By Rob Moritz
Arkansas News Bureau
LITTLE ROCK — The Arkansas Court of Appeals ruled today that a Camden juvenile found “delinquent” of killing his 11-year-old sister in 2006 should remain in a juvenile facility.
Attorneys for the boy had argued the youth did not have the mental capacity to sign a waiver before he confessed to suffocating his sister with plastic bags.
In a unanimous decision, the three-judge panel said the boy “voluntarily, knowingly and intelligently” waived his legal rights.
On Aug. 7, 2006, Camden police were called to a home in that city where an 11-year-old girl was found dead. During a conversation with a deputy prosecutor, the girl’s 12 -year-old brother admitted he placed plastic bags over his sister’s face and bound her hands and feet.
After admitting he killed his sister, the boy was taken to an interview room to record his confession. An officer advised the youth of his rights and asked whether he understood each of them. The officer then read the waiver form to the boy, who asked what a waiver was.
“The officer explained that it means he is deciding to give a statement of his own free will, that he has not been promised anything or threatened in any way, and that he is making a statement to the police solely because he wants to,” Judge Robert Gladwin wrote in the 29-page decision.
After being told what a waiver is, the boy said he understood and signed the form, according today’s decision.
The boy was found “delinquent” as a juvenile of second-degree murder and ordered committed to the state Division of Youth Services and, if released before his 18th birthday, to be placed on probation until he turned 18.
Lawyers for the boy argued several points, including that that the boy’s mother should have been notified of the waiver and that it was not freely, voluntarily and intelligently made, that Ouachita County Circuit Judge Edwin Keaton erred by committing the boy to DYS, and by allowing the confession into evidence.
The appeals court disagreed with each argument.
“Given the totality of the circumstances, the trial court did not err by finding the appellant voluntarily, knowingly, and intelligently waived his Miranda rights,” the ruling said.
The court also said the judge’s decision to place the youth in DYS was consistent with the recommendations of a counselor with South Arkansas Youth Services who assessed the youth.
Also, because the confession was deemed voluntary, the court continued, the circuit judge was correct to allow it into evidence.
