Hamilton v. State
Hamilton v. State
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the court.
Rutland told the appellant, a . negro boy, in the presence of Tlioggardi, the. officer, while appellant was in a cell in the'city jail, that it would be better to toll the truth about it, if he had anything to do with.it, that 'it would be best for him. Tlioggard, asked what caused appellant to confess, said: “1 suppose it was Rutland’s talk; Rutland, I suppose, was the. cause of it.” Rutland was the employer of the appellant,' and'had such authority, and influence over appellant as these relations would usually imply. Neither Thoggard nor Rutland gave appellant any warning or any information
Here the case is very different. Rutland was the employer, in whose service this boy had been for two years, and who naturally exercised over him the influence usual in such cases. The appellant received no warning of any kind. The statement was caused by Rutland’s talk with him, in which he was told it would be the best for him, and all this whilst he was incarcerated in a cell of the city jail. The environments were distinctly different. Following the distinction marked out in
Reversed and remanded.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- John Hamilton v. State of Mississippi
- Cited By
- 13 cases
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- CRIMINAL Law. Confessions. The confessions of a hoy charged with crime, made without warning. while in jail, to his employer, in the presence of an officer, in response to the employer’s statement to him that it would be better to tell the truth about the charge, is not beyond a reasonable doubt free and voluntary, and should not be admitted in evidence.