Robert L. Derrick v. R.S. Peterson, Superintendent, Oregon State Correctional Institution

Oregon state prisoner Derrick appeals from the denial by the district court of his petition for habeas corpus. In his petition, Derrick contends that his convictions for murder and first-degree manslaughter are invalid because statements he made to the police, which were introduced at his trial, allegedly were made involuntarily under the fourteenth amendment’s due process clause and without a knowing, intelligent, and voluntary waiver of his Miranda rights. The district court exercised jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 2241 and 2254. We have jurisdiction over this timely appeal pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2253 . We affirm.

I

Approximately 6:30 a.m. on December 26, 1981, Derrick, a 16 year old, came to the home of his aunt and uncle who lived across the street from the mobile home in which Derrick and his parents lived. Derrick told his uncle that Derrick’s parents had been murdered during the night and that there was blood all over the mobile home. Derrick’s uncle asked him where he had been the night before and Derrick responded that he had been in the mobile home but that he had not heard any shooting or struggling. Derrick's uncle then called a couple more of Derrick’s…