Opinion ID: 1592017
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 12

Heading: Voluntariness Affected By Physical And Mental Condition

Text: The defendant argues that the police coercively questioned him repeatedly over a day and a half and, in effect, wore down his resistance. On the contrary, we find nothing to suggest that the duration of the various interviews police had with the defendant, without more, rendered the defendant's statements involuntary. The record supports the finding that all of the interrogation sessions were of short duration and did not last the entirety of the day and a half as maintained by appellate defense counsel. All of the officers connected with the questioning of the defendant affirmed that the defendant was never threatened, intimidated, or made promises or inducements in order to obtain a statement. The defendant's encounter with Sgt. Driskell in the early morning hours of December 11, 2001, when the defendant was first arrested and read his rights, lasted mere minutes. Similarly, the defendant's encounter with Sgt. Smith and Sgt. Riviere lasted only a few minutes. The defendant invoked his right to silence and questioning never occurred. The other instances of questioning were not coercively lengthy. Agent Rupert testified that the entire interview with the defendant later in the morning on December 11, 2001, lasted approximately two hours and the videotaped portion of the interview, including the additional questioning by Chief McGuire and Detective Sonnier, lasted only one hour. The defendant's booking by Lt. Guillory, on the evening of December 11, 2001, lasted less than ½ hour. On December 12, 2001, the defendant's conversation with Captain Broussard and his unrecorded conversation with Chief McGuire lasted from approximately 7:30 a.m. until 9:19 a.m. The recorded statement obtained from the defendant later that morning lasted from 10:00 a.m. until 10:35 a.m. Based on these numbers, the entire police interrogation of the defendant appears to have consumed less than six hours out of a period of 36 hours. Clearly, the length of time that the defendant was questioned while in custody was not so coercive as to lead to an involuntary statement or confession. The defendant also complains that the police assaulted him upon his arrest, rendering his subsequent statements to police involuntary. La. R.S. 15:452 provides that no arrestee shall be subjected to any treatment designed by effect on body or mind to compel a confession of a crime. The record is unclear as to how the slight scratches on the defendant's face and ear occurred. During the videotaped statement of the defendant taken on December 11, 2001, the defendant told Agent Rupert and Lt. Guillory that the police inflicted the scratches during the arrest procedure. To Chief McGuire and Captain Broussard, however, there is an indication that the defendant also stated during his unrecorded conversation with them that the defendant scratched his ear while running through the woods behind the Salone trailer looking for Zimmerman and discarding the gun. We find that however the cut occurred, the mug shot photograph shows only a slight injury and not the result of the police beating a confession out of the defendant. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in failing to find the defendant's statements involuntary on this basis. The defendant also argues that he was suffering from a head injury, was suicidal and had been suffering from depression and sleep deprivation in the weeks preceding his arrest due to his break-up with Zimmerman, which rendered his confessions involuntary. In support of this argument, appellate defense counsel points to the record of the defendant's custodial statements that claimed that I just wanna die, my life is over, I have nothing to live for, and I just don't wanna live no more. In addition, counsel relies on the fact of the defendant's self-inflicted head injury after arrest. Finally, the record also shows the defendant complained during some interviews that his head hurt, that he was dizzy, and that he wanted to lie down. The record also reflects that the police immediately sought medical attention for the defendant after he rammed his head into a wall. The EMT from Acadian Ambulance evaluated the defendant's vital signs and assessed a slight redness to the defendant's forehead but no swelling. When the EMT offered to transport the defendant for medical treatment, the defendant refused. We find that none of the instances of mental fragility, depression, head injuries or sleep deprivation about which counsel now complains rise to the level of impairing the defendant's ability to voluntarily waive his rights and give a statement to the police. We note that the defendant rested in his cell or slept for most of the time period at issue. That the defendant was depressed during this time period is not in doubt. The defendant had just shot two total strangers in his attempt to capture and abduct his former girlfriend. However, the defendant's sanity was never at issue in this case and there is nothing in the record to suggest that the defendant's statements were not voluntarily given. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in failing to find the defendant's statements involuntary on this basis. Finally, the defendant argues that the police manipulated his need for medical treatment to secure his statement. During the second part of the December 11, 2001 interrogation, Chief McGuire indicated that she would tell the District Attorney's office about how the defendant felt, i.e. that he thought he needed some medication or to talk to a psychiatrist or something. The following day, just prior to obtaining the recorded statement, Chief McGuire observed that they could get the defendant's statement on the record while the defendant waited to see the doctor. La. R.S. 15:451 prohibits the use of inducements or promises to secure a confession. [74] Counsel's assertions in this argument are utterly contradicted by the record, which is replete with the police's solicitous care of the defendant while in custody. The police immediately contacted medical personnel to evaluate the defendant after his self-injury and he was assured he could see medical or psychiatric professionals if he felt he needed them. The defendant was repeatedly offered food, water, a shower, and the use of the telephone. The defendant's cut ear was attended to by the jail nurse and he was given sleep medication at his request. The police allowed the defendant to take a break outside and a shower before making his recorded confession. The defendant was allowed to sleep and recover in his cell for long periods of time. Viewing the totality of the circumstances surrounding the defendant's custodial statements, nothing presented demonstrates that the statements were anything other than the defendant's voluntary expressions. We find no abuse of the trial court's discretion in failing to suppress the defendant's statements on this basis.