 Van Chester Thompkins was considered a suspect in a fatal shooting on January 10 , 2000 in Southfield , Michigan . After advising Thompkins of his Miranda rights , police officers interrogated him . Thompkins did not state at any time that he wanted to rely on his right to remain silent , nor that he did not want to talk to the police , nor that he wanted an attorney . The court record suggested that he had been almost completely silent during the 3 @-@ hour interrogation and the few sporadic comments he made had no bearing on the case ( police described it as " nearly a monologue " ) , but near the end , detectives changed their approach and " tried a spiritual tac [ k ] " and an " appeal to his conscience and religious beliefs " . Thompkins was asked in sequence - did he believe in God , did he pray to God , and did he pray to God to forgive him for shooting the victim . He answered " yes " to each of these . Thompkins made a motion to suppress his statements , claiming that he had invoked his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent , that he had not waived that right , and that his inculpatory statements were involuntary . The trial court denied his motion and Thompkins was found guilty by a jury and sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole . Of note , there had been significant other evidence of guilt corroborating the conviction . 
