A searing article in yesterday's New York Times provides a riveting account how Huwe Burton -- pictured above at his exoneration hearing -- was subjected to a coercive police interrogation following the tragic murder of his mother.

Huwe Burton was only 16 years old at the time. He hadn't eaten or slept much in 48 hours.

The NY Times article then recounts:

• Two hours into the roughly six-hour interrogation, Detective Viggiano started to bluff the teenager, pretending there was evidence that he was the killer....
• “I said, ‘What do I have to say?’” Mr. Burton recalled in an interview. Then, he said, the detectives began to feed him a story, asking repeatedly: “At this point you did this?” He said he responded with “yes” and “no.”
• Later, he said, they had him write down his statement and make a videotaped confession.

Police misconduct has been linked to 35% of all wrongful convictions. Now, the International Association of Chiefs of Police is pushing "victim-centered" investigations, which would worsen the problem of unethical police interrogations.

What happened to Huwe Burton could happen to any teenager. Contact IACP Executive Director Vincent Talucci at talucci@theiacp.org , or telephone: 703-836-6767. Tell him to cancel this deeply flawed "victim-centered" program.