Zimmer, Duncan & Cole

You Have the Right to Remain Silent..."

Sixteen-month-old Preston Vensand died at home on Thanksgiving Day, while in the care of his mother's boyfriend, Christopher Fisher. Just before dawn, Mr. Fisher awoke to the sound of Preston struggling to breathe. Paramedics responded quickly but could not resuscitate him. Police brought Mr. Fisher in for questioning. He described three recent events that might explain Preston's death. 

He said that the boy had fallen down while roughhousing with his siblings; he appeared to have a "bug" because he threw up on himself; and Preston had hit his head on a toy boat during a bath. The detective suspected, instead, that the baby had been shaken to death. He began stretching the truth in order to get Mr. Fisher to confess.

The detective claimed that doctors had examined Preston's body and concluded that he had been shaken. He said that Preston's retinas were detached, which was conclusive proof. He further claimed the doctors said that Preston's injuries could not have resulted from a fall.

But none of this was true. No doctors had examined Preston's body nor made any conclusions about the cause of death. Furthermore, an autopsy would later reveal that Preston's retinas were not detached. Mr. Fisher maintained his innocence, so the officers then invited him to take a polygraph. He agreed, but failed it.

The detectives continued to probe. Mr. Fisher began changing his story: he claimed he had fallen while carrying Preston into the bedroom or the kitchen. He then said Preston fell from the bathroom sink while unattended.

The detectives pressed on. They presented Mr. Fisher with a doll and asked him to demonstrate how he shook Preston. Mr. Fisher initially refused, but eventually gave in. He said Preston wouldn't stop crying. He grasped the doll by its shoulders to show how he had shaken him. He heard Preston's teeth clicking together while his head snapped back and forth. Mr. Fisher was charged with murder and manslaughter.

Before trial, he challenged the State's plan to play the confession video to the jury because it was involuntary and obtained via deception.

Thanks to television, there is perhaps no more famous legal phrase than "You have the right to remain silent." It comes from a landmark court case called Ernesto Miranda v. Arizona. 

The high Court overturned Mr. Miranda's rape conviction because he signed a written confession without first being told he could talk to a lawyer or refuse to speak with police. Many Americans criticized the Court's 1966 decision because it made it harder to convict criminals. Although Miranda warnings do make police work more difficult, they serve an important purpose: as safeguards to protect our criminal justice system and our individual rights. (In Mr. Miranda's case, though, there was still enough evidence to convict him at a second trial, even without his confession.) But a warning is not enough. In order to be used as evidence, a confession must also be completely voluntary. Police are allowed to use trickery and psychological tactics, as long as the methods don't overbear the defendant's free will. 

Here, Mr. Fisher claimed that he had slept only three hours the night before; that he was very emotional; that he had nothing to eat at all that day; and that the officer's lies coerced him into confessing. The Court disagreed. It noted that Mr. Fisher was 26 years old and enrolled in college courses; he had previous experience with the criminal justice system; and he had access to his cell phone during the entire interrogation. He was offered beverages, coffee, cigarettes, and several bathroom breaks; he was read his Miranda rights twice during the interview; and Mr. Fisher was able to resist law enforcement for most of the six hours, by giving very detailed, alternate explanations. 

The Court concluded Mr. Fisher's free will remained intact and upheld his conviction for manslaughter. He is serving a sixty-year sentence.