Defendant was found guilty of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, as well as several armed robberies and other felonies and appealed from his conviction. On appeal, he argued that his confession was involuntary because police lied to him about his rights to speak with counsel or make a phone call, disregarded his repeated requests to speak with a lawyer, interrogated him seven times over three days, threatened him with the death penalty, and suggested that he would be sexually assaulted in jail. The State argued either that defendant voluntarily waived his rights or that the admission of the confession was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. The appellate court disagreed, explaining that it could not ignore a situation where law enforcement “flagrantly disregard” a defendant’s rights and that the error in admitting the confession was not harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. (McBRIDE and HOWSE, concurring)
Illinois Appellate Court
Criminal Court
Involuntary Confession