People v. Madden

501 N.E.2d 1297, 148 Ill. App. 3d 988, 103 Ill. Dec. 759, 1986 Ill. App. LEXIS 2999
Appellate Court of Illinois·Decided October 15, 1986·No. 83—3068, 84—0148 cons.·Published·Cited by 9 cases

Opinion

JUSTICE WHITE

delivered the opinion of the court:

Following a stipulated bench trial, defendant Michael Madden was convicted of murder, rape and aggravated kidnaping. (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1983, ch. 38, pars. 9 — 1, 11 — 1, 10 — 2(3).) He was sentenced to concurrent terms of natural-life imprisonment on the murder conviction, 30 years for the rape and 15 years for the aggravated kidnaping. On appeal, he contends that the trial court erroneously denied his motion to suppress his statement where the uncontradicted facts showed that: (1) he was interrogated shortly after his two suicide attempts; (2) the police violated specific physician’s orders to bring him to a mental-health facility; (3) the interrogation period lasted 30 hours; (4) his I.Q. and problem-solving ability were very low; (5) a physician had injected him with Haldol, a major tranquilizer; and (6) the uncontradicted expert testimony was that he could not knowingly and voluntarily waive his constitutional rights.

At the suppression hearing, Officers Green and Dwyer testified that they arrested defendant at 8 a.m. on January 5, 1981. When Officer Green advised defendant of his rights, defendant stated that he understood and he appeared calm and able to understand questions. He was placed in an interview room and given a cup of coffee. No threats or promises were made to him.

Officer Reagan testified that he interviewed defendant, who appeared calm, at 8:30 a.m. on January 5, 1981. When the witness advised defendant of his rights, defendant said he understood and would be willing to talk, but denied participation in any crime. At approximately 1:30 p.m., Officer Reagan and Assistant State’s Attorney Steingold entered the room. The assistant State’s Attorney advised defendant of his rights and explained that he was not defendant’s attorney. Defendant, who appeared calm and alert, stated that he understood. Officer Reagan and the assistant State’s Attorney left the room after 15 minutes but reentered one-half hour later for 20 minutes at which time the assistant State’s Attorney again advised defendant of his rights and defendant stated that he understood.

Officer Markham testified that after he advised defendant of his rights at 5:30 p.m., defendant agreed to answer questions so the witness summoned the assistant State’s Attorney, who again advised defendant of his rights. Defendant stated that he understood and the assistant State’s Attorney left the room after approximately 30 minutes. During this conversation defendant asked the assistant State’s Attorney what kind of deal he would get if he “talked,” but the assistant State’s Attorney stated that he could not make any offers. Defendant then made certain admissions regarding other cases.

When Officer Markham and Assistant State’s Attorney Steingold reentered the room at approximately 7:30 p.m., defendant requested coffee, which was brought to him in a glass cup. He was then left alone in the room. At approximately 8 p.m. Officers Reagan, Markham and the assistant State’s Attorney heard the sound of glass breaking. Upon reentering the interview room, Officer Reagan saw defendant cutting his wrist with a piece of glass. Reagan removed the glass and made arrangements to have defendant taken to a hospital. Officers Markham, Reagan and Assistant State’s Attorney Steingold all testified that no threats or promises were made to defendant.

Officers Glynn and Redmond testified that when they brought defendant from the lockup for a lineup at 12:15 p.m. on January 6, 1981, he stated that he had eaten, but asked for some coffee which he was given. When they asked him about cutting his wrist the previous day, defendant stated that he was “just playing around.” At approximately 2:30 p.m. the officers interviewed defendant after advising him of his rights. Defendant appeared calm, coherent, awake and alert. He seemed to understand the officers and stated that he understood his rights. He also did not appear to be under the influence of any drugs or alcohol. When defendant then made a statement, the officers summoned Assistant State’s Attorney Joan Cor-boy, who explained to defendant that she was an assistant State’s Attorney, not his attorney, and advised him of his rights. Defendant stated that he understood each of his rights. When she then asked him if he would tell her what he had just told the officers, defendant stated, “I have already admitted my guilt to them; do I have to talk to you?” When she replied “No,” defendant requested a lawyer, and the assistant State’s Attorney and the officers left the room. According to the assistant State’s Attorney, defendant appeared articulate, alert and responsive, he did not appear to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and he made no complaints of mistreatment by the police. According to Officer Redmond no threats or promises were made to defendant in his presence.

Dr. Helen Morrison, a psychiatrist, testified as an expert witness for the defense. When she first examined defendant on January 29, 1981, he became very emotional and terminated the interview. She later reexamined him, interviewed his mother and sister, and examined reports from Provident Hospital, Cook County Hospital and Cermak Hospital, as well as prior police reports from 1980 and 1981, and treatment records from Michael Reese Hospital in October 1980 which listed defendant’s symptoms as a gunshot wound, alcohol ingestion and nervousness. The Provident Hospital records from January 5, 1981, showed that defendant had been brought to the emergency room by police stating that he had cut his wrist. At the hospital a hidden piece of glass was found in his sock and he was given a five-milligram injection of Haldol, a major tranquilizer used for psychosis, because he was felt to be acutely suicidal. According to Dr. Morrison, one milligram of Haldol is equivalent to 100 milligrams of Thorazine and its potency if given by injection is extremely high. The half-life of Haldol is between 15 and 24 hours. Dr. Morrison expressed her opinion that as of January 6, 1981, at 2:30 p.m., when defendant made his statement, he could not have appreciated or understood what he was doing and would not have been able to exercise free will because of the combined effect of his mental state and long lasting effect of the Haldol.

Dr. Morrison further testified that defendant’s I.Q. of 82 placed him at the dull-normal intellectual level close to the borderline-retardation range so that he would normally have difficulty with problem solving. Moreover, his X rays showed some organic dysfunction. Hence, defendant could be expected to have been more severely affected by Haldol, which would have increasingly impaired his ability to problem solve or understand. Dr. Morrison admitted that the Cook County Hospital records from January 6, 1981, at 1:27 a.m., showed that the physician did not consider defendant to be acutely psychotic, Dr. Garland’s report stated that there was no gross organic pathology, a physician who reviewed defendant’s brain scan stated that it was normal, and the report of defendant’s electroencephalogram made no mention of abnormality. However, according to the witness, Dr. Garland’s report showed certain indications of gross organic pathology and defendant’s brain scan revealed possible epileptic forms. Moreover, the stress defendant was kept under for a prolonged period of time prior to his statement would affect his ability to problem solve.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

People v. Madden, 501 N.E.2d 1297, 148 Ill. App. 3d 988, 103 Ill. Dec. 759, 1986 Ill. App. LEXIS 2999 (Ill. Ct. App. 1986).

501 N.E.2d 1297 (People v. Madden) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

People v. Smith
610 N.E.2d 829 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1993)
People v. Long
578 N.E.2d 26 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1991)
People v. Lamerson
545 N.E.2d 1025 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1989)
People v. Bernasco
541 N.E.2d 774 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1989)
People v. Blake
534 N.E.2d 415 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1989)
People v. Lewis
529 N.E.2d 752 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1988)
State v. Perdue
357 S.E.2d 345 (Supreme Court of North Carolina, 1987)