Published January 13, 2015
The man charged with trying to blow up a trans-Atlantic flight with a bomb in his shoe was not coerced or under the influence of a sedative when he confessed to investigators, a federal judge ruled Friday.
U.S. District Judge William Young ruled the drugs administered on the Paris-to-Miami flight to Richard Reid to subdue him did not affect Reid's state of mind when he spoke to law-enforcement personnel after his arrest.
Reid, 28, a British citizen, was overpowered by flight crew and passengers aboard the American Airlines flight after he allegedly tried to light a fuse protruding from his shoe. Authorities said the shoes contained explosives powerful enough to blow a hole in the plane's fuselage.
Reid's defense has been trying to have the statements he made to investigators, including a confession, ruled inadmissable because they say he was suffering amnesia as a side-effect of the drugs and did not knowingly waive his rights to speak to an attorney or remain silent.
Young did not immediately rule on the ultimate question of whether the statements and confession would be admissable.
Reid's trial is scheduled to begin Nov. 4.
https://www.foxnews.com/story/shoe-bomb-confession-not-coerced-judge-rules