Hooper v. State, 59-90
| Citation | 115 So.2d 769 |
| Decision Date | 30 November 1959 |
| Docket Number | No. 59-90,59-90 |
| Parties | Jackson Holloway HOOPER, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee. |
| Court | Court of Appeal of Florida (US) |
Fred A. Jones, Jr., Miami, for appellant.
Richard W. Ervin, Atty. Gen., and David U. Tumin, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.
Jackson Hooper, a former police officer in the City of Miami, Florida, was informed against for the crime of arson in the first degree. From a judgment of conviction and sentence Hooper appeals and assigns as error the admission into evidence of two confessions allegedly given under threat of prosecution for another crime and in hope of promised reward. The judgment and sentence are reversed for a new trial.
The two points presented by the appellant which it is necessary to discuss are as follows:
'The Court erred in allowing the confessions in as they had not been freely and voluntarily given.
'The Court erred in allowing the confessions into evidence as each of the confessions referred to numerous other crimes of the Defendant, and which were highly prejudicial.'
After having secured from the defendant an indication that he was willing to confess, the police lieutenant and the fire inspector, who were in charge of the case, proceeded to interrogate the defendant in the presence of a court reporter not only as to the crime with which he was later charged but as to other fires of which they had knowledge. The interrogation as to these additional fires consisted entirely of the question: 'Did you do this crime?', and the answer, 'Yes'. This procedure was followed in discussing fifteen crimes, which took place from 1954 to date. At the time of the trial the state introduced the entire transcript including a confession for all of the alleged crimes with the natural implication that the defendant was a dangerous and a habitual arsonist.
The second confession was taken the following day in the state attorney's office. Here the method of procedure was similar to that employed by the police but in this instance the interrogation was more complete.
The first objection to the confessions raised by appellant is that they were not shown to have been given freely and voluntarily. It is recognized that a confession to be admissible must be affirmatively shown to have such character. E. g., Simon v. State, 5 Fla. 285; Williams v. State, 156 Fla. 300, 22 So.2d 821; 2 Underhill, Criminal Evidence § 386 (5th ed. 1956); 2 Wharton's, Criminal Evidence §§ 348, 349 (12th ed. 1955). It is sufficient to point out that there is evidence in this record, from the testimony of the police officer who took the confession, that at the time the appellant was urged to confess he was shown an affidavit of a third person which accused the appellant of an altogether independent crime. Since the matters set forth in the affidavit concerned a morals charge, it would have been embarrassing to him and to his family to have the accusation publicized. He was told that if the matters set forth in the affidavit were investigated by the police department, extended publicity would be inevitable. It was then suggested that he was in need of help and that the police were not anxious to be hard upon him because he was a policeman. The police officer in charge assured the accused that he would accept any recommendation or action by the state attorney's office which might help the defendant out of his troubles. It appears probable, that faced with fear of a public investigation of the charges in the affidavit and the hope of help, Hooper signed the confessions concerning all the fires about which he was interrogated. The second confession, taken the following day in the office of the state attorney, is tainted with the same weaknesses, in that it appears the same fear and inducement influenced the accused.
As we approach the consideration of the second question stated, we find that a reading of the record in this case is conducive to the conclusion that the defendant was tried...
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...but not yet published. And our sister appellate Courts have likewise held. Steppe v. State, Fla.App.1967, 193 So.2d 617; Hooper v. State, Fla.App.1959, 115 So.2d 769; Jones v. State, Fla.App.1967, 194 So.2d 24; Horner v. State, Fla.App.1963, 149 So.2d 863; Jordan v. State, Fla.App.1965, 171......
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