Why they didn't ask for lawyers

Back in 1989, there were no Law & Order marathons, there was no network dedicated to to true crime and there were almost no procedural crime shows. Today, this is one of the most watched genres of TV. Our knowledge of the criminal justice system (though not always accurate) is much much greater in 2014, than it was in 1989. So judging the 1989 parents by 2014 standards it seems ridiculous that not one parent asked for a lawyer.

However, if it was 1989 and you were called down to the station because your child was being questioned about a crime and that your child just needed to cooperate with the police so that he could go home...or what if the police don't tell you that your child is a suspect...or what if you hear your child's story and it is about a rape, but they implicate other people and were mainly a witness to the crime. Knowing what they knew back then, would you have thought to ask for a lawyer? I don't think I would have.