Van Chester Thompkins
Respondent
Elizabeth L. Jacobs, Counsel of Record On January 10, 2000, at about 9:00 p.m., Samuel Morris was shot and killed in a strip mall parking lot in the city of Southfield, Michigan. Van Chester Thompkins was a suspect in the crime, but he evaded police. On February 19, 2001, Thompkins was arrested near Columbus, Ohio, and charged with Morris’s murder. Following a three-hour interrogation, during which he largely remained silent, Thompkins nodded to police when they asked if he was sorry for shooting Morris. In May 2002, Thompkins was convicted of first-degree murder, assault with intent to commit murder, and…
