Ernesto Miranda
Ernesto Arturo Miranda (March 9, 1941 — January 31, 1976) was the namesake of the Miranda Warning. Ernesto Miranda was arrested for robbery of $8 from a Phoenix, Arizona bank worker, and suspicion of kidnapping and rape of several women in the Phoenix area. Miranda was convicted in trial based solely on his confession under police interrogation. The U.S. Supreme Court overturned the conviction in 1966 (Miranda v. Arizona), ruling that Miranda was not informed of his rights to counsel and to remain silent before he confessed to the police. Since that ruling, police have informed suspects of their rights upon arrest.
After the ruling, he was re-tried and re-convicted of the original charges using other evidence, and was sentenced to 11 years in prison. Miranda was paroled in 1972, and was stabbed to death in a bar fight in 1976. His killer remains unknown; a suspect was arrested after the murder, but was released when, ironically, he invoked his right to remain silent.
He is buried at Mesa Cemetery in Mesa.
