Colorado v. Connelly

Francis Connelly was mentally ill when he gave police statements which eventually led to his arrest and conviction for murder; however, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that neither his right to due process nor his Miranda rights were in question. Rather, due process was only concerned with protection of a defendant against police or government coercion. Since police merely recorded statements that were freely given, there was no element of coercion. The justices held that due process guaranteed under the Fourteenth Amendment did not include the "right" to confess only when a person was rational and "appropriately motivated."

Francis Connelly confessed to two police officers in Denver, Colorado, that he killed a young girl and that he needed to talk to somebody about it. At the time, the defendant seemed to be perfectly rational and to understand what he was doing; nonetheless, during the course of the encounter, the arresting officer learned that Connelly had been treated as a mental patient in the recent past. Police officers warned Connelly of his Miranda rights, cuffed him, and then took him to the Denver Police Station. Upon arrival at the police station, Connelly was again informed about his Miranda rights but he insisted on talking about his crime. He told police officers he understood all of what they told him, but that he had to make his confession because his conscience was telling him to do so. The day after making a confession, the public defender's office interviewed Connelly and discovered he was very much disoriented and did not seem to understand what happened the day before. Connelly was sent to a hospital for evaluation. The court-appointed psychiatrist, Dr. Jeffrey Metzner, found him incompetent to stand trial and incapable of giving his attorney assistance in preparing his defense.