This section contains the nature of the case and procedural background.

A taxicab driver was struck over the head by one of his two passengers and robbed. Detective Conley learned that the passengers, identified as sailors, had boarded the cab about 11:00 p.m. and were taken to the 2200 block of T Place, Southeast. A list of suspects was compiled. The detective confronted the five suspects, and each including D replied in the negative. The detective narrowed the field to two suspects and had the Armed Services police bring them to police headquarters. Eventually, during interrogation, D confessed to the crime. D had sat in the back seat of the taxi and had struck the driver with a sock filled with gravel. D and his compatriot were then booked, photographed and fingerprinted, and arraigned. The total elapsed time between arrest and confession was not less than 30 minutes nor more than 45 minutes. Within 30 minutes from the confession, D was arraigned. D was tried, and his confession was admitted. D requested, and the trial court refused to instruct the jury to return a verdict of not guilty if it found that D was so intoxicated as to be incapable of forming the intent to rob. D was convicted and appealed.

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