Senator Montgomery Urges Governor to Sign Central Park 5 Bill

Senator Montgomery and Assemblywoman Frontus write Governor Cuomo to urge him to sign their Central Park 5 bill which would address situations where teenagers are subjected to un-recorded interrogation tactics which lead to false, coerced confessions. In far too many instances, this interrogation results in experiences like the Central Park 5, where young people spent decades in prison for a crime they did not commit.

This bill would:

• Require the video recording of any juvenile subject to interrogation when taken into custody by a police officer without a warrant,
• Require the inclusion of the notice of the child’s rights as well as the child’s waiver of any of those rights, and
• A copy of the recording will be subject to discovery.

This important piece of legislation would create a process that protects juveniles’ statutory and constitutional rights within our criminal justice system.

To read the full letter, download the PDF.