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Criminal Procedure Keyed to Dressler
Gray v. Maryland
Citation:
523 U.S. 185, 118 S.Ct. 1151, 140 L.Ed.2d 294.Facts
In 1993, Stacy Williams died after a severe beating. Anthony Bell confessed and said that the defendant also participated in the beating. The State of Maryland tried them jointly for the murder.
Bell’s confession was redacted and admitted into evidence at trial. The police detective who read the confession into evidence said the word “deleted” or “deletion” whenever the defendant’s name appeared. Immediately after the police detective read the redacted confession to the jury, the prosecutor asked, “after he gave you that information, you subsequently were able to arrest [the defendant]; is that correct?” The officer responded, “That’s correct.” The defendant testified and denied his participation. Bell did not testify.
When instructing the jury, the trial judge specified that the confession was evidence only against Bell. The jury convicted both Bell and the defendant. The defendant appealed.
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