After a pretrial hearing, see Jackson v. Denno, 378 U. S. 368, the trial court found that Mincey had responded to this interrogation voluntarily. When Mincey took the witness stand at his trial his statements in response to Detective Hust's questions were used in an effort to impeach his testimony in several respects.13 On appeal, the Arizona Supreme Court indicated its belief that because Detective Hust had failed to honor Mincey's request for a lawyer, the statements would have been inadmissible as part of the prosecution's case in chief. Miranda v. Arizona, supra. But, relying on Harris v. New York, 401 U. S. 222, and Oregon v. Hass, 420 U. S. 714, it held that since the trial court's finding of voluntariness was not "clear[ly] and manifest [ly]" erroneous the statements were properly used for purposes of impeachment. 115 Ariz., at 480, 566 P.2d, at 281.

Statements made by a defendant in circumstances violating the strictures of Miranda v. Arizona, supra, are admissible for

12 The trial court made no findings of fact, nor did it make a specific finding of voluntariness, and the petitioner contends that admission of the statements therefore violated Jackson v. Denno. We agree with the Arizona Supreme Court, however, that the finding of voluntariness "appear[s] from the record with unmistakable clarity." Sims v. Georgia, 385 U. S. 538, 544. The petitioner had originally moved to suppress his written answers to Hust's questions on two grounds: that they had been elicited in violation of Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U. S. 436, and that they had been involuntary. During the hearing, the prosecution stipulated that the answers would be used only to impeach the petitioner if he took the witness stand. Any violation of Miranda thus became irrelevant. Oregon v. Hass, 420 U. S. 714; Harris v. New York, 401 U. S. 222. The testimony and the briefs and arguments of counsel were thereafter directed solely to whether the answers had been voluntarily given, and the court specifically ruled that they would be admissible for impeachment purposes only. The court thus necessarily held that Mincey's responses to Hust's interrogation were voluntary.

13 In light of our holding that Mincey's hospital statements were not voluntarily given, it is unnecessary to reach his alternative contention that their use against him was impermissible because they were not sufficiently inconsistent with his trial testimony.

impeachment if their "trustworthiness. . . satisfies legal standards." Harris v. New York, supra, at 224; Oregon v. Hass, supra, at 722. But any criminal trial use against a defendant of his involuntary statement is a denial of due process of law "even though there is ample evidence aside from the confession to support the conviction." Jackson v. Denno, supra, at 376; Haynes v. Washington, 373 U. S. 503, 518; Lynumn v. Illinois, 372 U. S. 528, 537; Stroble v. California, 343 U. S. 181, 190; see Chapman v. California, 386 U. S. 18, 23 and n. 8. If, therefore, Mincey's statements to Detective Hust were not 'the product of a rational intellect and a free will,'" Townsend v. Sain, 372 U. S. 293, 307, quoting Blackburn v. Alabama, 361 U. S. 199, 208, his conviction cannot stand. In making this critical determination, we are not bound by the Arizona Supreme Court's holding that the statements were voluntary. Instead, this Court is under a duty to make an independent evaluation of the record. Davis v. North Carolina, 384 U. S. 737, 741-742; Haynes v. Washington, supra, at 515-516.

It is hard to imagine a situation less conducive to the exercise of "a rational intellect and a free will" than Mincey's. He had been seriously wounded just a few hours earlier, and had arrived at the hospital "depressed almost to the point of coma," according to his attending physician. Although he had received some treatment, his condition at the time of Hust's interrogation was still sufficiently serious that he was in the intensive care unit." He complained to Hust that the pain in his leg was "unbearable." He was evidently confused and unable to think clearly about either the events of that afternoon or the circumstances of his interrogation, since some

14 A nurse testified at the suppression hearing that the device used to aid Mincey's respiration was reserved for "more critical" patients. Moreover, Mincey apparently remained hospitalized for almost a month after the shooting. According to docket entries in the trial court his arraignment was postponed several times because he was still in the hospital; he was not arraigned until November 26, 1974.

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15

Opinion of the Court

of his written answers were on their face not entirely coherent. Finally, while Mincey was being questioned he was lying on his back on a hospital bed, encumbered by tubes, needles, and breathing apparatus. He was, in short, "at the complete mercy" of Detective Hust, unable to escape or resist the thrust of Hust's interrogation. Cf. Beecher v. Alabama, 389 U. S. 35, 38.

In this debilitated and helpless condition, Mincey clearly expressed his wish not to be interrogated. As soon as Hust's questions turned to the details of the afternoon's events, Mincey wrote: "This is all I can say without a lawyer." Hust nonetheless continued to question him, and a nurse who was present suggested it would be best if Mincey answered. Mincey gave unresponsive or uninformative answers to several more questions, and then said again that he did not want to talk without a lawyer. Hust ignored that request and another made immediately thereafter.16 Indeed, throughout the in

15 For example, two of the answers written by Mincey were: "Do you me Did he give me some money (no)" and "Every body know Every body." And Mincey apparently believed he was being questioned by several different policemen, not Hust alone; although it was Hust who told Mincey he had killed a policeman, later in the interrogation Mincey indicated he thought it was someone else.

