Criminal Procedure — voluntary statements

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United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit

Criminal

Criminal Procedure — voluntary statements

It was not unreasonable for state courts to find a 16-year-old suspect’s statements voluntary, even though she had endured 55 hours of interrogation.

“In the end, while it is unsettling that Carter was in the police station for 55 hours without a blanket, pillow, change of clothes, or access to a shower, and without being told that she could leave, the state court’s decision was not objectively unreasonable. She entered the police station on December 20 voluntarily as a witness to the murder. During the lengthy time she was at the station, she was permitted to move freely until her confession on December 22 in the wee hours of the morning. The evidence suggests that Carter slept at the station because her mother was in jail and her father was concerned for her safety outside the station. She had spoken with her father and a youth officer prior to confessing and had been read her Miranda rights before taking the polygraph. Unprompted by the police officers, she gave her initial confession on her way to the bathroom. She turned down her father’s offer to get her a lawyer. Her father was with her when she gave two of her confessions, and her mother was allowed to join her for one of them. This is enough for the state court to conclude that her confession was voluntary.”

Affirmed.

11-2202 Carter v. Thompson

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Hibbler, J., Wood, J.