Culombe v. Connecticut

Culombe (defendant), a 33-year-old illiterate man with a mental defect placing him in the "moron" class, was taken into custody by Connecticut state police on a Saturday afternoon in February 1957 in connection with an investigation into several crimes, including a fatal gas-station holdup. He was held without counsel, though he asked for one, was not given the prompt arraignment state law required, and was never advised of his constitutional rights. Police questioned him intermittently over several days; he was never questioned more than three hours in a single day, but remained in continuous custody from Saturday until the following Wednesday night. On Wednesday, after an emotional visit from his wife (who urged him to tell the truth) and news that his young daughter was sick, Culombe confessed to participating in the holdup in which two men were murdered, and gave several oral and written statements over the following hours. His confession was admitted into evidence over his objection at his state murder trial, and he was convicted.