MIRANDA VS ARIZONA: THE CRIME THAT CHANGED AMERICAN JUSTICE

Ernest Miranda served one-third of his sentence and had been turned down for parole four times before the Arizona Parole Board reluctantly agreed to release him in December 1972. He was something of a celebrity, and made a meager income by printing Miranda Warning cards, autographing them and selling them for $1.50.

He wanted to make something of himself on the outside, Miranda told a friend. I want to obtain an education and to elevate myself in society, he wrote. I know this will be hard for me, but only at first.

But old habits die hard and Miranda soon went back to his previous lifestyle. Over the next few years, Miranda had numerous run-ins with police, mostly for minor driving offenses and eventually he lost his privilege to drive a car. He was arrested once in possession of a gun, but the charge was dropped after a court ruled the search was inadmissible. However, the arrest violated Mirandas parole, and he was sent back to Arizona State Prison for another year.

After his release, Miranda spent most of his time in the run-down bars and flophouses that dot the Deuce section of Phoenix. One night in January, 1976, Miranda spent the evening in a dive playing poker and gambling with other down-on-their-luck card players. A fight erupted over a handful of change lying on the bar and Miranda, then working as a delivery driver, was stabbed to death by an illegal Mexican immigrant. He was 36 years old.

Police managed to catch one of the murderers accomplices, and taking him downtown, made sure that they advised the man that he had the right to remain silent, that anything he said could and would be used against him