Milton v. Cochran

Decision Date17 October 1962
Docket NumberNo. 31712,31712
Citation147 So.2d 137
PartiesGeorge W. MILTON, Petitioner, v. H. G. COCHRAN, Jr., Director, Division of Corrections, Respondent.
CourtFlorida Supreme Court

Sandstrom & Hodge, Fort Lauderdale, for petitioner.

Richard W. Ervin, Lakeland, and George R. Georgieff, Asst. Atty. Gen., for respondent.

O'CONNELL, Justice.

The petitioner, George W. Milton, after trial by jury in which he was ably represented by counsel, was found to be guilty of murder in the first degree. The jury recommended mercy and he was sentenced to life imprisonment.

On his petition for writ of habeas corpus we issued the writ and have heard oral argument of counsel.

Petitioner contends that his conviction resulted from a denial of due process of law. Specifically he complains that a confession was coerced from him through long periods of interrogation, solitary confinement, and unreasonable delay in taking him before a committing magistrate, and that the confession was improperly admitted into evidence at the trial.

We should note here that after entry of the judgment and sentence under which he is now held, petitioner prosecuted an appeal to the district court of appeal. This appeal was dismissed without opinion because petitioner escaped during the pendency thereof. Milton v. State, Fla.App.1960, 121 So.2d 496. Petitioner was subsequently returned to custody and he then filed with this Court a petition for writ of certiorari to review the order of the district court dismissing his appeal. This petition was denied without opinion. Milton v. State, Fla.1960, 125 So.2d 880.

We have considered carefully the question of whether habeas corpus is available to the petitioner under the allegations of his petition and the history of this case.

The obvious importance of the confession to the conviction obtained against petitioner and the allegations of abuse and of interrogation for long periods of time, coupled with the long delay in taking the petitioner before a magistrate, suggested a possible deprivation of due process so as to warrant our consideration of this matter on habeas corpus.

As a part of his return to the writ respondent filed before us copies of two volumes of the testimony taken at the trial of petitioner. This testimony reflects the proceedings which were had relating to the admissibility of the confession in evidence.

Petitioner's immediate legal entanglement commenced in the early morning hours of June 1, 1958 when petitioner drove his automobile into the waters of a river in Miami, Florida. He escaped, but his wife, who was asleep on the rear seat, was drowned.

Petitioner suffered injury to a shoulder and was taken to a hospital. On June 2nd he was taken to the City Jail and held for 'investigation of manslaughter'. He was held alone in a cell and apparently had no contact with friends, relatives or an attorney until he was arraigned before a justice of the peace on June 24th. Petitioner made his confession on June 11th and added to it the next day.

A warrant charging him with the murder of his wife was issued on June 14th.

The record reflects that petitioner was interrogated on June 1st while in the hospital. On June 2nd he was moved from the hospital to a cell. It is not clear whether he was questioned on that date.

On June 3rd, with his consent, he was given truth serum and questioned by two doctors for about 4 minutes.

On June 4th he submitted to a lie detector test which lasted for an hour and a quarter.

On June 5th he was questioned for an hour and a half and on June 6th he was questioned for six hours but on another matter. It appears that the authorities of Polk County, Florida had asked Dade County authorities to hold petitioner for them, as had the State of Mississippi.

Petitioner was next questioned on June 11th. Officer Holmes testified that he took petitioner from his cell at 4:58 P.M. to an office and discussed boxing, in which petitioner was interested, until about 6:30 P.M. Then officer McClure questioned petitioner until 7:30 P.M. at which time Holmes and McClure went out to eat, returning at 8:30 P.M. and bringing food and drink to petitioner. Petitioner was questioned again from 8:30 until approximately 10:00 P.M., during which time he confessed. The last hour of the questioning was recorded on tape, which tape was later played before the judge and subsequently before the jury. A stenographer was sent for and arrived at about 11:00 P.M., at which time the petitioner repeated the confession before her for transcription.

Petitioner was then taken to a physician who examined and talked with the petitioner. The physician testified that the petitioner had no bruises or marks of injury, said he felt better since he had told the truth, and seemed composed, rational and quiet. Petitioner was then returned to the office where he had been questioned. He then read and signed the written version of his confession which by that time had been typewritten.

One of the officers testified that on the next day he received word from the jailer that petitioner wished to see him. When the officer arrived the petitioner told him he wished to change a part of his statement. The officer asked petitioner if he would go with him to the scene of the crime and re-enact it for him, to which petitioner agreed. He also agreed to have pictures taken of him at the scene, which was done. Afterwards the petitioner was taken to his home to pick up his clothing and then to an office where he went over the statement made the previous evening. He then made another statement which was reduced to writing and signed by him. In this last statement the petitioner explained that he had decided to kill his wife about a month before the crime here involved occurred because of her staying out late, coming in drunk, and associating with other men. On this occasion the petitioner was asked if he wished to change, in any other way, the statement made the previous evening, to which he replied he did not, saying:

'No, nothing except that I would like to say that now that I prayed to God for what I have done and he has forgiven me last night and now I am ready to face my punishment whatever it is and my obligation to man and the law.'

Petitioner testified before the court on the question of admissibility of his confession that he was 'interrogated long hours every day.' However, he could only specifically remember being interrogated on June 3rd, 4th and 11th. He did not testify that he had been abused or threatened except on the evening of June 11th. He testified that on that occasion his arm was twisted behind his back, he was questioned under...

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32 cases
  • Pugh v. Rainwater
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit
    • December 3, 1973
    ...331 (Fla. 1965); Baugus v. State, 141 So.2d 264 (Fla.1962). 5 State ex rel. Carty v. Purdy, 240 So.2d 480 (Fla.1970); Milton v. Cochran, 147 So. 2d 137 (Fla.1962). 6 F.S. § 908.01. "Arraignment of defendant; how made. — When an indictment has been found or an information filed against a per......
  • Milton v. Wainwright 8212 5012
    • United States
    • U.S. Supreme Court
    • June 22, 1972
    ...the writ in a reported decision upholding the voluntariness of those confessions and their admissibility at trial. Milton v. Cochran, 147 So.2d 137 (1962), cert. denied, 375 U.S. 869, 84 S.Ct. 88, 11 L.Ed.2d 95 (1963). The issues raised in that proceeding are not now before us and must, for......
  • Montgomery v. State, 33461
    • United States
    • Florida Supreme Court
    • June 9, 1965
    ...U.S. 568, 81 S.Ct. 1860, 6 L.Ed.2d 1037, and has not been adopted in this state. See Young v. State, supra, 140 So.2d 97; Milton v. Cochran, Fla.1962, 147 So.2d 137; Harris v. State, supra, 162 So.2d 262; and Romanello v. State, Fla.App.1964, 160 So.2d 529. The appellant urges this court to......
  • Paramore v. State, 37178
    • United States
    • Florida Supreme Court
    • September 10, 1969
    ...(Fla.App.2d Dist.1962), or by an officer's statement that only by confessing could the defendant escape the death penalty. Milton v. Cochran, 147 So.2d 137 (Fla.1962). In the case sub judice there was no misrepresentation and the appellant was adequately warned as to his constitutional righ......
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