Beaty

We previously remanded this capital ha-beas appeal to the district court with instructions to conduct an evidentiary hearing on whether Petitioner’s inculpatory statements to a prison psychologist were voluntary within the meaning of the Fifth Amendment. We must now decide whether the district court erred in subsequently concluding that such statements were constitutionally voluntary and therefore properly admitted at Petitioner’s trial.

I

A

Donald Edward Beaty was convicted in Arizona state court for the murder and sexual assault of thirteen-year-old Christy Ann Fornoff. The facts surrounding this crime were detailed in our previous opinion:

Beaty v. Stewart, 303 F.3d 975, 980-81 (9th Cir.2002) (hereinafter Beaty I) (footnote omitted).

B

After his arrest, Beaty was incarcerated at the Maricopa County Jail (“the main jail”). He initially was classified as a “high-risk” inmate because he appeared depressed and distraught over his arrest and his family’s reaction to his arrest. As a high-risk inmate, Beaty was visited by a staff psychiatrist who was to perform an intake evaluation. That staff psychiatrist was Dr. George O’Connor, who spoke with Beaty for about an hour and…