Author: Keenan Powell

Previously published in Sisters in Crime First Draft, December 1, 2021 The police do not have to give Miranda warnings. You absolutely do have the right to remain silent. Your right is protected by the Fifth Amendment and there are few rights so jealously guarded by the courts. But so often media gets the Miranda warnings wrong. The police do not have to Mirandize a suspect at the time of arrest. The police do not have to Mirandize people who voluntarily talk to them. However if the police do not Mirandize a suspect who is in custody and then interrogates him or her and later tries to introduce the alleged confession into evidence, the accused’s statements will be suppressed, i.e. held inadmissible, because of the failure to give the warning. Don’t leave town. What an overused trope! No one can order anyone, witness or a suspect, not to leave town. Americans have a constitutional right to travel where they please. Granted, it might look bad if the cops accuse you of murder and you jump on a plane as soon as they leave. But the only way the authorities can restrict someone’s travel is to arrest them for a committing […]

Ghosts, the BBC version Did you see the BBC production of a three season TV show, Ghosts? It’s on HBO. Hilarious! A young woman inherits a Button Manor so she and her husband decide to open a B&B. Unbeknownst to her, it’s haunted by the spirit of Lady Button who was shoved out a window by her husband, a caveman named Robin, a Romantic poet who died in a duel, a British WWII army officer, an trouserless MP who died during a sex escapade, a naïve young woman who longs for a best friend, a Boy Scout leader who died during an archery lesson, a beheaded nobleman, and a female villager who was burned at the stake for practicing witchcraft – possibly my favorite character – played by Katy Wix, who you’ll recognize from Agatha Raisin. Watch Ghosts – Stream TV Shows | HBO Max There’s an American version. It’s okay, not quite as funny. In parting, I want to share my gluten free dairy free Irish Barmbrack recipe that I recently perfected. In Ireland, this is traditional Hallowe’en (Samhain) fare. It’s tradition to insert small objects in the bottom of the cake. The lucky recipient is foretold his or […]