State v. Donovan

Layton, C. J.:

The question before the Court is whether statements in the nature of a confession made by the defendant to officers of the law while examining her were made in circumstances rendering them admissible as free and voluntary. The cases on the subject of voluntariness of inculpatory statements made by persons accused of crime are in hopeless conflict. The question always should be, was the situation of the accused such that there was a reasonable probability that a false confession would be made; and the correct course to pursue is to determine whether the inducement held out by one…