PEOPLE v. PERDOMO
Admission of self incriminating statements that defendant made to police officers during an interrogation while he was in intensive care unit of hospital recovering from surgery and on pain medications did not violate his right to fair trial -- on basis that statements were made involuntarily as a result of officers exploiting his debilitated physical and mental conditions through psychological coercion -- where evidence showed that officers interviewed defendant only after hospital personnel determined he was "alert" and "oriented," which was four days after his surgery; hospital staff prior to interview had removed defendant's respirator and determined his condition had improved sufficiently so that he could be cared for safely in a regular hospital room; interview lasted a maximum of 20 minutes; officers posed their questions in a calm, deliberate manner in a conversational, nonthreatening tone; and there was no evidence that defendant's thinking was impaired by medications.
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