At the court’s first hearing concerning Frank’s murder of Paul, Frank’s defense attorney asked
the court to hear additional facts concerning Frank’s mental condition noting that there were
other factors surrounding Frank’s confession that would make it inadmissible under the 5th
Amendment.

The following facts were presented to the court concerning Frank in the context of his statement
to the Detective.

Frank dropped out of high school in his 9th grade year. His school determined his IQ was 69
which is a mild mental disability. Immediately before the police contacted him for questioning,
Frank voluntarily checked himself into a hospital mental ward because he was having
hallucinations. He was given Zoloft. The dose Frank was given lasts 1 week and one side effect
is confusion. Frank voluntarily told hospital staff he wanted to confess to a murder. The staff
called the police.

A police officer arrived at the hospital. The police officer asked Frank if he wanted to come to
the police station to give a statement. Frank said, “Sure!” Frank willingly went with the police.
Frank was handcuffed and placed alone into the rear seat of a police car. Upon arrival at the
police station, Frank was directly taken to the police department interview room. The room itself
was about 8 feet by 8 feet. No windows. The temperature continuously was 57 degrees. There
was only one dim light directly over Frank’s head. The interview room was located in the police
basement. A detective closed the interview room door but did not lock it.

Frank only wore a hospital gown and socks. He had no undergarments. The police interview
started at 1:00 am. Frank did not sleep or eat for 2 days prior to his interview. During the
interview, Frank said at least 3 times, “Can I sleep? I am tired. I am so cold in this room.” Frank
also said, "Do you have any food?” The Detective responded. “You can sleep after we are
done.” The Detective did provide Frank with a bag of corn nuts and a soda. After a few minutes
of eating and drinking, Frank continued his statement by saying, “Ok I am good.” and then said,
“I took the knife and I stabbed Paul about 5 times in the back, I then slit his throat. I poured gas
on Paul and lit him on fire. I walked home and burned all my clothes. Wait. I am a little
confused. I have a headache.” Frank stopped for a few minutes and continued. “I killed Paul
because a person named David Yahweh’s voice told me to kill him and that we would be friends
together in eternity if I killed Paul. So I killed him.”

The interview lasted a total of 4 hours and finished at 5:00 am. Frank was arrested for murder.
Frank was 18 years old. Police went to the abandoned house and found Paul’s dead, badly burned body.

Assume the court found that the Miranda advisals were proper and there was not a valid request
for an attorney. Please discuss only the Voluntariness of Richard's statements under the 5th
Amendment of the United States Constitution and case law factors. Is Richard’s confession
admissible under this analysis?

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

To address the question of the voluntariness of Franks note the discrepancy in names as the question ends asking about Richards statements but it appears to be a typographical error and should refer t... View the full answer