prosecute much less incarcerate any child who is under 16 years of age---I guess. This boy was afforded the same judicial process that all the other young juvenile killers in S.C. have been prosecuted under---why should we make the exception with Chris? Especially when he admitted that he committed the murders. Had he not confessed the jury would still have found him guilty because there was no way he could have gotten away with crime, there was just too much evidence against him. What is really sad is that you won’t let the public read my post. You just want them to sign this petition without anyone thinking about why you’re asking for their signatures for.
Everyone seems to be uninformed about the Christopher Pittman case and are acting on an emotional level. We have been sentencing young children (Chris Pittman) as adults for the past 10 years. This is not something new in S.C., he was not tricked by the police. He knew what he was saying when he spoke to the psychiatrists 6 months after his arrest. This petition is appealing to our mis-placed emotions and not on the concepts of the current laws of our state legislatures. Please don’t mislead and distort the real story about this child killer-young man. I have to stop and wonder if the public would be as concerned or horrified about this case if Pittman were a bl
I have witnessed firsthand how the laws in the United States of America are manipulated in the court of law. Down here in Mississippi, we have what is known as the "good ole boy" system and attorney's, judges, assistant da's and police officers all watch each other's back's. I am behind this bill and will do my part to see it becomes a LAW as I have children and hope my children's children have a better United States of America in years to come!!!
I would amend the petition to state that a LAWYER FOR THE CHILD must be present - too many parents are also too ignorant of the law, the ramifications of any and all interrogations by the police, the DA, or any others from the so-called "juvenile justice system."
What has happened to this country that the police are so eager to arrest children even if it means violating their constitutional rights? Children do not understand the law - heck most adults don't understand the law, so it is up to the "law" enforcement crews to uphold the law for them in every case. If that cannot be done with integrity on its own, then we do need another law written to make officials do the right thing.
It is up to us that live in this so called civilized country to fight for the rights of these children. Remember it may be their child this time but yours the next time. They say this is a country founded on Christian principles.I am ashamed to be an American.
i have a 15 year old child who wouldn't even understand what waiving his miranda rights would entail. i guess i better explain it to him and my 11 year old so they will be educated about it. what a sad society we live in that would treat a 12 year old child as an adult.
I asked my 16 year-old if she knew what miranda right were and she didn't. My 8 year-old thought it was the name of a Bratz doll. The police took total advantage of the situation with Christopher Pittman.They must have known better. The laws need to be changed. A child is never a adult.Chris should be free to go home to his family he was stolen away from, illegally.
i am certain a 16 yr. old doesn't understand what a miranda right is because im 17 and i have know idea. He did not know what he was doing he was, he was under the influence of Zolft. He has payed enough!!
I'm not sure a 16-year-old would even know what his/her Miranda Rights were, let alone a Child of 12, as was Christopher Pittman at the time of his arrest after the tragic ordeal with Zoloft and his taking the lives of his grandparents while under the detrimental effects of Zoloft.
I cannot understand how any adult could possibly think that a 12 year old can understand the criminal process enough to know what exactly he was doing when he waived his rights! This is wrong!
this is so un fair we all as parents need to protect our babies i fill so sorry for christopher hes just a kid i think hes paid enough dont u let him GO FREE
Why wasn't a family member of this child contacted before he was questioned and before he gave his statement? A 12 year old knows nothing about Miranda rights especially while under the influence of these powerful drugs.
This is the most horrible thing to allow a child to not be represented by an attorney or a family member. I cannot imagine this happening to one of my grandchildren. It is time you set Christopher free to go home and be loved the rest of his life.
This is so wrong to allow a child to give up their miranda rights. Let's start treating a child as a child and an adult as an adult.
