“I am dying!” Martinez cried.
“OK, yes, you are dying,” the officer said. “But tell me why you are fighting with the police.” Not once did the police officers inform Martinez of his right to remain silent and to have a lawyer present. Instead, to try to badger him into a confession, they took advantage of his physical agony and mental anguish and the fact that he couldn’t move from the hospital bed.
And, according to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, there is nothing wrong with that! Why? Because the evidence would have been inadmissible! Why would the evidence have been inadmissible? Because he had not been advised of his rights. So it is OK to not advise someone of their rights and to torture them — as long as you don’t try to prosecute them on the basis of evidence you collect that way…
Much more about this over at Talk Left. Seems like there are some serious inconsistencies in the court’s ruling.