16 In his reconstruction of the interrogation, see n. 11, supra, Hust stated that, after he asked Mincey some questions to try to identify one of the other victims, the following ensued:

"HUST: ... What do you remember that happened?

"MINCEY: I remember somebody standing over me saying 'move nigger, move.' I was on the floor beside the bed.

"HUST: Do you remember shooting anyone or firing a gun?

"MINCEY: This is all I can say without a lawyer.

"HUST: If you want a lawyer now, I cannot talk to you any longer, however, you don't have to answer any questions if you don't want to. Do you still want to talk to me?

"MINCEY: (Shook his head in an affirmative manner.) "HUST: What else can you remember?

"MINCEY: I'm going to have to put my head together.

There are so

terrogation Mincey vainly asked Hust to desist. Moreover, he complained several times that he was confused or unable to think clearly, or that he could answer more accurately

many things that I don't remember I. Like how did they get into the apartment?

"HUST: How did who get into the apartment?

"MINCEY: Police.

"HUST: Did you sell some narcotics to the guy that was shot? "MINCEY: Do you mean, did he give me some money?

"HUST: Yes.

"MINCEY: No.

"HUST: Did you give him a sample?

"MINCEY: What do you call a sample?

"HUST: A small amount of drug or narcotic to test?

"MINCEY: I can't say without a lawyer.

"HUST: Did anyone say police or narcs when they came into the apartment?

"MINCEY: Let me get myself together first. You see, I'm not for sure everything happened so fast. I can't answer at this time because I don't think so, but I can't say for sure. Some questions aren't clear to me at the present time.

"HUST: Did you shoot anyone?

"MINCEY: I can't say, I have to see a lawyer." (Emphasis supplied.) While some of Mincey's answers seem relatively responsive to the questions, it must be remembered that Hust added the questions at a later date, with the answers in front of him. See n. 11, supra. The reliability of Hust's report is uncertain. For example, Hust claimed that immediately after Mincey first expressed a desire to remain silent, Hust said Mincey need not answer any questions but Mincey responded by indicating that he wanted to continue. There is no contemporaneous record supporting Hust's statement that Mincey acted so inconsistently immediately after asserting his wish not to respond further, nor did the nurse who was present during the interrogation corroborate Hust. The Arizona Supreme Court apparently disbelieved Hust in this respect, since it stated that "after each indication from [Mincey] that he wanted to consult an attorney or that he wanted to stop answering questions, the police officer continued to question [him]." 115 Ariz., at 479, 566 P. 2d, at 280 (emphasis supplied).

the next day." But despite Mincey's entreaties to be let alone, Hust ceased the interrogation only during intervals when Mincey lost consciousness or received medical treatment, and after each such interruption returned relentlessly to his task. The statements at issue were thus the result of virtually continuous questioning of a seriously and painfully wounded man on the edge of consciousness.

There were not present in this case some of the gross abuses that have led the Court in other cases to find confessions involuntary, such as beatings, see Brown v. Mississippi, 297 U.S. 278, or "truth serums," see Townsend v. Sain, 372 U. S. 293. But "the blood of the accused is not the only hallmark of an unconstitutional inquisition." Blackburn v. Alabama, 361 U. S., at 206. Determination of whether a statement is involuntary "requires more than a mere color-matching of cases." Reck v. Pate, 367 U. S. 433, 442. It requires careful evaluation of all the circumstances of the interrogation.18

It is apparent from the record in this case that Mincey's statements were not "the product of his free and rational choice." Greenwald v. Wisconsin, 390 U. S. 519, 521. To the contrary, the undisputed evidence makes clear that Mincey wanted not to answer Detective Hust. But Mincey was weakened by pain and shock, isolated from family, friends, and legal counsel, and barely conscious, and his will was simply

17 In addition to the statements quoted in n. 16, supra, Mincey wrote at various times during the interrogation: "There are a lot of things that aren't clear," "Thats why I have to have time to redo everything that happened in my mind," and "I'm not sure as of now." He also wrote: "If its possible to get a lawyer now. We can finish the talk. He could direct me in the right direction where as without a lawyer I might saw something thinking that it means something else." And at another point he wrote: "Lets rap tomarrow. face to face. I can't give facts. If something happins that I don't know about." Before the interrogation ended, Mincey made two further requests for a lawyer.

18 E. g., Boulden v. Holman, 394 U. S. 478, 480; Clewis v. Texas, 386 U. S. 707, 708; Haynes v. Washington, 373 U. S. 503, 513-514.