I am so upset about the fact that Christopher did not have anyone with him and then they had the nerve to try him as an adult at the age of 12. There are so many adults that are more guilty than he is. He isn't even guilty the FDA is and many others (adults)
My heart is broken for this young man. I wonder about some of the comments I have read, about the cold responses for this young man. The juror who made statements about others and Zoloft shocked me, he failed to see that we do not all react to these drugs in the same way and how he thinks it is not possible to react differently. I have twin grandson's his age and I would want someone to help this young man. Thanks to those who do. I pray he gets as much help as possible as soon as possible. Thanks for starting this petition and I pray many will sign this. It is sorely needed before another child, maybe one we know, is treated this way. I am so sorry this happened and so sorry for this young man and his family, I have written the Gov. of SC and Pres. Bush about a pardon for this young man. I pray others will do the same.
A child is a child and should be treated as one, not expected to understand there miranda rights or the effect of giving them up.Where are we as parents and Grandparents if we allow our children to be victims of the legal system there two young to even have a vote in.
Chidren are considered children in every aspect of the laws governed by the US and should have protections put in place under the same laws concerning our children.
This is a great petition, and one that many can "feel good about supporting" as it is only common sense! This is a great petition to stand infront of a store with, asking people to sign. I am sure that there is an easy way to make it legal to then add their names to this electronic petition. It's all about creating awareness. "Laws are based on the majority opinion of the people"
Yes indeed, the police needs to give the kids a fair miranda rights, they are not doing their job correctly. For crying out loud the courts don't know what a kid is. If they are 17 and under then that means they are kids. These people needs to go back to school. Barney Fife can be a better cop than the ones who mistreat kids. The jury has less brains when they try kids as adults.
no child should ever be questioned by anyone (including cops) without a parent or family member or attorney present who would have the childs best interest at heart. Chris Pittmans rights were violated right off the bat.
Every child who is allowed to waive his rights becomes a victim of the legal system. It is important that citizens of our great country realize that no child should be classified as an adult for any purpose. Laws must change and justice must prevail to give our children hope for a decent future.
administrator
www.betrayedinnocence.org
im a teenager, only 14, and i think Chris needs to be with his family right now more than most, i think it was the srugs that made him do it and he didnt know what he was doing. I dont think Chris should be locked up anymore. He doesnt deserve anymore of that punishment, he already has to deal with it in his mind and it will repeat in his mind. I think they should give him a second trial and let him be free!
I Love U Chris**
Children can;t vote, drive a car, egally get married, or hold a job until they are older. So let's make sure they're protected in every way until they are mature enough to handle themselves and major decisions.
It seems that the Government is slowy an d surely removing rights from Citizens. A very good way to do this is to condition children to get used to invasive and oppressive policies while they are in their developing years. Thus when they become adults, these infringements on their freedoms are acceptable to them.
I am a teenager and I wouldn't know the first thing about what miranda rights are especially in the face of some tragedy. The drugs were what caused his actions, the ones responsible (the Dr.) for prescribing them to him should be responsible and should at least apoligize to Christopher for giving them to him when he was not quallified to do so.
Christopher needs to be with his family he was only 12 and is still a baby due to the fact he has already been locked away for 4 years his mind and heart haven't had the chance to mature as they would if he were free. This is what his Grandparents Joe and Joy would want.
Please free Christopher he has served enough how much more can his little heart endure. The weight of what has happened to him and without the close contact of his loving family and without intense therapy his mind and body need, he probably won't be able to survive. His miranda rights should never have been administered without a parent present. This is wrong for any child. Change this law.
Christopher was tricked into signing away his rights. When he was asked if he understood he had no idea what the far reaching results would be. He was agreeing to tell the truth which he did and has always done since, not knowing this would work against him. There was no video tape made of his confession therefore it should be invalid. Please free Christopher Pittman and let him go home to the ones who can help him heal his aching heart.He has served more than enough time of his young life as the result of the drugs the Dr. prescribed for him.
Miranda rights are beyond the scope of the juvenile mind. We should never allow any juvenile to be naked in front of a court of law, any more than allowing protection by the Bill of Rights.
