6/24/14 - It took the Michigan Supreme Court overruling a previous opinion on Miranda rights, but the confession given by a local man charged with murder has been ruled admissible in court. Police say George Tanner and Brian Stafford, both 29, murdered 40-year-old Christopher Townsend on October 15th of 2011 and then dismembered and burned the body on a wooded property owned by Tannerâs uncle in Green Oak Township. Police say Tanner confessed to the crime while in custody, but the defense argued that confession was inadmissible because a lawyer previously requested by Tanner was waiting to see him, but police did not inform him of that fact. Judge David Reader agreed with that claim, which was backed up by a previous Michigan Supreme Court ruling in the case of the People v. Bender, which said a suspect must be told promptly when an attorney attempts to contact them. Prosecutors appealed that decision to the Court of Appeals, and then the Michigan Supreme Court. Yesterday, in a 5-2 vote, the Supreme Court overturned People v. Bender, saying Tanner knowingly waived his Miranda rights when he reinitiated contact with police to make his confession. The case will now return to Livingston County Circuit Court for trial. Tannerâs codefendant, Brian Stafford, was previously sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to 2nd degree murder. (TD)
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