Published: Yesterday

A Michigan man will continue serving a life sentence for murder after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled today that he gave up his rights against self-incrimination because he did not explicitly tell police he wanted to remain silent after his arrest.

The 5-4 decision overturns a ruling by the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals and reinstates Van Chester Thompkins' conviction for a Jan. 10, 2000, murder in Southfield.

Detroit attorney Elizabeth Jacobs, who argued the case for Thompkins, 33, in front of the Supreme Court in March, said the ruling is "very disappointing." The court is "diminishing Miranda rights as we know them," Jacobs said.

Miranda rights are the rights of a suspect to remain silent. Police tell suspects about those rights in a statement called a Miranda warning that gets its name from a landmark Supreme Court ruling in 1966.

When police questioned Thompkins, he remained mostly silent for more than two hours, Jacobs said.

But he later answered "yes" when one of the officers asked him if he prayed for forgiveness for "shooting that boy down."

Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing for the majority, said Thompkins could have ended the questioning by telling the police he wanted to invoke his right to remain silent.

In a dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said the decision "turns Miranda upside down." It's counterintuitive, she said, to require a suspect to speak in order to exercise the right to remain silent.

Jacobs said she expected the decision to be close but wasn't sure which way Kennedy -- the swing vote between the conservatives and liberals on the court -- would come down.

She said she had not yet spoken to Thompkins, who is serving a life sentence at Lakeland Correctional Facility in Coldwater.

pegan@detnews.com (313) 222-2069



Wayne Plans To Hire Firefighting Prosecutor With Fund Raising Money

DETROIT -- Arson is an old problem in Wayne County, and the situation is getting worse.With budgets tight and resources limited, arson cases often don't receive the attention they deserve in the prosecutor’s office, but there is a new effort to fight fire with funds.The Michigan Arson Prevention Committee is spearheading an initiative to raise money that will go toward hiring an assistant prosecutor and investigators who will focus on arson cases.“As far as I know, it’s very unique. It’s the first time ever that we have risen to the occasion,” said organizer Patricia Parr-Armelagos.With the number of unsolved cases climbing, the funding is a major boost for the Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy's office. “We are really hurting, we are bursting at the seams. We can’t cover all our core services. Now with something like this, it’s like a double benefit for us,” said Worthy at a recent fund raising event.The organization is seeing donations pour in from both the private and public sectors. The prosecutor’s office could see an increase in staff as early as January next year. 

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Thursday, December 17, 2009

By ANN ZANIEWSKI
Of The Oakland Press



HOUGHTON LAKE—The fire that engulfed the local summer hot spot, Ice Cream Oasis, is still under investigation.

Arson has not been ruled out at this time.

The Michigan State Fire Marshal is currently investigating the blaze to the Houghton Lake business and so far, “It’s suspicious,” Roscommon County Sheriff Randy Stevenson said.

“It’s under investigation, we’re waiting for the fire marshal to go through the debris and make a determination,” he said.

Firefighters were dispatched to the Houghton Lake business Saturday Oct. 17 around 6 p.m. to extinguish the fire. Upon arrival, Markey Township Fire Department Captain Nate Stearns said there was visible smoke coming from the back of the building. He said the fire had been completely extinguished three hours later.

Around 6 a.m. Sunday, firefighters were called back to the ice cream shop to extinguish another blaze. The cause of the second fire is unknown. Stearns said that it is always possible that the original fire rekindled, but has doubts in this case. Stevenson said the second fire originated from a different spot than the original.

“It wasn’t in the same place,” Stevenson said.

He said the incident became suspicious after the second fire. Due to the investigation, officials are not releasing the cause of the original fire.

Firefighters put the second fire out at 8:22 a.m. Stearns said.

The charred business is owned by William Spearman but was being run by his son.

There was no one in the building at the time of the fire and no injuries.

The Markey Township Fire Department, Denton Township Fire Department and Gerrish Township Fire Department were on scene.