In Re Roger G.

Facts

Grace Capistrano was shot to death in the parking lot. D was arrested for the crime and interrogated. There is a transcription of a tape recording of D's confession given in the course of that interrogation. The first 15 pages disclose D's effort to avoid confessing to the crime and claim an inability to remember. The interrogating officer then asked: 'How old are you? Sixteen? Seventeen? Seventeen?' and then added: 'You know you could be in jail until you are about twenty-five. That's a long time.' Another officer interjected: 'And then some, cause he might be certified to adult court . . . . And you can be certified adult and get a life sentence on it too.' The original officer said: 'So let's have it out, man. Let's get it straight now. You're still a juvenile yet. You get you certified an adult, you're not gonna be treated as juvenile; you're gonna be treated as an adult. They sure hold them tight boy . . . .' D said 'I've gotta see 'em [the other two accused juveniles] before I say anything,' an interrogating officer replied: 'You ain't gonna see nobody except the court if you want to be that way. I'd see you go to adult court uh, you ain't gonna ride Richard's raft if ah.' D said, 'Oh, yeah?' The officer stated: 'You know, if Richard squeezed the trigger and you didn' man, I ain't gonna ride his rap.' The interrogating officer continued: 'We ain't askin' you to do the squealing, all we want is your version of what took place. Because, uh, when you go to jail, do time, you're gonna be your own time. You're not gonna be Richard's time, you're not gonna do Jerry's time, you're gonna be your own time. It's your life, man. It's shades. It could be seven or eight or ten or life, you know, sentence out of your life; not their's. You're the guy -- number one -- you'd better start thinking about and talkin' about. We don't want to hear about what they did; only what you did.' Another officer responded: 'That's exactly right.' The previous officer added: 'But it's gonna help you out for a chance of probation or getting parole if you are honest about the thing.' D said, 'Oh, yeah?' The officer continued: 'Tell your side of it, because if you go in there hard-nosed and just lie and, try to cover up, do you think we'd give you a chance at probation or parole? No way.' D asked: 'What is parole?' The officer responded: 'Well, that's getting out of jail -- you know, you might be six months and get out the rest on parole. And do the rest of the time at home. You understand, well, parole's like probation. A parole, you say, well, you see, ah, I get sentenced to, for robbery. They give me a five-to-life sentence. OK?.  I go to jail and I serve a year or to 18 months. OK, for the next five years, they're gonna put me on parole and let me out, and I'm gonna do my time outside. I'm still really technically in jail, but I'm out a . . . doing everything I do normally, but I've gotta behave myself, cause if I get involved in any more trouble, I go right back and serve that five years out. But -- if I go to jail hard-nosed 'n what-have-you, do you think the Parole Board is gonna listen to me? No, man. They're make me do probably the whole damn five years or more. You know.' D answered: 'You think I can get parole, I mean, ah, whatcha call it?' The officer responded: 'Not promising it. There's a possibility. But if you go in there with, if, if I was sittin' here and shuckin' with you, and he and I pulled a caper, and he's tellin' me the straight poop, then you're surely gonna listen to him and try to help him more than you are me.' D then confessed to aiding and abetting the murder while denying that he fired the fatal shots. D appealed. 

Issues

Rule of Law

Holding and Decision

Legal Analysis

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