Please support and vote FOR this bill. SB 198 Thank you

Thank you to the Committee for allowing me to offer my input regarding SB198. I am a licensed clinical psychologist in Virginia with a graduate certificate in Developmental Disabilities and a board-certification in the forensic specialty from the American Board of Professional Psychology. I have worked with individuals with developmental disabilities for about 28 years. I regularly conduct trainings for mental health professionals and legal professionals on issues related to developmental disabilities and forensic psychology. One of the most significant challenges for people with developmental disabilities is communication barriers and related misunderstandings. Their verbal and nonverbal behavior are frequently misinterpreted by people without developmental disabilities, resulting in health disparities, segregation in education and the community, victimization/exploitation, and in some cases incarceration. Conversations with law enforcement and other authority figures can introduce severe stress, and evoke compliance (rather than useful and factual communication), in ways that may not necessarily be obvious to the law enforcement officers, leading to misunderstandings. These miscommunications can cause law enforcement and other public safety authorities to act on insufficient or incorrect information that can jeopardize public safety as well as the rights of the individuals with disabilities. It is not reasonable to expect law enforcement officers, even very well-trained law enforcement professionals, to immediately detect the presence of developmental disabilities in the individuals they question; it is not always obvious. This law provides an excellent and efficient starting point for addressing this problem. Not all individuals with developmental disabilities will have these marked challenges in their interactions with law enforcement, and this proposed language in SB198 creates a process for identifying the people who will be most vulnerable to miscommunication and coercion. The integration of formal testing, in the form of adaptive functioning assessment, provides a more sound basis for inquiry into the accuracy and voluntariness of a statement than the mere presence of a developmental disability. Adaptive functioning is how well a person can care for themselves independently in the community, in light of their age and culture. There are facets of adaptive functioning, particularly in the Social domain, that would directly relate to a person's capacity for social-emotional comprehension and expression, which is relevant to their ability to understand the context for and meaning of their conversations with law enforcement. Adaptive functioning assessment is a common feature of psychological evaluations of people with developmental disabilities, and adaptive functioning assessment has been scrutinized relatively thoroughly by the courts in the context of Atkins claims (i.e., in death penalty cases involving individuals with possible intellectual disability). This history of review and scrutiny by the courts will assist prosecutors in discerning good quality assessments from poor quality work, resulting in greater accountability and transparency. I am supportive of SB198, and believe that it will move the Commonwealth in a positive direction with regard to a fair process and good quality evidence collection in cases involving individuals with developmental disabilities.

I am a forensic psychologist (licensed in Virginia) and attorney (licensed in Pennsylvania, voluntary inactive status) with over 20 years of practical and scholarly experience regarding individuals making statements to law enforcement and individuals’ waivers of their Miranda rights. To help inform the members' consideration, the attached 1-page letter affirms the significance of the problem that Senate Bill 198 addresses and highlights the decades of research demonstrating how individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities are particularly vulnerable to misunderstanding key conceptual and social aspects of interactions with law enforcement, waiving their rights, and making statements.

I’m writing in support of SB198, which limits the use of evidence obtained during law enforcement interviews of intellectually and developmentally disabled persons. I know firsthand how autistic individuals may be eager to over-confess when questioned by the police. People on the autism spectrum are naive, trusting, and want to please authority. Please support SB198 to protect developmentally disabled people who undergo law enforcement interrogations.

SB198 provides safeguards for people with ID/DD. People with ID/DD have a higher risk of unreliable or involuntary statements: Autistic and developmentally disabled individuals are significantly more likely to give inaccurate statements because they often try to comply with authority, guess answers, or “please” interrogators, even when they do not fully understand the questions. People with ID/DD often have communication and processing challenges. Many individuals experience delays in processing language, difficulty understanding rights, or trouble expressing themselves clearly and have communication skills below biological age-based expectations. This can easily produce false admissions. People with ID/DD experience suggestibility, anxiety, and sensory overload. Interrogation environments can trigger extreme stress, sensory overwhelm, or confusion. These conditions increase the chances that someone with ID/DD can easily be swayed or influenced, and can lead to statements that can be incriminating but are not accurate or voluntary. SB198 can help prevent wrongful convictions. Families and those in the court system want to prevent courts from using statements obtained under conditions that undermine a person with ID/DD’s understanding or voluntariness. This protects against false confessions, which lead to wrongful convictions. Wrongful convictions are horrible outcomes for defendants and a burden to the criminal justice system.

