U.S. v. Steele

• Decision Date: 30 November 1979
• Docket Number: No. 79-1559,79-1559
• Citation: 610 F.2d 504
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. Fred Andrew STEELE, Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

Page 504

610 F.2d 504

UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. Fred Andrew STEELE, Appellant.

No. 79-1559.

United States Court of Appeals,

Eighth Circuit.

Submitted Oct. 12, 1979.

Decided Nov. 30, 1979.

David M. Lurie, Lurie & Jaco, Kansas City, Mo., for appellant.

Michael A. Jones, Asst. U. S. Atty., Springfield, Mo., for appellee; Ronald S. Reed, Jr., U. S. Atty., Springfield, Mo., on brief.

Before LAY, HEANEY and HENLEY, Circuit Judges.

LAY, Circuit Judge.

Fred Andrew Steele was convicted of second degree murder, a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1111, arising from the stabbing death of a fellow inmate one Joseph Jackson, at the Federal Medical Center Detention Facility at Springfield, Missouri. There exists no dispute that Steele did the stabbing; at trial Steele claimed he acted in self-defense. On appeal, the defendant urges the trial court erred in refusing to suppress certain statements given to the prison guards, a fellow inmate, and F.B.I. agents following the stabbing. We affirm the judgment of conviction.

Immediately following the stabbing, Steele, fearing violent retaliation from other inmates, surrendered to one of the guards. Steele admits stating to the guard, "I stabbed a nigger in the rec shack." He concedes that this statement was voluntary and admissible. He contends, on appeal that subsequent statements to the guards and others contained incriminating statements which should have been suppressed since he was not given the warning required by Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966). He further contends that although he voluntarily gave subsequent statements to F.B.I. agents after receiving Miranda warnings, that the "cat was out of the bag" and these statements should have been suppressed under Miranda v. Arizona, supra at 494-97, 86 S.Ct. 1602. Concomitant with these challenges is the argument that Steele was questioned by the authorities subsequent to the time he requested counsel be appointed.

The record demonstrates the government's direct examination of the guards solicited only Steele's original spontaneous and voluntary statement which was repeated to another guard and an inmate and a statement concerning the location of the victim. The other statements made by Steele to the guards were brought out by Steele's counsel on cross-examination in an attempt to bolster Steele's claim of self-defense. ¹ It is fundamental that where the defendant "opened the door" and "invited error" there can be no reversible error. United States v. Drake, 542 F.2d 1020, 1022 (8th Cir. 1976), Cert. denied, 429 U.S. 1050, 97 S.Ct. 762, 50 L.Ed.2d 766 (1977).

After Steele was placed in a segregation unit, F.B.I. agent Bruce Bradford came to the Center to investigate the stabbing. Bradford interviewed Jackson, who at the time was still alive and then questioned Steele. Before doing so Bradford introduced himself as an F.B.I. agent and asked Steele if he could read. Steele, who has a B.S. degree from Ball State University, read the form which contained the Miranda warning and signed it. Once Steele had signed the card, Bradford continued with the interview. Steele told Bradford that Jackson had pressured him to perform homosexual acts. Steele then told Bradford that he had invited Jackson to step outside the rec shack so, "We can settle this matter now." Steele also said that Jackson was "naive" enough to think I was going to submit to sex and that he was naive enough to lead the way out with Steele following. Steele told Bradford that he hit Jackson as hard as he could with a knife in the hallway leading into the recreation shack. Steele then showed Bradford how he stabbed Jackson. He described how the blow had knocked Jackson 15 to 20 feet.

Bradford's description of the interview continued with other details of what occurred: (1) Where the knife had come from; and (2) what Steele had done with the knife. Bradford testified that Steele said, "(H)e got what he deserved; I hope he dies." Steele then indicated to Bradford what his defense would be. He said, "I heard about this homosexual defense and that's what I plan to use." Steele described the case as one in which an inmate had escaped from prison and then defended his actions claiming he was forced to escape because of homosexual pressure.

The following morning, March 17, 1979, Bradford returned to the Center to get a written statement from Steele. By this time Jackson had died. Bradford was in the process of explaining to Steele why he had returned when Steele said, "The son-of-a-bitch died, this changes everything." Steele then asked, "Mr. Bradford, the interview last night, did you record the interview?" Bradford responded, "No, I did not, simply made a few notes." Then Steele said, "Well, in that case I probably won't be able to remember what I said last night." At that point Bradford felt that the interview should be terminated and he did not question Steele further.

The Government also called F.B.I. agent Paul Van Someren as a witness. Van Someren interviewed the defendant on March 21, 1979. He gave Steele the standard Miranda warning card to read before the interview and asked Steele to read and sign the card, which he did. Van Someren's basic purpose in interviewing Steele was to determine if...