People v. Patterson

Defendant, Vincent Patterson, a prison inmate serving a natural life sentence for offenses unrelated to this case, was indicted for the unlawful possession of a weapon by a person confined in a correctional facility. (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1989, ch. 38, par. 24—1.1(b).) At trial, defendant moved to suppress statements he made to a prison official investigating the weapons incident, claiming that he had not been given Miranda warnings before the questioning. (Miranda v. Arizona (1966), 384 U.S. 436, 16 L. Ed. 2d 694, 86 S. Ct. 1602.) The circuit court of Livingston County granted defendant’s motion…