As a court appointed defense attorney and guardian ad litem for children and occasionally for adults, I support this bill. These comments come from almost forty years of experience in criminal matters. It is hard to overstate the sense of fear and intimidation an encounter with the police can raise in many people, including the innocent. Simply being approached and questioned by an officer or detective can cause such a response, even if the person involved did nothing wrong. But this problem is exacerbated when the individual under investigation suffers from an intellectual disability and/or neurodivergence or a diagnosis of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. People with intellectual disabilities may respond by telling police what they think the police want to hear rather than the unvarnished truth. They seek hints in the comments and demeanor of their interviewers and conform their responses to the ones which they believe will most please them. People with autism can respond in ways which may be misinterpreted by the officers investigating a situation. The stress of being questioned can result in stimming, repetitive statements, loud vocal outbursts, refusal to look the interviewer in the eye, and focus on irrelevant things which may be misread by investigators as either a callous lack of remorse or as intentional dishonesty or even as an admission of wrongdoing. People with a history of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder may retreat into delusions, offering explanations of events which may not reflect reality. Their perceptions of reality can be seriously skewed, so what to police may appear to be an admission or statement of responsibility is in fact false because their perception is false. It is important that police be trained to recognize the possibility that their questioning of such individuals may result in a misunderstanding of the facts and of the accused's role in them. I strongly support SB 198 and urge legislators to pass it. Carla F. Ward Attorney at Law

Vote “YES” on support of SB198

Please vote YES to protect disabled people in our community!

Please vote yes to SN 198 and protect the vulnerable.

Vote yes

Hi, I like this bill because I have autism and a lot of people call me slow. To be questioned without an attorney as a american citizen would be very unfair to me as sometimes it takes 2 or 3 tries to really understand people who do not have autism. I get extra tries at school for speaking to answer questions by teachers because my brain just is not able to remember all the time the beginning of a question to the end and what is in between. People like me need support before being questioned if there has been a problem somewhere because i might not completely under stand or be understood. disabled american citizens do need extra help. thank You

Please do everything you can to protect this vulnerable population from wrongful imprisonment and conviction. My own son, a person with autism and several other mental health diagnoses, who is very sweet and gentle, has a tendency to blame himself and feel guilty for things that are not even remotely his fault and will take the blame and punish himself. It is a nightmare to know he could be imprisoned or convicted for things he never did, and suffer consequences from law enforcement and perhaps harm at the hands of other inmates because he is unable to advocate for or exonerate himself due to his disabilities. There are so many in this position today. Please work with parents and others to find ways to safeguard the innocent and vulnerable.

Dear Members of the House Courts of Justice Criminal Subcommittee, I am writing to express my strong support for SB198, which provides critical safeguards for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities during law enforcement interviews and interrogations. Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities face a significantly higher risk of providing unreliable or involuntary statements. Many individuals are highly motivated to comply with authority figures, may guess answers when they do not fully understand questions, or may attempt to please interrogators even when they are confused. Communication differences, slower processing speed, and difficulty understanding legal rights can further increase the likelihood of inaccurate statements. In addition, interrogation environments can create intense stress, anxiety, and sensory overload for people with disabilities. These conditions can heighten suggestibility and make it difficult for individuals to fully comprehend the situation or advocate for themselves. Without appropriate protections, this can lead to statements that do not reflect a person’s true understanding or intent. SB198 helps ensure that statements made under circumstances where disability may have influenced communication are carefully considered, reducing the risk of false confessions and wrongful convictions. This legislation supports fairness in the justice system while recognizing the unique vulnerabilities that some individuals experience. Protecting the rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities is essential to maintaining the integrity of our legal system and ensuring equitable treatment under the law. I respectfully urge you to vote yes on SB198. Thank you for your consideration and for your commitment to protecting vulnerable members of our community. Sincerely, Staci Carr

Dear Members of the House Courts of Justice, Criminal Subcommittee, Please Vote yes on SB198 which will provide safeguards for people with ID/DD when they are interviewed or interrogated by law enforcement. This is important to me because I am the parent or caregiver an loved one with ID/DD. Many individuals experience delays in processing language, difficulty understanding rights, or trouble expressing themselves clearly and have communication skills below biological age-based expectations. This can easily produce false admissions. Please vote yes for SB198.

