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Speak Up! - View Question #304 |
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Question: What are the Miranda rights and who's Miranda?
Answer: Ernesto Miranda was a man who lived in Arizona and was convicted of raping a woman in the early 1960s. The conviction was based, in part, on Miranda's confession of the crime to the police. His attorneys appealed the conviction, arguing that Miranda was not told he had the right not to answer the police officers' questions.
The United States Supreme Court agreed and said that police officers must tell suspects in custody of their rights. Whenever a person suspected of a crime is in police custody or his freedom has been 'significantly deprived' by the police, the officer must tell the suspect he has the following rights:
1) You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can, and will, be used against you in a court of law;
2) You have the right to consult with an attorney and/or to have one present when questioned by the police; and
3)If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to represent you.
These rights are now called Miranda rights because the requirement to read them to suspects is the result of the Supreme Court's decision in Miranda v. Arizona.
Ernesto Miranda was retried after his conviction was overturned by the Supreme Court. He was convicted based on other evidence and served several years in prison. After his release from prison, he made money by selling Miranda rights cards with his signature on them. He died in 1976 after being stabbed in a bar fight. The man suspected of killing him invoked his Miranda rights and refused to talk to police. He was released and never charged with Miranda's murder.
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