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<p>Children’s involvement in wrongful conviction is largely undocumented; however, their ability to be witnesses has been studied extensively. Past studies have indicated that children can accurately give an account of a witnessed or experienced event and their evidence can lead to conviction of a guilty person. However, children can be vulnerable to suggestion and require special measures to ensure their evidence is elicited responsibly. In the present study, we explored the involvement of children’s evidence in cases of wrongful conviction. We predicted that although children can make mistakes that contribute to wrongful convictions, in many cases adult influences are the root of those inaccuracies. We identified 43 wrongful conviction cases on Innocence Project websites that relied on evidence given by children (under 18&#xa0;years). As predicted, children’s evidence errors contributed to the convictions. However, poor conduct on the part of the adults involved (e.g., police, forensic analyst, parents) was present in at least half, and likely more, of the cases. When judging the reliability of children’s evidence, we must examine how their witness evidence was elicited, and consider the role of adult influence on the quality of the evidence.</p>

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The Role of Children in Wrongful Convictions: Mistakes or Misconduct?

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年2月11日

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  • Nikola R. Klassen,
  • Naomi Woolverton,
  • Rachel Cantin,
  • Colleen Mosterd-McLean,
  • Deborah A. Connolly,
  • Heather L. Price

摘要

Children’s involvement in wrongful conviction is largely undocumented; however, their ability to be witnesses has been studied extensively. Past studies have indicated that children can accurately give an account of a witnessed or experienced event and their evidence can lead to conviction of a guilty person. However, children can be vulnerable to suggestion and require special measures to ensure their evidence is elicited responsibly. In the present study, we explored the involvement of children’s evidence in cases of wrongful conviction. We predicted that although children can make mistakes that contribute to wrongful convictions, in many cases adult influences are the root of those inaccuracies. We identified 43 wrongful conviction cases on Innocence Project websites that relied on evidence given by children (under 18 years). As predicted, children’s evidence errors contributed to the convictions. However, poor conduct on the part of the adults involved (e.g., police, forensic analyst, parents) was present in at least half, and likely more, of the cases. When judging the reliability of children’s evidence, we must examine how their witness evidence was elicited, and consider the role of adult influence on the quality of the evidence.