Letter to the Editor

27 November 2005

Dear Editor,

I am writing in regards to Tyler Edmonds, the Mississippi teenager, who
was sentenced to life in prison, and for who the appeals court of
Mississippi will hear arguments on December 13, 2005. There are numerous
grounds for overturning the conviction, but the biggest one that stands
out centers around the alleged confession Tyler gave to police outside
the presence of an attorney or a parent, and for which he later
testified that he had lied to protect his step-sister.

At the time of the confession, Tyler was just 13 and there's
overwhelming evidence that confessions given by juveniles are often
quite suspect, especially when the child does not have an opportunity to
confer with an attorney or other guardian during the interrogation.

There have also been many scientific papers, of which I have included
links to many below, that show that a child's brain has not developed
fully and because of this they cannot understand the full consequences
of their actions in the same way adults can, especially in situations
which are foreign to them, and for which they do not know their rights.

What has been happening more predominately though is that many children
have now been prosecuted in adult court, in which these children receive
more severe sentences than actual adults would receive.

Because of this, 15 states have recognized that these developmental
disadvantages greatly hinder children's ability to be fairly questioned
and have adopted, either by case law or by legislation action, rules
requiring some form of consultation with an adult during an interrogation.

Advocates across this nation made up of mothers, fathers, grandparents,
lawyers, doctors and teachers are in support of a new reform to juvenile
justice that provides clear guidelines as to how children can be
interrogated.

The Mississippi Court of Appeals should grant Tyler Edmonds a new trial,
where his original confession will not be admissible in court.

Thank you for listening,

Regards,
Navid Azizi
Ontario, Canda

IMMATURE BRAIN MAY PLACE TEENAGERS AT ELEVATED RISK TO EFFECTS OF DRUG USE
Http://www.drugfree.org/Portal/DrugIssue/Features/Immature_Brain_Places_Teenagers_at_Risk_to_Drugs

FRONTLINE: INSIDE THE TEENAGE BRAIN
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/teenbrain/work/adolescent.html

New research shows stark differences in teen brains
http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?scid=27&did=1000

Adolescence, Brain Development and Legal Culpability
http://www.abanet.org/crimjust/juvjus/Adolescence.pdf