There is a case out of Maine that is rather worrisome.

I am NOT trying to effect his guilt or innocence, but, was this man beaten? Some of what the police are accused of is torture. That is a separate investigation and it needs to be carried out by disinterested parties.

There was a time gap between the time he was apprehended and the time he was read his Miranda rights, I don't believe that constitutes proof of the comprehension of his arrest and the charges before him. If he was tortured he would do anything to prevent more of the same.

At this point, it looks as though the State's case is completely compromised as it should be if this man was tortured by the police. I don't' see how the case can go forward without a complete investigation of the accusations of torture.

February 28, 2019
by Megan Gray

John D. Williams is shown being led away after his capture by Maine State Police on April 28 and during his court hearing Thursday on a motion to suppress his confession to killing Somerset County Sheriff's Cpl. Eugene Cole. His attorney argued that Williams had been beaten by the arresting officers and feared further physical violence if he didn’t cooperate with the interrogation, and his drug withdrawal symptoms and weakened state made him vulnerable to coercion by police.

The man accused of killing a Somerset County sheriff’s deputy (click here) was in withdrawal from drugs during his arrest and police interrogation, a doctor testified Thursday morning.

John D. Williams is charged with murder in the death of Cpl. Eugene Cole in April. Cole, 61, became the first Maine police officer fatally shot in the line of duty in three decades. Williams, 30, pleaded not guilty to the murder charge in June.

The doctor was the first witness in a multi-day hearing on a motion to suppress all statements Williams made to law enforcement upon his arrest, including a confession to the killing.

Defense attorney Verne Paradie argued in his motion that police obtained those statements illegally. He said Williams had been beaten by the arresting officers and feared further physical violence if he didn’t cooperate with the interrogation, and his withdrawal symptoms and weakened state made him vulnerable to coercion by police.

Assistant Attorney General Lisa Marchese pushed back on those ideas with her own questions, pointing in particular to a moment when Williams said he understood his Miranda rights and explained them to police....