Thaindian News

Washington DC, Jun 2 (THAINDIAN NEWS) The United States Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday, that the police can use a crime suspect’s words against him/ her if the person does not explicitly tell the police that they do not wish to speak. In an earlier ruling, the Supreme Court ruled to the effect that the police have to prove that the suspect “knowingly and intelligently waived” his / her rights.

The earlier ruling led to most police departments advising their officers not to interrogate suspects, until the suspect has signed the waiver form. But the new ruling, which came after a 5-4 verdict on Tuesday, does not require officers to provide a waiver.

The ruling involved Van Thompkins who was arrested after a year, of shooting two men. The shooting led to the death of one of the men. During Thompkins arrest, his rights were read out to him, but he was not given the form to sign. During interrogation, Thompkins refused to speak to the police, but the court used only one answer he gave to convict him. His answer was ‘yes’ to a question. One policeman asked “Do you pray to God to forgive you for shooting that boy down?” That answer to the question led to the conviction of Thompkins.

“This is the most important Miranda decision in a decade. And it will have a substantial impact on police practices. This decision approves of the practice of giving the warnings and then asking questions of the suspect, without asking first whether he wants to waive his rights,” according to Charles Weisselberg, who is a law professor at UC Berkeley.