State v. Ryan
| Decision Date | 20 June 1974 |
| Docket Number | No. 73-151-C,73-151-C |
| Citation | 321 A.2d 92,113 R.I. 343 |
| Parties | STATE v. Maureen A. RYAN. A. |
| Court | Rhode Island Supreme Court |
This is an indictment which charges that the defendant, on August 11, 1970, did unlawfully kill William P. Ryan. The defendant, Maureen A. Ryan, was tried to a Superior Court jury and was found guilty of manslaughter. The case is before this court on the defendant's appeal from the judgment entered on that verdict.
The record discloses that on August 10, 1970, at approximately 9 p.m., William P. Ryan, age 21 months and son of defendant, was transported to Roger Williams Hospital by members of the rescue squad of the Providence Fire Department in response to an emergency call by defendant for assistance. At the hospital, it was ascertained that the child had multiple bruises on the abdomen, head and face. At 1:20 a.m., August 11, 1970, William P. Ryan expired. The cause of death was listed as pulmonary congestion and edema resulting from head injuries. The defendant was charged in the District Court and bound over to the grand jury, which returned an indictment on November 15, 1971. Trial began on November 8, 1972, and the jury returned a verdict of guilty on November 14, 1972.
John B. Fiore, a sergeant of the Providence Police Department, testified that on August 10, 1970, in response to a radio call, he proceeded to the accident room of Roger Williams Hospital where he found William P. Ryan, who had been transported to the hospital by members of the rescue squad of the Providence Fire Department. Sergeant Fiore stated that he observed bruises on the forehead and face of the child. He related that he left the accident room at the request of the attending physician to obtain information from the mother, Maureen A. Ryan, who was outside the accident room. The police officer stated that defendant told him that she had spanked her son very hard across the buttocks three times that night because he refused to eat his supper, and that she had placed him in a chair at the kitchen table and had then turned away to perform other duties. After a few minutes she heard a thud, turned and saw the child lying on the floor. She stated that after trying to revive the child, she called the rescue squad of the Providence Fire Department for assistance. Sergeant Fiore further testified that before questioning defendant he had advised her of her constitutional rights. After obtaining this information, Sergeant Fiore transported defendant to police headquarters.
Henry Lariviere, a Providence police patrolman, testified that he was present at Roger Williams Hospital on August 10, 1970, and heard Sergeant Fiore question defendant and advise her of her constitutional rights. He further testified that defendant was crying and upset, but seemed to understand what was going on. He stated that upon orders from Sergeant Fiore he proceeded to the home of defendant and after observing bruises on the body of Kathleen Ryan, twin sister of William, brought the child, Kathleen, to Roger Williams Hospital.
Doctor Augustine Colella, Associate State Medical Examiner, testified that photographs of the deceased (state's exhibits 1 thru 5) were taken in his presence at the time of the autopsy which he performed on the body of the deceased child, and that the pictures were fair representations of the child's body as it appeared at that time. He stated that he found multiple contusions on the scalp, face, arms, legs and torso of the child and that the cause of death was pulmonary edema as a result of head injuries, and that there was evidence of hemorrhage over the brain, laceration and hemorrhage of the liver, and hemorrhage of the abdomen.
Theresa Milliken, who described herself as a neighbor and long-time friend of defendant, testified that she was present at the Roger Williams Hospital when Sergeant Fiore was talking to defendant and that she did not hear the police officer advise defendant of her constitutional rights. She further stated that defendant was in a daze during the time she was at the hospital.
The defendant, Maureen A. Ryan, testified that she was not advised of her constitutional rights by Sergeant Fiore until after she had given him the statement about the events involving her son. She stated that she had tapped William three times on the buttocks and then placed him in a chair. She related that she heard him fall to the floor and that '* * * he was all stiffened up and his eyes were rolled back in his head.' The defendant testified that she tried to revive the child and then called the rescue squad for assistance.
The defendant asserts that the trial justice erred when he refused to exclude her statement made at Roger Williams Hospital. She argues that since she was in police custody and not advised of her constitutional rights she was deprived of due process guaranteed under the constitition. In the alternative she argues that she was in such a state of mind that she was unable to comprehend or understand the warnings, and therefore the questioning should have been deferred until she was able to comprehend or understand what was transpiring.
The state argues that since defendant was not in custody at the time she made the statement to Sergeant Fiore no requirement existed for the giving of the warning as to her constitutional rights.
In Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966), the Court stated that the prosecution may not use statements, whether exculpatory or inculpatory, stemming from custodial interrogation of defendant unless it demonstrates the use of procedural safeguards effective to secure the privilege against self-incrimination. The defendant must be warned prior to questioning that he has the right to remain silent, that anything he says can be used against him in a court of law, that he has the right to the presence of an attorney, and that if he cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for him prior to any questioning, if he so desires. The individual may knowingly and intelligently waive these rights and agree to answer questions or make a statement. The warnings, the Court concluded, are necessary '* * * when the individual is first subjected to police interrogation while in custody at the station or otherwise deprived of his freedom of action in any significant way.' Id. at 477, 86 S.Ct. at 1629, 16...
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