Please vote YES on SB198!!! SB198 provides safeguards for people with ID/DD. People with ID/DD have a higher risk of unreliable or involuntary statements: Autistic and developmentally disabled individuals are significantly more likely to give inaccurate statements because they often try to comply with authority, guess answers, or “please” interrogators, even when they do not fully understand the questions. People with ID/DD often have communication and processing challenges. Many individuals experience delays in processing language, difficulty understanding rights, or trouble expressing themselves clearly and have communication skills below biological age-based expectations. This can easily produce false admissions. People with ID/DD experience suggestibility, anxiety, and sensory overload. Interrogation environments can trigger extreme stress, sensory overwhelm, or confusion. These conditions increase the chances that someone with ID/DD can easily be swayed or influenced, and can lead to statements that can be incriminating but are not accurate or voluntary. SB198 can help prevent wrongful convictions. Families and those in the court system want to prevent courts from using statements obtained under conditions that undermine a person with ID/DD’s understanding or voluntariness. This protects against false confessions, which lead to wrongful convictions. Wrongful convictions are horrible outcomes for defendants and a burden to the criminal justice system.

I am respectfully asking that you vote yes on this bill. SB198 provides safeguards for people with ID/DD. People with ID/DD have a higher risk of unreliable or involuntary statements. Autistic and developmentally disabled individuals are significantly more likely to give inaccurate statements because they often try to comply with authority, guess answers, or “please” interrogators, even when they do not fully understand the questions. As a behavior consultant here in Virginia, I have witnessed young men with Autism provide blanket answers while talking with law enforcement during a crisis. If we are going to provide an inclusive space for people with ID/DD, we cannot ignore areas that are more likely to show challenges and need our support. People with ID/DD experience suggestibility, anxiety, and sensory overload. Interrogation environments can trigger extreme stress, sensory overwhelm, or confusion. These conditions increase the chances that someone with ID/DD can easily be swayed or influenced, and can lead to statements that can be incriminating but are not accurate or voluntary. Again, I respectfully ask that you vote YES on SB198.

My name is Yukiko, and I am a special education teacher who works with students with autism and intellectual disabilities. I support this bill because it addresses a very real issue that affects many individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. People with intellectual or developmental disabilities often have difficulty understanding complex questions, processing language quickly, or communicating clearly under pressure. In an interrogation setting, these challenges become even greater. Many individuals try to comply with authority figures or give answers they think the person wants to hear, even when they do not fully understand what is being asked. Because of these communication differences, individuals with ID/DD are at a higher risk of giving statements that may be inaccurate or misunderstood. Stress, anxiety, and sensory overload in interview environments can make this even more difficult. When someone is overwhelmed or confused, they may agree to things or make statements that are not truly voluntary or accurate. This bill is important because it allows courts to evaluate whether a person’s disability affected their ability to understand questions, communicate effectively, or participate meaningfully during questioning. This is a reasonable safeguard that helps ensure fairness in the legal process. These protections help prevent wrongful convictions and ensure that statements used in court are reliable and truly voluntary. People with intellectual and developmental disabilities deserve the same fairness and protection under the law as everyone else. I strongly support this bill and encourage you to pass it. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Please vote yes to support SB198 which will provide interrogation protections for individuals with ID/DD when being interviewed by law enforcement. This is a very important bill for the ID/DD community since it is common for a vulnerable individual being interviewed or interrogated by law enforcement to easily be swayed or influenced. This can lead to statements by someone with ID/DD that are incriminating but are inaccurate and involuntary. Many individuals with ID/DD experience delays in processing language, whether verbal or written. They have difficulty understanding their legal rights and they have trouble expressing themselves clearly. They may have cognitive or comprehension abilities that are substantially below the expectations for someone of their biological age. This can easily produce false admissions of guilt. Please REMOVE the reenactment clause on this bill and pass it to be implemented in 2026. Please VOTE YES on SB198 and provide protections for vulnerable individuals with ID/DD being interrogated or interviewed by law enforcement.

Without proper protections, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities can be easily confused or intimidated during police interrogations. They may say things simply to please an authority figure, because they do not understand their rights or they are just nervous and not thinking clearly. SB198 is important because it recognizes this vulnerability and ensures that disability-influenced statements are not used against them in court. This bill helps prevent miscarriages of justice and protects some of the most vulnerable members of our community. I support SB198 and urge the committee to advance it.

Please vote yes for SB 198. I am a mom of two autistic sons. It is extremely important to me to know that our laws will protect my vulnerable sons. Autistic people will often try to please authority figures and can inadvertently say things that could be used against them in order to put a quick end to a stressful situation. They need to be protected by fair laws.