People v. Tankson

Defendant, James Tankson, Sr., was charged with arson and murder. A jury found him guilty of both crimes, and the court sentenced him to seven years for arson and 20 years for murder, the sentences to run concurrently. On appeal defendant contends that the trial court erred in failing to suppress his written statement, that the trial court committed reversible error in refusing to conduct an evidentiary hearing on the admissibility of the written statement, and that he was not proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

On May 29, 1973, at approximately 3:50 a.m., a fire occurred in an apartment…