United States v. Joseph Henderson

Joseph Henderson appeals from his conviction, on a jury verdict, of robbing the Jefferson-Hill Branch of the Bank of America in Los Angeles, a national bank, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2113 (a) and (d).

According to the indictment, Henderson and two other men committed the robbery on November 15, 1965. Henderson was arrested at Hayden Comers, Alabama, at 4:01 p. m. on December 13, 1965, by Thomas M. Shaugnessy, a special agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. At 4:30 p. m., after the vehicle in which he had been riding was searched, Henderson was taken from the scene of the arrest to the Jefferson County, Alabama, jail. He arrived at the jail at 5:03 p. m. Henderson was “booked” at 5:20 p. m., and twenty minutes were then spent photographing and fingerprinting him.

Special Agent Shaugnessy interrogated Henderson from 5:40 to 6:08 p. m. that day in the presence of Special Agent Lawrence G. Gettings and two state highway patrolmen. During this questioning, according to Government testimony, Henderson admitted that he was one of those who robbed the Jefferson-Hill Branch bank. Henderson refused to sign a statement. After the interrogation, Henderson was taken before a…