People v. Bowen

Defendant was charged with possession of contraband (per indictment, a dangerous weapon, a sharp metal object) in a penal institution, and was convicted, after bench trial, and sentenced to 6 years. A large 7" sharpened metal shank was found hidden in Defendant's cell. In sentencing, court was not considering merely that Defendant possessed contraband, was used descriptive language of type of weapon and location of its discovery, which are proper sentencing considerations. Evidence was sufficient to sustain conviction, given officer's positive and unambiguous testimony about nature of shank. Circumstances of Defendant's interrogation were not inherently coercive as in custodial interrogations, which would have required Miranda warnings. (PALMER and GORDON, concurring.)