Miranda Rights

            
             If you have ever been arrested or questioned for a crime, you are probably familiar with these famous words. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to have an attorney present before any questioning. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to represent you before any questioning. Do you understand these rights? "Those are one of the most common sets of words that are said through out law enforcement agencies. These words are now mandatory to be said by an officer arresting a perpetrator because of one man, Ernesto Miranda.
             Ernest Miranda who the Miranda rights was named after was a convicted rapist who lived in Arizona. In 1963 Ernesto Miranda was arrested for kidnapping, and rape of a young woman. The victim identified Ernesto Miranda at a police headquarters. The police interrogated Mr. Miranda for about two hours until he signed a written confession. At trial, his conviction was based only on his confession he gave during the interrogation. So his attorney appealed the conviction arguing that "Miranda was not told he had the right not to answer the police officer's questions." He was not informed of his right to his fifth amendment-right against self-incrimination and sixth amendment-right to counsel. Because of his rights not being read to him the courts seized his conviction. These rights are now called Miranda rights because the requirement to read them to suspects is the result of the Supreme Court's decision in "Miranda V. Arizona." He was later retried and convicted based on other evidence and served several years in prison. After the Supreme Court made it mandatory that an arresting officer read the arrestee his rights.
             The Supreme Court later made it mandatory that the Miranda rights be read to everybody been interrogated. The exact wording was not specified. However, a guideline was set that must be followed.