Knight

Clarence Knight was convicted of first degree murder, grand theft of an automobile, and eight counts of robbery. He appeals the judgment.

In the late afternoon of January 15, 1979, Knight and his younger half-brother Parrish Chambers met Charles Turner and a man named “Feissy.” Chambers drove them in a stolen silver Mustang to a gas station, which Knight and Turner robbed. Chambers then drove them to a nearby supermarket, where Knight and Turner snatched purses from two customers. The customers saw the type of car they used. Going home, Chambers blocked a car stopped at an intersection, and Knight and Turner robbed its occupants, Loring Clark, his wife Charlotte, and their nine-year-old son. During the robbery, Knight shot and killed Mrs. Clark.

On January 23, Knight turned himself in to the San Diego police. The detectives assigned to his case told him of his Miranda rights, and he agreed to talk to them. However, after the detectives played tape recordings of statements which Chambers and Turner had given them, Knight said he would remain silent. The detectives then left him alone. They returned a few minutes later to say they knew he had confessed to his mother and…